If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness, you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury claim. You may also be considering making a personal injury claim for your medical bills, lost income and other damages. A common question that arises is whether or not a plaintiff needs a personal injury lawyer to help handle the claim. This article will discuss whether having a personal injury lawyer makes a difference in money and time. To answer the question as to whether having a personal injury lawyer assist in handling your personal injury claim affects time and money, the following elements will be discussed:
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- Personal injury lawyer equals higher settlement? - this question can be asked as: ‘if I have a lawyer on my side in a personal injury case, does it increase my chances of getting compensation ? And if they do, will I get a higher compensation?’ A survey conducted shows that the answer to both of these questions is yes. According to the survey, the likelihood of getting a payout with an attorney increased to 91%, with 9% receiving nothing. The likelihood of receiving a payout without an attorney was 51% while 49% received nothing. The statistics basically show that having a personal injury lawyer makes a big difference when it comes to getting a personal injury payout verses walking away empty handed. To put the figure into perspective, 9 out of 10 claimants who use lawyers receive a settlement or award. With regards to the settlement amount, it must be noted that claimants who hired a lawyer received an average of $77,600 in compensation, whether by out of court settlement or a court ordered judgement. Conversely, claimants who represented themselves received $17,600 in compensation. Therefore, it is correct to conclude that having a personal injury lawyer increases the settlement or award amount as well as the chances of receiving such compensation.
- Personal injury lawyer equals quicker resolution? - while having a personal injury lawyer on your side increases your chances of receiving compensation and increases the amount of compensation, unfortunately, using a personal injury lawyer makes the claim’s process longer. One survey showed that a personal injury case with a lawyer takes up to 15.7 months, while a claimant handling his or her own claim would spend 7 months on the claim’s process to reach a resolution. To justify this, one article stated that, “getting a better result often means being willing to turn down the first settlement offer and fight for fair compensation.
