3 Reasons You Might Need a Lawyer After a Car Accident (Even if it Was Minor)

Lawyer After a Car Accident

It can be tempting to think that you don’t need to hire a lawyer if your car accident wasn’t serious or caused any significant damage. After all, it’s just property damage and you didn’t get hurt, right? In some circumstances, this could be true – but in others, it could put you at risk of missing out on compensation or rights you deserve. If you’re considering hiring a lawyer after your car accident, here are three reasons why you might want to consider it even if the accident was minor or wasn’t your fault.

The person who hit you doesn’t have insurance

If you have insurance, your company will send a claims adjuster to work with you. If you’re at fault, there’s nothing to negotiate—your insurance should pay for your damages and injuries. But when someone else hits you and doesn’t have insurance, there are more questions than answers. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners estimates that about 80 percent of drivers don’t carry car insurance in America. And every state has its own personal injury protection laws, which dictate how much money an injured party can collect from their own insurance company after an accident—even one caused by another driver without coverage—and whether or not they need to hire a lawyer to get those funds.

There are injuries and damages worth more than $3,000

It may seem like an inconsequential injury—something you can easily recover from on your own. But for those injured in car accidents, medical bills can quickly add up. Even minor accidents that you think are not worth hiring a lawyer for could be more serious than they initially appear. Many injuries and damages are cumulative, with injuries building on themselves and compounding over time—injuries that didn’t seem all that serious at first could become debilitating over time. If you’re in one of these situations, seek medical attention immediately and consult with an attorney about what to do next.

You weren’t in the wrong

Oftentimes, people believe that they can just call their insurance companies and deal with everything on their own after an accident. And, in many cases, you probably can. But even though you weren’t at fault for an accident, you may still need to hire a lawyer. It all depends on who is at fault for your car accident. If another driver caused your accident—meaning they were under-insured or intoxicated—and/or you suffered serious injuries, it's wise to get some legal help from an attorney. Chances are you'll have questions about how much your case is worth and want someone to walk you through every step of the legal process from beginning to end.