Proof That Hiring a Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyer Results in Larger Settlements

No one ever anticipates being injured in a car crash. But the unfortunate reality is that car crashes happen regardless of how careful and cautious you drive. We cannot control how other drivers operate their vehicles and accident victims often find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The aftermath of a car accident can be extremely stressful. You may not only be dealing with severe injuries, but you may also be concerned about mounting medical bills, being unable to return to work to earn your wages, and suffering pain and disruption to your life you never expected. The last thing you may have ever considered is whether you need to hire a lawyer. However, despite the chaos after a crash, hiring an experienced Massachusetts personal injury attorney may be one of the best decisions you make.

Statistically, Hiring an Experienced Car Accident Attorney is a Wise Decision

Several studies and reports have consistently established that accident victims tend to recover more money with a personal injury lawyer. The reasons were because experienced car accident attorneys have the experience, knowledge, and negotiation skills necessary to recover more money for claimants than unrepresented claimants alone.

For example, a study conducted by the Insurance Research Council compared settlements of car accident cases for accident victims who hired personal injury lawyers with accident victims that represented themselves. The results showed that accident victims who used a personal injury attorney received larger settlements. These results remain true today.

This study showed that accident victims who used a lawyer received three and one-half times more money in the settlement of their accident case than those who represented themselves. A survey also showed that working with an injury attorney increased the amount of compensation a claimant received. The survey showed that the average settlement for accident victims with lawyers was $77,600, compared to an average of $17,600 for those who represented themselves.

Furthermore, a prior survey revealed that hiring a personal injury lawyer increased the chance of accident victims receiving compensation for injuries after a car accident. The survey revealed that 91% of accident victims received a payout after a crash, compared to 51% of those who chose to represent themselves.

Working With a Personal Injury Attorney Typically Results in Larger Settlements

If you were hurt in a car crash in Massachusetts that was caused by another driver, you may wonder whether you should hire an experienced car accident attorney. Aside from the above statistical reasons, hiring a personal injury attorney generally results in greater compensation.  There are many reasons to hire a lawyer – let’s look at some main reasons why:

Experience and Systematic Case Strategies

Experienced personal injury attorneys are professionals in handling bodily injury claims and personal injury lawsuits. They are knowledgeable about insurance policies and coverage and know where to look to pursue fair and just compensation, including cases involving multiple parties. Seasoned accident attorneys are experienced and know how to file claims, gather evidence, and meet legal deadlines. The right legal team can also handle all the insurance and medical paperwork, properly negotiate, and potentially litigate the case, if needed. This allows an accident victim to focus on their recovery with peace of mind that their case is being handled appropriately.

Injury lawyers also have deep expertise and a wealth of knowledge of the legal and insurance procedures, liability laws, and are highly skilled at knowing how to build a strong case for their clients. In short, an experienced injury lawyer will often see things that unrepresented victims may overlook.

Accurate Valuation of Damages and Amounts of Compensation

A personal injury lawyer with hands-on experience handling car accident cases will know how to properly assess the value of a case. Seasoned injury attorneys will be able to accurately value and establish economic damages, including medical bills/expenses and lost wages. Additionally, an experienced attorney will also know how to properly quantify the noneconomic damages such as pain, suffering and mental anguish.  

Through no fault of their own, many accident victims will often underestimate the value of their claims and not know what needs to be obtained to substantiate their damages to secure full compensation.  

Lawyers Possess Stronger Negotiation Skills

It’s no secret that insurance companies often use many tactics to minimize any compensation payouts they may have to make. They have seasoned and trained injury adjusters and lawyers working with the goal to pay out as little as possible. This puts an unrepresented claimant at a serious disadvantage when it comes to negotiating a settlement.

Having an experienced personal injury attorney on your side offsets this disadvantage. A highly experienced injury lawyer can combat the typical insurance company’s tactics by securing and providing evidence and presenting legal arguments to negotiate higher settlements. For example, personal injury lawyers often have a network of medical and other experts, who can strengthen a case and significantly increase the financial compensation a victim receives.

Capability to Take the Case to Court and Trial

Many times, insurance companies may lowball an unrepresented accident victim. They often try to take advantage of accident victims’ inexperience in handling claims in hopes of paying out as little as possible. Sometimes, insurance companies try to do this to lawyers too.

However, it is well established that insurance companies are more likely to offer a fair settlement when the claimant has an attorney with a proven track record and experience taking cases to court. Insurance companies typically take an economic view of claims and understand that when dealing with a lawyer, who is willing to take the case to court, they may end up paying much more to defend a lawsuit than if they just made a fair settlement offer. This benefit to accident victims is invaluable.

Proof That Having an Experienced Massachusetts Injury Lawyer is a Benefit

Framingham personal injury attorney Chuck Pappas recently settled a car accident case for one of his clients. This client was injured in a car crash in Ashland, Massachusetts. As our client drove down a side street in Ashland, another driver was distracted and crossed the double yellow line striking our client’s vehicle in a head-on collision. The accident caused our client to suffer neck and back injuries as well as a concussion.

Initially, this client attempted to represent himself. He was a highly educated individual and was hopeful of being able to handle his own injury claim. However, the insurance company did what insurance companies often do – make lowball offers. Before our client even completed treatment for his injuries, the insurance adjuster began making offers of settlement. Their first offer was for $3,500. The adjuster explained to our client that this was a very fair settlement offer and was typical for these types of crashes and injuries. When our client tried to negotiate with the adjuster, they increased their offer to $5,000 and told him that this was their final offer of settlement. They even went as far as sending our client a Release of all Claims to sign. That’s when this client contacted Attorney Pappas.

After Attorney Pappas was hired, he took an aggressive approach to building a strong case supported by evidence. Following thorough negotiations, Attorney Pappas secured a $75,000 settlement for this client. That’s a drastic difference compared to the initial $3,500 offered and even the $5,000 subsequently offered.

This is a great example why accident victims should consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney after being injured in a car accident. Our Framingham car accident attorneys know how to maximize settlements, effectively negotiate on your behalf, and take legal action, if needed. We accept injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that we only get paid if you win. The reports and studies above showed how, even after deducting the average contingency fees for a personal injury lawyer, accident victims still ended up with net proceeds from settlements that were nearly three times higher, on average, than what unrepresented claimants received.

Our Framingham personal injury lawyers are here to take on the burdens and complexities of your injury claim so you can focus on your recovery.