What do Personal Injury Lawyers Do?

Personal injury lawyers are attorneys who dedicate their work to helping people who have been injured.  The most common kinds of cases they work on are car accident cases, but they can also help victims of dog bites, workplace accidents, slip and fall accidents, defective medical devices and more.  Some personal injury lawyers will choose to focus their practice on just one of these areas, while many work with with victims of any kind of injury.

Personal injury lawyers help their clients in three distinct ways:

• Leveling the playing field with the insurance company by providing professional legal advice
• Increasing the amount of money you get for your claim
• Helping you get the right care & the best possible recovery

Many personal injury lawyers refuse to accept any payment unless they win money for you.  Typically, they are paid only out of the financial settlement or verdict that they get you—if you don’t win money, you owe nothing. 

How do Personal Injury Lawyers Level the Playing Field?

When you have any kind of injury claim, there is typically an insurance company on the other side.  This puts you at a disadvantage, because:

• Insurance companies have a large legal department working against you. 
• Their incentive is not to help you.  It’s to pay you the least money possible. 

They will use the law against you and find ways to minimize or avoid paying you.  This can include legal loopholes, questionable interpretation of the event that caused your injury, or twisting your own words against you.  If you are not a trained lawyer, it’s very hard to file the right documents to fight them—or even, in some cases, to know what evidence will help you most. 

But the equation changes when you have a lawyer of your own.  Your lawyer is your advocate, using the law to help you get the largest financial recovery possible.  They understand the tactics the insurer uses, and how to fight them.  In many cases, simply having a lawyer immediately changes the way you are treated by the insurance company. 

Does Having a Personal Injury Lawyer Mean I Will Win More Money?

In some cases it may not, but in many cases it will.  This is for several reasons:

• Your lawyer knows how to counter the tactics used by the insurance company—and put them on the defensive
• With a lawyer, you can back up your threat to file a lawsuit if the insurance company will not negotiate
• Personal injury lawyers maximize the amount you get for “pain and suffering”

This last point is major.  Much of the money you win, after all, is meant to reimburse your out-of-pocket costs—if you have $10,000 in hospital bills, you could recover $10,000.  But pain and suffering is money paid for intangible losses.  If your injury has had a profound impact on your life, or put you through a miserable experience, the amount of money you can win as compensation is highly subjective.  Normally insurance companies offer very little for pain and suffering, but with a lawyer on your side you can win substantially more. 

How do Personal Injury Lawyers Help Victims Recover?

One of the biggest mistakes injury victims make is to keep doctor visits to a minimum, and rush to collect insurance money.  This comes with two problems:

1. Many injuries have unexpected side effects or long-term consequences that can’t be immediately diagnosed
2. If you agree to an insurance offer too soon, you may later discover that it doesn’t cover all of your expenses

A good lawyer will counsel patience.  They will help you get in front of a specialist who understands your specific type of injury—and they will help you afford it if you don’t have insurance to cover it.  They will also help you through the months it takes to see if treatment is working and that you are truly recovering.  Then, when they go on to negotiate an offer with the insurance company, you know it’s for the full amount you need.  The result if that you are more likely to recover to the best possible health, and also get all your care paid for.

Have you been injured?  John Foy & Associates offers a free consultation with some of the most experienced and respected personal injury lawyers in Georgia. Fill out the form to your right or call us at 404-400-4000 to get your FREE consultation today.