Expert Advice When You Need It Most
Posted over 2 years ago. Applies to Oregon, 1 helpful vote, 0 comments
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MYTH: I need a lawyer for every accident.REALITY: Not all accidents require a lawyer, and, in fact, you may end up with more money in your pocket if you don't use a lawyer. On the other hand, you do need to be sure that you fully understand what’s involved in pursuing a car accident injury case. If you are unable to put in the time and effort needed to understand the process, then you will most likely be better off hiring a lawyer who does. If it's a small case, you can download "Settle Your Smaller Oregon Injury Case" from our website. 2
MYTH: Compensation for my injuries means I’m going to get rich!REALITY: Getting injured in a car accident does not mean you’ve won the lottery. The purpose of the legal system is to compensate a person who was injured through someone else’s carelessness—not to make the injured person rich. Before you start packing for Hawaii, remember that the multimillion-dollar cases you read about were either (a) totally made up, (b) represented the amount of money actually needed by the injured person (medical bills in the case of paralysis, for example, can be incredibly expensive), or (c) suffered from inaccurate reporting. For example, you may have read about a $19 million race discrimination verdict in August of 2008. You probably didn't read that the verdict was reduced by the judge by about 80 percent. Oregon juries tend to be conservative—we don't get many huge verdicts here. And when we do, the judge usually reduces them. 3
MYTH: The first thing I should do after an accident is call my insurance company.REALITY: While you should definitely call your insurance company to report your accident, you need to be sure to fully understand the process before you tell them anything more than the bare minimum. In some cases, you may even want to have a lawyer talk to them instead. 4
MYTH: I should try to get my settlement money as fast as possible.REALITY: It is certainly possible to get a fast settlement, and insurance companies love fast settlements, because if you’re in a rush, they’ll be able to settle for pennies on the dollar. On the other hand, if you want to get the full amount that your claim is worth, you may have to be patient. Negotiating takes time. It’s unusual to get a full value settlement quickly, but it can happen, and it’s important to know when. Usually full value settlements are fast in “policy limits” cases—that is, when your case is clearly worth more than the limit of the insurance policy of the person who injured you. If the person who injured you is insured for $25,000, and your injury is clearly worth that, then the insurance company can sometimes be convinced to pay you the $25,000 quickly. And since that's the most they will ever pay, taking it right away can be a good idea. But before you take that “policy limit” settlement, make sure that really is the limit, and you can't get more. 5
MYTH: If the person who hurt me only has $25,000 of insurance coverage, that’s all the money I can get.REALITY: You may be entitled to more money from your own insurance company through “underinsured motorist coverage” or UIM. You may also be able to collect money directly from the person who hit you, even if the person has insurance. If, for instance, a jury decides that your injuries are worth $60,000 and the person who hit you only has $25,000 worth of insurance, then you can try to collect the extra $35,000 directly from the person who hit you. Of course, if the person is completely broke, attempting to collect $35,000 from them would be a complete waste of time. Figuring out whether or not the person is completely broke—or has substantial assets—can be tricky. A good lawyer, though, should know how to do this, using either a private investigator or an asset affidavit. 6
MYTH: If I hire a lawyer, I’ll have to pay him/her one-third of whatever money I get.REALITY: Different firms have different payment options. One-third is the typical arrangement, but it’s certainly not the rate everywhere. At our firm, we sometimes charge as little as 15 percent, and if you choose an hourly fee—an option we provide to all of our clients—it can be even less. Find Personal Injury LawyersRelated Searches |
