Generally, people who hire an experienced personal injury attorney to handle their claims receive a larger settlement than those who attempt to negotiate with the insurance company on their own. According to the Insurance Research Council, clients who hire attorneys receive a settlement that is an average of 3.5 times higher than those without a lawyer.
Of course, this statistic makes sense. If you do not know the law, and you do not understand which factors make your case worth more money, how can you effectively negotiate a settlement with an insurance company that has decades of experience in negotiating claims, and a team of lawyers advising them? The simple answer is that you cannot intelligently or effectively do so. In fact, if an insurance company offers you tens of thousands of dollars to settle your case without a lawyer, this should serve as a red flag warning that your case is potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more with an experienced lawyer fighting for your rights.
A highly experienced personal injury attorney will conduct a thorough investigation of your case and explore every potential avenue for recovery from every possible source. The attorney will intelligently prepare and present your claim, at all times knowing what factors to emphasize to help increase settlement value. An experienced lawyer will have the resources essential to retain the necessary experts to support your case, and to take your case to trial.
The outcome of each personal injury case depends on the facts. Nevertheless, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you obtain a much larger settlement amount for you claim.
