When Should You Contact an Attorney after You've Been Seriously Injured?

Injuries are a part of life. Just as you were bound to get a few bumps and bruises as a kid, you’re likely to sustain a few injuries as an adult too. Oftentimes, these injuries are caused by simple accidents, and the only thing you can do is try to move forward with your recovery. In other cases, however, your injury may warrant contacting a personal injury attorney. How do you know whether or not you should call an attorney regarding a recent injury? Here are a few key indicators to look for.

Your Injury Was Caused by Someone Else

Liability is arguably the most important thing to address when you’re trying to decide whether or not to contact an attorney. If your injury was caused by a simple accident that nobody could truly be blamed for, or if your own actions led to your injury, then you probably don’t need to contact an attorney. In situations like these, nobody else is liable for the injury, so there’s not much a personal injury attorney can do for you in terms of pursuing compensation.

If, however, you feel that another person or party was directly responsible for your injuries, then it’s likely a good idea to reach out to an attorney to discuss pursuing a personal injury case. When other people’s actions or negligence cause harm, they should be held liable for the injuries they cause. In some cases, there may be more than one party held responsible for your injuries; we can help you identify all parties that could be liable in your case.

Your Injuries Were Serious

While it is possible to pursue a personal injury claim for relatively minor injuries, it’s usually not worth the time, effort, and cost of a pursuing a case against the liable party. If you slip on a wet floor at a store, and there was no sign indicating that the floor was wet, the store could be held liable. (This is known as premises liability.) However, if your fall only causes you to bruise your hands and knees, you’re likely equipped to handle that situation on your own. On the other hand, if your fall causes you to break your wrist, injure your back, or suffer a concussion, those injuries are severe enough that you should consider working with an attorney.

Minor injuries don’t typically warrant a personal injury case because they don’t usually cause measurable or meaningful losses to the victim. Serious injuries, on the other hand, will often leave victims with prolonged pain, high medical bills, loss of income due to missed work, and even long-term therapy for their injuries. All of these can have a serious impact on your finances, and the injury itself can impact your daily life for a long period of time. These are clear, measurable losses that can be proven in a court of law.

You’ve Tried Working with the Liable Party

Generally speaking, it’s best to have an attorney involved with your personal injury case sooner, rather than later. However, we recognize that many people will try to handle receiving compensation on their own first. Even after a serious injury, and even when it’s clear that another party is liable, most people don’t want to immediately contact an attorney. You might view this as “escalating” the situation, when you hope to handle it on a more personal basis. But if you’ve already attempted to speak with the person or company responsible for your injury—or, more likely, if you’ve tried filing a claim with the responsible party’s insurance—and they refuse to adequately compensate you for your injuries, it’s time to hand the reins to one of our personal injury attorneys.

The majority of personal injury cases go through an insurance company: the liable driver’s auto insurance, a company’s liability insurance, and so on. Insurance companies are, first and foremost, businesses, and that means that their primary goal is to keep expenses to a minimum. These companies will attempt to minimize your payout by any means they can manage, and it’s important that you not allow yourself to be taken advantage of.

It’s Time to Contact an Attorney

If you were injured by another person or party, suffered injuries serious enough to cause measurable losses, and you’ve already tried to work with the party yourself, then it’s definitely time to contact one of our attorneys. Call The Harr Law Firm today to schedule a consultation regarding your personal injury case.