Is It Worth Hiring A Lawyer For A Minor Car Crash
Automobile accidents are pretty common these days, and chances are, you’ve been in at least one minor car crash. The most common question that arises in such situations is if a lawyer needs to be hired or not; the answer isn’t as simple as one might imagine. Any type of accident should ideally be documented if you want to make claims and stay in the clear, but people often walk away in order to avoid the hassle.
It’s definitely worth hiring a lawyer in case of even the slightest damage to your vehicle because a lawyer’s job is much more than just slapping a lawsuit against the other person. They can help you protect yourself from many potential issues in the future, and will provide you with the proper course of action to be taken. So let’s get to it and try to find out why you need a lawyer for even a minor car accident.
1. Preventive Measure
Hiring a lawyer in case of an insignificant accident should be a preventive measure rather than a curative one. A lawyer can protect you from the other person’s lawyer in case they decide to slap you with a lawsuit. It doesn’t matter if you and the other party made a gentleman’s agreement, shook hands, and walked away on a positive note, if they decide to come at you with a lawsuit then it can be very time-consuming and expensive, which is exactly why you need someone to handle the headache for you.
Your lawyer will also suggest to you a further course of action after the accident so that you can document any minor damages whatsoever; this will help you to prove your point in the future in case the other person tries to over-exaggerate their damages or injuries.
2. Admitting Fault
This is one of the areas where most people end up making a blunder. The people who don’t have a lawyer on their side often end up admitting they’re in the wrong, or that the accident was somehow their mistake, which is a big no-no. This gets even worse when this statement is made to the lawyer of the other party or the police.
A well-known car accident lawyer in Rio Rancho says that you should let your lawyer do the talking as you can only make the situation worse. After being in an accident while still being inside the car, you can’t completely be sure of who is at fault which is why you shouldn’t automatically take the blame rather let your lawyer handle it instead. The lawyer has more years of experience dealing with similar cases and they’ll most likely handle the situation in such a manner that you won’t be held completely liable.
3. Insurance
Even if your car didn’t blow up or get burnt to smithereens, it’s highly likely that even minor damage is going to cost you a fortune if you choose to get it fixed out of your pockets. The lawyer can help you better understand how the insurance companies operate, and you’ll be able to successfully claim any compensation that you rightfully deserve. The insurance companies don’t like to pay people the full amount that they should be paid since it’s how they make money. A person who doesn’t have a lawyer will fall for their lowballing and suffer losses in the process.
However, when you hire a lawyer, you can rest assured that the lawyer will not settle for unjustified amounts since they’ve most likely dealt with the same insurance companies and agents before. A lawyer will get you a higher amount of compensation than you might’ve been able to get by yourself and this in itself can repay the costs of hiring a lawyer.
These are just some of the reasons why you should think about hiring a lawyer immediately after an accident, minor or major. There are various other equally compelling reasons for you to hire a professional to aid you in legal matters but covering them all will be beyond the scope of this article. Just because a lawyer costs more initially shouldn’t be the deciding factor due to which you skip hiring them. If you think about the possible consequences, in the long run, you’ll discover that a lawyer will be easily able to receive their costs if you face any legal trouble or over-smartness by the insurance company.
No matter what the scale of the accident is, you should always follow the same procedures that you would otherwise follow in a major accident and you’ll be thankful that you listened to this piece of advice.