If you are driving your vehicle and get into an accident there are several things you should do
. First you should assess if you or anyone else at the scene is injured. You should look at your vehicle and any other vehicle or property that was damaged in order to determine the extent of damage. You should exchange insurance and contact information with all who are involved in the accident and you may need to file a road traffic accident claim. It is also often beneficial to get contact information from any independent witness of the accident who were not directly involved in it, in case there is a dispute.
Should you hire an attorney?
Whether or not you should hire an attorney to help file your road traffic accident claim is dependent on several factors. If you are not at fault and have sustained substantial damage to your vehicle or injury then you may want to consider hiring an attorney to make sure you get the best possible settlement. This is especially true if the cause of the accident was due to negligence on the other person's part such as driving while intoxicated or driving recklessly. You need to be compensated for your accident and injury so you do not have to pay for repair or medical bills when it was not your fault.
What will an attorney do to help with your accident claim?
Many times insurance companies will delay payment or try to get you to settle for less than what you deserve. For them it is beneficial to settle quickly. For you, though, it may not be the right thing to do because you will sign away any right to additional money even if you discover later that the settlement did not fully cover your expenses. The attorney will help you by protecting your interests. If the insurance company tries stall tactics to delay payment, the attorney can help move the process along faster. If they attempt a settlement the attorney will analyse the offer to determine if it is fair or not. They will consider the fair market value of any property that was damaged and they will also consider existing and future medical expenses you may require.
How much will hiring an attorney cost you?
If you are offered a settlement from the insurance company you may realise that it would be wise to hire an attorney to review it before settling but may not feel you can afford it. So, you go ahead and take the settlement offer only to find that you ran out of money and still need medical care or you spent all the money repairing your vehicle and you still have out of pocket expenses in order to get your vehicle up and running again. Instead of wondering if you can afford an attorney consider if you can afford not to. If the accident is significant there is also a very good chance an attorney will take your case on a no win no fee basis. The attorney will get a percentage of the settlement only if you win the case.