There’s no question that the aftermath of a traumatic accident can be extremely stressful on anyone. No matter what type of accident there was, if there were significant personal injuries from the accident, the experience can be, at times, overwhelming. Medical treatment is necessary and perhaps lost time from work is occurring due to the accident. You may be receiving in the mail medical bills from a hospital, as well as paperwork from an insurance company to fill out. You may be confused, stressed, and unsure on how to proceed. So, when should you call a lawyer after an accident?
If you are considering pursuing legal action against the person or company that injured you, then a lawyer should be called as quickly as possible. Boston personal injury lawyers nearly each and every time provide free no-obligation consultations to prospective clients. The longer you wait to consult an attorney generally doesn’t help your claim. The reason is that the sooner the attorney can begin working on your case, the more likely a good result can be achieved for your case. For example, if you’re involved in a car accident, the insurance company will be calling you and trying to get from you a recorded statement.
These insurance company adjusters are very, very savvy in the types of questions they ask claimants during recorded phone statements. If you are completely not at fault for causing the accident such as a rear-end accident, but you give a recorded statement to an insurance company, the facts on what was an otherwise clear accident can be obscured by the insurance company adjuster during the recorded statement.
Your car accident lawyer will have a challenge ahead of himself if you provide a recorded statement prior to hiring him. As well, if you were involved in a slip-and-fall accident, an insurance company adjuster will likely want to secure from you a recorded statement. Regardless if you slipped and fell on snow and ice, or at a supermarket, at a rental property, or any other place, the insurance company is going to want to get to you quickly before you call a lawyer.
Not only do these insurance companies want to secure a recorded statement, they also want you to sign forms that they send to you. Signing these forms can have a very prejudicial effect on your case. Some of these forms include the release of medical records to the insurance company, as well as potentially a complete and full release of claim. If you sign a release, that will completely end the case forever. No attorney will be able to help you with your claim if you sign a settlement release for an insurance company. Therefore, if you are considering legal representation for your claim, you should immediately call a Massachusetts personal injury lawyer for a free consultation.
Keep in mind that injury lawyers do not collect hourly fees or retainers. Rather, the way they get paid is through a contingency fee. A contingency fee is a fee that is only earned if the case settles or wins a trial. For example, if your injury case settles for $30,000, and the attorney’s fee is the standard one-third or 33.3%, then the attorney’s fee will be $10,000, leaving you with $20,000 remaining. That $20,000, too, is tax-free money. Neither the state nor the federal government can assess taxes against your personal injury settlement. If you or anyone you know needs the services of a local injury lawyer, please contact the Earley Law Group Injury Lawyers today at 617-444-7777 for your free no-obligation consultation.