Every attorney’s skill level and experience is different, which is why you should research personal injury attorneys before retaining one. This includes asking family and friends for referrals because often, the best attorneys don’t need to advertise.
The right lawyers will have the necessary experience to assess the viability of your claim, as well as the requisite knowledge to make sure the claim is winnable. This includes conducting a proper and thorough investigation into the facts of disputed injury claims.
As examples, three supposed eye-witnesses to an accident may present three different versions of events. It takes a trained attorney to know what questions to ask and how to ask them to get to the truth.
Certain intersections have cameras/video, as do the interior and exterior of many drinking establishments and supermarkets. The captured video is not saved indefinitely, so an astute attorney reaches out to ensure preservations of such evidence if applicable to one’s injury claim.
Moreover, insurance companies pay as little as possible and often use your own words against. The right attorney would not let them take advantage of you.
For example, insurance companies will often offer unrepresented claimants reimbursement of their out of pocket medical expenses, which may be limited to a Health Plan co-pay.
However, Arizona has a Collateral source Rule, wherein the insurance company does not reap the benefit if a claimant has a Health Plan (or other “collateral source”) that pays some of their medical bills. The adverse insurance company is responsible for paying the full amount of the charged medical expenses, regardless of what if any payments the provider may already have been paid.
Of course, without an attorney, a claimant would be ill equipped to challenge the insurance adjuster that doesn’t offer fair compensation for their injury?
They’d be at a distinct disadvantage were they to try and litigate their case on their own, both in terms of not knowing Arizona Civil procedure and in having to front their own litigation costs. When one has a qualified attorney, that attorney know when and how to litigate a case, and will advance the costs.
