5 Ways Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You During Your Car Accident Lawsuit

Few people feel good about personal injury lawyer retention. If you contact this attorney variety, it probably means someone hit your vehicle. Maybe they severely injured you, and you’re trying to put your life back together.

Hiring yourself a personal injury attorney is one of the first and most vital things you should do. They can help you out in many ways during this time, including some that might not occur to you at first.

Let’s go over some ways your attorney can get you through this difficult period.

They Can Appear in Court for You

California personal injury attorneys often talk about how devastating car accidents can be. They may have to represent clients who are dealing with full-blown PTSD or crippling physical injuries. Perhaps you’re pursuing a lawsuit, but you cannot appear in court.

That could be because:

• You’re in the hospital, recuperating
• You’re in too much pain to appear in-person

If the crash was bad enough, you could be in a full-body cast. You want the trial to move forward, though, because you need the money to pay for medical bills.

A lawyer can definitely appear in court for you, even if you’re not able to be there yourself. Some apps allow you to be there on a laptop to witness the proceedings. You can still consult with your lawyer and hear and see everything that’s going on.

If you trust your lawyer, this might be a suitable action to take, rather than waiting for multiple months while you heal. If you have many medical bills piling up, you cannot wait that long.

Your Lawyer Can Hire Investigators

Many times, if you bring a civil case, the other driver’s lawyer will try to discredit you. It’s a typical tactic they use to sway the jury and get them to either dismiss the lawsuit or knock the settlement amount down. They might say that:

• You’re partially responsible for the crash
• You omitted or changed crucial details

Your lawyer can hire investigators to gather evidence that can back up your story version. They can get the police report or locate car crash footage. They might find traffic cam or nearby store camera footage that shows what happened.

Sometimes, these lawyers will have investigators on retainer. If you use a larger, better-known firm, this often happens. That’s why you may want to get a personal injury lawyer who only handles this particular lawsuit type.   

Your Lawyer Can Produce Witnesses

Maybe you also need some witnesses who can back up what you say happened. Those might include the

responding police officers, other drivers, pedestrians, etc.

If you’re hurt and still recovering, you probably don’t want to spend your time trying to track these witnesses down. You also don’t know how the whole subpoena process works.

Your personal injury lawyer can do all that for you. That’s part of why you pay them: to locate witnesses you need and compel them to appear.

They’re a Sympathetic Ear

If the other driver hurt you badly, this is probably a hard time for you. You may battle depression. You might have to see a therapist and go on antidepressant medication.

You might feel like most people in your life don’t understand your plight. Hopefully, your family can help you right now, but they have their own lives going on as well.

The lawyer you hire is someone who you’re paying to help you, and while they’re providing legal counsel, they often offer emotional support as well. You might need their help just to drag yourself out of bed to face the next trial day.

Sometimes these lawsuits can drag on, and you might want to give up. Your lawyer can encourage you to press on and not give in if you experience an unexpected setback.

They Can Advise You When to Settle

At some point, the opposing counsel might see that you have a solid case. They might tell the other driver to try and settle, and they may agree. If so, the other driver’s lawyer could suggest a number that’s much too low for you to take.

Your lawyer can tell you whether to take the offer or to keep the trial going. They can usually negotiate a better deal for you. They can cite similar cases and settlement amounts. You couldn't do that on your own.

You simply must have a competent lawyer if you’re going to get the money you deserve.