When in doubt, hire a lawyer. At least for personal injury claims, anyway. Personal injury cases are best handled by specialized injury attorneys that know the ins and outs of the law related to your specific case.
Suffering physical bodily harm is a traumatizing experience. It disrupts almost every aspect of your day-to-day life. In most cases, it takes a while to get back into the normal swing of things.
Add on the stress of mounting medical bills, lost wages and the emotional distress that goes with it, and you’re living a nightmare that you can’t wake up from. Most people are unaware of their rights in this situation and as a result, end up suffering in silence.
With the right team of personal injury attorneys on your side, they can alleviate the stress of a difficult situation to help you get back on your feet. Here’s what the best personal injury lawyer Chicago can do for you.
Free Consultations
The best things in life are free, right? Consulting with a top Chicago personal injury lawyer won’t cost you a dime. Most injury attorneys offer free consultations to prospective clients and use that opportunity to assess the claim to see if they’ll take it up.
They usually have a contingency fee agreement, which means that you won’t have to pay them an hourly rate for their services. They’ll simply collect a percentage of the final payout when they win the case.
That way, you can be certain that they have a vested interest in making sure you get a favorable outcome since their compensation depends on it. It helps to visit more than one firm and compare their track record of wins. Ask the right questions to know if they are the best fit for you.
First Party Coverages
The best Chicago accident lawyer should be able to handle your first-party coverages. These are those coverages on your personal policy that can be used to increase the amount you collect on your car accident claim.
Two of the most common ones are the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage. The latter can be integrated with your health insurance policy to reduce the number of medical bills you have to foot out-of-pocket. They also work to take advantage of any service provider discounts that may be included in your policy plan.
Retaining the best Chicago car accident lawyer to handle your first-party coverages for you will potentially save you thousands of dollars in medical bills. If you were involved in an auto accident with a driver who didn’t have insurance coverage, or if it was too little to compensate the victims, the process of filing a claim in such instances involves numerous intricacies and complexities that only an experienced lawyer would be able to handle. It would be virtually impossible to pursue it on your own.
Subrogation Liens
Subrogation liens are also referred to as payback rights. If your health insurance provider foots your accident-related medical bills, then they will generally apply subrogation liens.
This essentially means that in certain situations, health insurance providers, hospitals and even the state can claim a stake in the personal injury settlement you receive. The rationale behind this is that the respective institutions seek to be repaid any monies they spent treating and caring for someone who was injured in an accident.
It would appear to be in bad taste but that’s just how it works. Sometimes, the amounts recovered in liens can be quite significant leaving you with only a fraction of your claim settlement. Retaining the services of best auto accident lawyer, for instance, can help you eliminate or, at the very least, substantially reduce the subrogation lien on your health insurance. This process is too lengthy and complex for you to even attempt to handle on your own.
Stress Relief
One of the most difficult parts about pursuing a personal injury claim is the sheer amount of stress involved. At this point, not only are you injured which causes you an immense amount of stress but getting the compensation you deserve for your injuries is likely causing you lots of sleepless nights too.
This amount of stress does little to help speed up the recovery process. Hiring the best motor vehicle accident lawyer in Chicago, for instance, will take the load off and act as a buffer between you and parties being sued. They are well-placed to represent your interests and fight tooth and nail to ensure that you get the settlement you deserve.
If, in addition to the bodily harm aspect of your claim, you’re also suing for property damage compensation, this needs to be clear to your attorney from the get-go. Property damage claims are tedious and time-consuming, something most lawyers tend to avoid.
If property damage is not included in your personal injury attorney’s contingency fee, then you are not getting the full benefit of the contingency fee they charge at the end of the process. The best Chicago personal injury lawyers will always include this in their services and is a crucial aspect of attorney representation.
Statute of Limitations
Many accident victims who attempt to file personal injury claims themselves often get locked out by statutes of limitations. A statute of limitations is a law that bars a claim when it isn’t filed within a specified period.
The applicable statutory period in Chicago, Illinois is two years. If you don’t file a claim within this cut-off period, you lose the right to sue the adverse party in third-party claims, and your insurance company in first-party claims.
Using a competent personal injury attorney to file your suit will gather all required documentation and prepare the paperwork before the statutory period runs out. It would be a shame to lose out on compensatory damages over a “technicality” like missing a deadline.
When in Doubt, Consult a Lawyer
The best personal injury lawyers in Chicago focus on one thing: Maximizing your results. Always consult an attorney before settling your claim against an insurance company, regardless of how attractive the settlement amount appears to be. If that’s the money they are offering to pay, chances are, a great attorney will be able to get you substantially more.
If you have more legal questions, you can also chat online with a Laws101.com attorney where you’ll be instantly connected to a lawyer who can give you legal guidance on your specific case or question.