When Would You Require a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Personal injury cases range from medical malpractice to the damages caused by a car crash. It includes negligence by a building contractor and the neighbor who didn't contain an aggressive dog. However, not all of these cases require the assistance of an attorney. When would you require a personal injury attorney?

Your Medical Conditions Are Long-Term or Permanent

If you've sustained injuries that require long-term care, you need an attorney. If you've suffered injuries that will take months or years to recover from, whether it is physical therapy or repeated surgeries, you need an attorney. Brain damage is traumatic, but it is also disabling. This is why you should hire an attorney if your child is left with brain damage due to oxygen deprivation or a family member has permanent memory impairment after a car accident. You need an attorney like the ones at Baumgartner law firm to calculate what the injuries are worth. For example, you need to take long-term care and medical bills into account, not just what you've paid to date.

You're Facing Hefty Medical Bills

Whether someone literally knocked out half your teeth or left you with several broken bones, you're dealing with severe injuries. The medical bills may start accruing immediately. However, there are often additional costs. You will probably need to hire help to take care of the house or the kids, while you're equally likely to be out of work. There may be additional costs like rented wheel chairs, prescription pain medication and physical therapy. And in these cases, your medical insurance (if you have it) probably won't pay all of the bills. You need to speak with a personal injury attorney to get the responsible party to pay these bills.

Note that you can still sue for outstanding damages if a medical facility or medical professional corrects their mistake. For example, if they remove the item left inside your body for free or repair the tooth they accidentally damaged, they're still liable for the other, associated costs.

Liability Is Unclear

Liability is not always clear. Is the nurse or the nursing assistant to blame if bed sores became infected? Did the doctor write down the wrong medication name or did the pharmacist misread it? In a car crash, who made the wrong judgement call that led to a four car pileup? When a truck doesn't stop in time, was it a distracted driver or a trucking company that didn't replace the worn brake pads? A personal injury attorney can help you determine who is at fault. Know that you can hire an attorney even if you're partially at fault, because you don't want the majority of blame and the associated costs pinned on you.

The Insurance Company Stonewalls

Sometimes the problem isn't the guilty party but their insurance company. They may offer a settlement that's a fraction of what you're due. Or they may refuse to make any settlement at all, assigning blame on someone else, even you. Alternatively, they may demand documentation over and over again and engage in other delay tactics. This allows them to earn interest on the money that much longer, and the delay tactics pressure those who don't know their rights to settle for less just to pay the bills.