Car Accident Lawyers: The Telltale Signs That You Need One

If you get in a car accident, then you might not feel certain about the best path forward. You may think that you should hire a lawyer. However, you do not need one every time.

If you live in a major city, then you should know that dozens of car wrecks happen every day. For instance, Saint Louis has a population of almost 282K. Each day, when most of them wake up and drive to work, some will not make it home in the evening without having an accident. A relatively small percentage of those who experience a car crash will feel it necessary to retain a personal injury lawyer’s services, though.

How can you tell if you need to hire a personal injury attorney following your car accident? We’ll discuss that in detail right now.

How to Tell You Don’t Need to Hire a Lawyer

First, before we get into some scenarios where it probably makes sense to hire a personal injury lawyer after a car accident, we should talk about some situations where you likely won’t need one. For instance, let’s say that you’re in a car accident. It’s obvious to you that the other driver caused the collision.

You’re in an at-fault state, meaning that the insurance of the individual who caused the accident should cover the damages. The other driver agrees they caused the accident, and their insurance company does as well.

The insurance company pays you back promptly for the economic damages you sustained. You don’t feel you sustained any non-economic ones, so there’s no need to file a lawsuit for that reason.

In this situation, there’s no real reason why you need a lawyer’s help. You can presumably go on with your life without any further worries.

In scenarios like this one, you don’t need to go through the process of retaining a lawyer. Not every car wreck works out like the one we just described, though.  

The Other Driver Won’t Admit Their Guilt

Maybe you’re in an at-fault state and another driver hit your vehicle. Again, you feel it’s obvious they caused the accident. This time, though, they will not admit their guilt.

If so, you will probably have to hire a lawyer. You will need to do so because you are paying for some economic expenses out of pocket, and you can’t recoup that money without an attorney’s help.

You may also have some non-economic damages you feel the other driver should compensate you for, and you can’t get those without winning a lawsuit, either. Maybe you’re not exactly eager to hire a personal injury attorney, but to get the financial compensation you feel you’re due, you likely have little choice.

The Other Driver’s Insurance Company Won’t Admit Their Guilt

Maybe you’re in that same situation, where you believe the other driver caused the accident, and you’re in an at-fault state. The other driver admits their guilt this time. However, their insurance company will not.

This happens more often than you might think. Since insurance companies have for-profit status, they will often contest who caused an accident if they think it will prevent them from having to pay off a claim from a driver.

You will probably need to hire a personal injury lawyer so that you can sue the insurance company. You absolutely need legal help in this situation because you can feel certain the insurance company will have a skilled legal team.

If an insurance company denies a car wreck claim, then maybe it’s because they feel there’s some uncertainty about who caused the accident. To collect any money in damages, you will probably have to find plenty of physical evidence that backs up your version of events.

The Other Driver Left the Accident Scene

If the other driver left the accident scene, then that likely means you will need hire a lawyer pretty much automatically. Another driver might leave an accident scene for all kinds of reasons.

Maybe they’re an inexperienced driver and they panic at that moment.

Perhaps they ingested alcohol before they drove, and they know that they’re over the legal limit.

No matter why they left the scene, though, that’s a felony, and it complicates matters. It’s highly likely that you will want an experience personal injury lawyer’s legal expertise as you try to sort out what it makes the most sense to do next.

Someone’s Suing You After the Accident

If someone’s suing you after a car accident, then it’s a foregone conclusion that you will need to hire a personal injury lawyer. This time, you need one for defense rather than because you’re suing the other driver.

Whether you feel that you caused the accident or not, you will probably need plenty of legal advice. Your lawyer can give that to you. They can tell you what moves make the most sense as you prepare to either offer a settlement to the other driver or dispute the matter with them in court.

You’re in a Crash with Multiple Other Vehicles

There’s one more situation where you will probably want to hire a lawyer after a car accident. Maybe you got in a car wreck that involves several vehicles and not just two.

This kind of thing can happen on local roads or the highway. On local roads, it might occur if there’s a chain reaction car crash. One car hits another in front of it. That vehicle surges forward and hits the next one in that lane, and so forth.

On the highway, with cars moving a lot faster, a multiple-car accident can happen in the same way, but maybe it will involve several injuries. That’s much more likely when you’re dealing with higher rates of speed.

No matter where the accident occurred, though, with several vehicles involved, figuring out who caused it becomes a lot more difficult. Your attorney can help you to determine whether you should file a lawsuit, and against whom.