Five Overlooked Benefits of Having an Attorney Handle Your Injury Claim

Most people know that it’s wise to have an attorney handle insurance claims, especially if there is any dispute over liability or the extent of your injuries. For most people, however, they consider attorneys helpful because they may be better at getting sizeable compensation and because they take a lot of the stress off of the recovering victim. However, there are other benefits of having an attorney that many people completely overlook when deciding whether to hire a lawyer for their insurance claim.

Here are five often overlooked benefits to letting a Clearwater injury lawyer help with your case.

1 – Never Underestimate the Benefit of a Middle Man 

When an insurance company asks for initial information about a car accident or other form of injury, if you are unrepresented, you will be directly speaking to an adjuster and answering questions. Often you are giving your account of the event before the insurance company has even spoken to their own insured. This gives them the advantage of calculating and even fabricating a story to contradict yours. Having someone between you and the insurance company creates a buffer. Your attorney can provide a broad overview of the collision but protect you from having to make statements until it’s appropriate to do so.

2 – Protecting Subrogation Interests 

Subrogation is a complex process, but in general it just means “to step into the position of someone else.” Say your health insurance pays for part of your medical bills after a serious injury. Chances are, your health plan will assert a lien for its payments. This means they have a right to be paid back from your case. Failure to do so could result in the loss of health insurance and a huge bill that you did not expect after settling your case. Attorneys can calculate and protect these interests, while minimizing their impact on your recovery.

3 – Gathering Complete Medical Evidence 

In today’s U.S. healthcare system, most hospital visits do not result in a single bill. Instead, a single trip to the hospital will usually generate at least 3 or 4 separate invoices from completely distinct entities. There will be a separate set of records and medical bills from:

• The hospital
• The radiologist
• The physician and his or her practice group
• Other specialists who saw you
• Anesthesia services (if applicable)
• Pharmacy (often an in-house pharmaceutical supplier)

By hiring an attorney, you ensure that nothing is overlooked that could leave you with large unpaid bills after the case.

4 – Setting Up the Case for Court 

Even if you are 99% sure your case will settle, can you be completely sure? What happens if the insurance company reneges on a deal or refuses to pay? If you’ve been handling your case alone, chances are you have not been taking the necessary steps to set the case up for trial. This could mean losing valuable evidence, not protecting admissibility of witness statements, and so forth.

5 – Uninsured Motorist Rights 

When you file a claim with your insurance company for uninsured motorist benefits (when an uninsured driver causes the crash), you may have several key contractual requirements that must be met. For instance, you could lose your right to be compensated if you fail to meet certain contract terms set forth by your insurance company. And they may not always let you know.

Call Roman & Roman, P.A. Today 

If you need help with an injury claim – whether it’s a car accident, slip and fall, or some other form of injury – call the Clearwater office of Roman & Roman, P.A., which has been protecting injury victims throughout the Tampa Bay area since 1985. Calls are confidential, and all consultations are free.

Resource:

nytimes.com/2016/11/17/upshot/first-comes-the-emergency-then-comes-the-surprise-out-of-network-bill.html