The Role of an Accident Lawyer

Effective Accident Attorneys Serving Clients in Kennewick

john bill timAn accident can cause a serious financial strain on you and your loved ones. You will have hefty medical bills that need to be sorted out and may lose your income because of the hours you stay away from work. Accident victims go through pain and suffering after going through such a horrifying ordeal. An accident lawyer can help you continue with your life by making sure the individual or people responsible pay for their negligent actions.

Hames, Anderson, Whitlow & O’Leary, P.S., are Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland accident lawyers you can trust and are committed to aggressive and efficient representation of clients in all legal matters.

For a no-obligation consultation:

Call Now at 509-586-7797

When do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer?

Accident lawyers represent victims of various forms of accidents. It can be a car accident that was caused by a driver’s negligence. The other common cases involve medical malpractice. When professionals in the medical field do not practice maximum care when handling patients, they can be charged with negligence. Victims of accidents that involve any form of recklessness can also make good use of an accident lawyer.

The Importance of Legal Representation When an Accident Occurs

To start with, accident lawyers will protect victims from receiving unfair settlements. If you are a victim of any form of accident, always contact your lawyer before agreeing to any settlements with a third party.

In most cases, insurance companies of the victim will try and pay off the least amount possible immediately after the accident occurs and take advantage of your lack of legal representation. Always have your lawyer by your side when negotiating with anyone who wants to offer any form of settlement.

Secondly, accident lawyers will educate their clients on their rights and privileges. Victims of accidents fail to recover the damages they deserve simply because of lack of information. For instance, most people do not know that they can still claim for things which cannot be quantified like pain and suffering. Victims can also recover lost wages and not just medical expenses.

How an Accident Lawyer Helps Victims

Going through an accident is never easy. In some cases, accidents change your life forever. A lawyer will help you to recover financially so that you are still able to fend for yourself and your loved ones, however, you must choose a credible lawyer who is more interested in the well being of their client rather than making huge financial gains.

Accident lawyers will also relieve the burden of handling legal cases when you need time to recover, physically and emotionally. Accident victims do not have the energy and time to attend meetings with other parties, gather documents that would act as supporting evidence and collect witness statements. Lawyers will dedicate their time to handle all legal issues pertaining to your case. The good thing is you can get a lawyer who charges on a contingency basis and offers very flexible fees so it does not have to be very costly.

Sending a Signal to the Insurance Company

Simply letting the other side know that you mean business often starts to turn the tide, especially when you’re dealing with insurance companies or giant corporations.

While the defendant is unlikely to roll over and give you everything you want the second you hire a law firm, hiring a lawyer can cause them to begin negotiating more fairly. After all, they don’t want to go to court and lose — so if you have an experienced and effective accident law firm on your side, they can make the case to the insurers that giving you a fair settlement is truly in their best interest too.

Accident Attorneys Can Often Find Additional Sources of Compensation

While many lawsuits involve a single plaintiff and a single defendant, it isn’t uncommon for multiple parties to share in the liability for your claim. You might not even realize they exist or that they owed you a legal duty, but if they do, it is your lawyer’s job to find out.

As Tri-Cities accident lawyers, our goal is always to maximize the dollar amount of our clients’ recoveries.

There are a few ways we can do that:

  • Identifying additional defendants or responsible parties
  • Making claims against your own insurance companies in addition to the defendant’s (when appropriate)
  • Seeking benefits or compensation from the government when available
  • Negotiating favorable out-of-court settlements so that you won’t have big court fees to deduct from a verdict when all is said and done
  • Seeking compensation for damages you might not have known about, such as emotional distress damages (or in some cases, punitive damages)

Every case is different, so the sources of compensation won’t always be the same. These are only examples of the strategies we might pursue to get our clients more money. Depending on the situation, the law may offer multiple avenues for us to pursue.

But in any case, this fact remains: one of the key roles of an accident lawyer is to get you the best possible outcome for your claim.

What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Actually Do for Accident Victims?

Television makes the life of a lawyer look extremely intriguing and dramatic, and sometimes it can be. But much of what an accident lawyer does for you might actually seem quite boring to someone who doesn’t practice law.

Indeed, one of the most important things we can do for you as lawyers is simply to tend to the things you don’t want to tend to yourself (or for which you might easily make errors when attempting to handle on your own).

As your lawyer, we can take care of things like:

  • Investigating the cause and circumstances of your accident
  • Consulting with investigators, police officers, medical professionals, eyewitnesses, and expert witnesses
  • Meeting with other lawyers and advisors to strategize your case
  • Making phone calls to insurance companies, car manufacturers, and other common defendants
  • Researching similar cases from the past within your same jurisdiction
  • Keeping track of filing deadlines and turning in paperwork on time
  • Drafting demand letters, complaints, pleas, motions, interrogatories, and other litigation documents
  • Deposing witnesses
  • And much more

Of course, above all else, it is essential that your lawyer be someone you can turn to for honest, sound, and reliable advice. Legal matters can be complex, and the requirements of the law aren’t always clear. But when you hire a law firm, the attorneys stand on your side and act exclusively in your best interest. Getting wise advice from people who know the law and understand how to win can make all the difference.  

Talk to Our Dedicated Washington Car Accident Law Team Today

At Hames, Anderson, Whitlow & O’Leary, P.S., we’re here to help! We are committed to providing quality legal services to individuals, businesses and institutions. All of our clients receive personal attention from our car accident attorneys and from our experienced and dedicated staff. We strive to represent each client in a way that will match their goals and resources.

For a no-obligation consultation:

Call Now at 509-586-7797

We are Tri-Cities accident lawyers that practice in all courts and before most agencies in the states of Washington and Oregon including Richland, Pasco, Kennewick, Hermiston, Benton City, Prosser, Grandview, Sunnyside, Finley, Burbank, Walla Walla, Desert Aire, Mattawa, and Othello.