If you decide to settle accident claims on your own, you may miscalculate your total damages, fall into one of the insurance company’s traps, accept a lower settlement, and say or do things that can be used against you.
So, can you settle a car accident without a lawyer?” Yes, if your case involves minor damages and if there are no legal complexities.
However, if the case gets too complicated, you need legal help. A personal injury lawyer can guide you on your legal deadlines and nuances in your case that are hard to understand.
You May Undervalue Your Claim’s Worth
Most people have this idea that only medical bills are taken into account when it comes to calculating their damages. Sometimes you may even undermine your own imminent losses in the future.
Common things you may overlook include
- Miscalculating or not being fully aware of how to calculate lost wages or loss of your earning capacity
- Not knowing the full potential of your intangible losses, like how much trauma, PTSD, depression, loss of consortium, and enjoyment the accident has led to
- In most cases, you may not even know the hidden triggers for your PTSD and deep psychological scars the accident has left, which can be covered in your claim.
- Calculating your future medical costs, like lifelong therapy if it’s necessary, physiotherapy, and further surgeries
- Whether you’re eligible for punitive damages
- Calculating property damages if your vehicle is damaged in the accident
If you miss even any of these aforementioned factors, you will end up paying for expenses from your own pocket.
Falling for Insurance Company’s Tactics
Insurers seem friendly at first, and they may act empathetic to make you think they resonate with your feelings, but they don’t actually care about you. They are only faithful to their company, and their job is to minimize your payout as much as possible.
If you’re naïve, you will easily fall into their traps. Their common tactics include
- Insurers persuade you into settling the claim as early as possible by exploiting your vulnerable situation.
- You may think it pays ongoing bills, so why not accept, but remember it won’t cover the future bills.
- They ask you to give a recorded statement as part of their “protocol,” but you’re not legally required to do this.
- They want to find inconsistencies in your statement that can be used against you.
- They may pressure you into accepting lower payouts by accusing you of being partially liable for the accident.
- They intentionally slow down the process, annoy you with poor communication, and ask for unnecessary documents so you accept their offer.
You have to successfully dodge these tactics and negotiate properly with solid evidence to secure your full compensation.
Lack of Professional Legal Help Leads to Avoidable Mistakes
Even tiny innocent mistakes can turn against you. You probably do or say something you think is nothing, but you can be dead wrong.
Once you get into an accident, your legal journey for compensation starts there. You have to be neutral with your answers. Common mistakes can be
- Apologizing to the opposite party even though you weren’t at fault
- Overexplaining things to police and insurers
- Posting yourself on social media where you’re seemingly smiling or suggesting that you’re well (you better avoid social media).
The Legal Deadline Issue
You have a legal window of time to file most legal claims. If you miss this window, you entirely lose your claim.
In your worst-case scenario, if a government entity is involved in your accident, you have to face sovereign immunity, and you have a very short deadline to file the claim.
When Should You Hire an Attorney?
It’s possible to handle cases with minor damage by yourself, but you should consult a lawyer if
- You have severe and long-term injuries that require prolonged treatment.
- The insurance company is being shady or stalling your claim.
- The liability is disputed.
- A government authority or property is involved in the accident
- The settlement offer doesn’t cover medical bills and lost wages.
Key Takeaways
- You may not know how much your claim is fully worth by miscalculating or failing to calculate future damages.
- You may not be prepared for the insurance company’s attacks and strategies to make you accept lower payouts.
- Without legal help, you sometimes let out words that may seem innocent at first, but later they’ll be used against you.
- In personal injury case settlements, you have a legal deadline to file your claim. If you miss the deadline, you lose the case.
- If the case gets too complicated or too overwhelming for you to handle, consult a car accident lawyer.
