Why Hire An Attorney?

The first thing you need to know is that, for a personal injury case, you do not need to hire an attorney at all. An affected party may choose to pursue recovery on their own, and sometimes they can be successful. Most of the time, however, the affected party encounters a difficult system of billing, medical records requests, difficult insurance agents, and long processes which may ultimately prompt the plaintiff to seek help. Throughout my own experiences, I have seen insurance agents insult and completely ignore plaintiffs who are in need of help and solutions to fix their vehicles or get reimbursed for medical expenses. It seems as though they have a different approach to a case when they know the person does not have representation: push the case as fast as possible, rush the client, and belittle their claim to make the plaintiff feel as though their case is small or unimportant, and that taking any settlement right away is in their best interest. An attorney can make such a difference in a case that the insurance company may even replace the original adjuster who was working on the case to a new, more senior-level adjuster as soon as the letter of representation is received.

        What a potential client/plaintiff may not know is what the law entitles them to recover. For example, lost wages, pain and suffering, among others. And while many times the latter makes a significant impact in a client’s recovery, that is not where a personal injury case ends. After an attorney successfully settles a case, he/she needs to distribute those funds to the corresponding medical providers. And this is the part where things get difficult, because, who doesn’t like money?

        Every provider who has a right to get reimbursed wants to get as much as possible from the settlement. If they notice a client is not being represented, they may even try to collect the money behind the client’s back through a tool called “assignment of benefits”. This tool is typically bundled into the intake documents every patient must fill out during an intake appointment, and many clients do no read or simply do not understand what the paper is stating. With the document signed by the patient, the provider can submit any charges directly to the client’s insurance or even the responsible party’s insurance and collect as much of the settlement as the insurance agency may give them. And while medical providers should be able to recover payment for the services provided, they should only recover a fair amount, that is, not an inflated amount. An attorney, like a personal injury lawyer Arlington TX trusts, can act as a “watchdog” in making sure providers are not attempting to collect behind a client’s back or overcharging for their services, and ultimately maximizing the recovery on behalf of the client. What does this mean? It means that hiring an attorney can help you keep more of your own settlement, as opposed to the providers.

        Another great benefit that hiring an attorney can have is enjoying medical help without any cost to the patient. There are many routes a patient can take to receive medical treatment after an injury, such as Health Insurance, out of pocket payments, or using Personal Injury protection plans, but sometimes, clients do not have that option. Throughout their careers, many attorneys get an opportunity to work with a diverse group of medical providers and doctors, and they get to communicate with them and analyze their work product. As such, it is inevitable that attorneys and providers interact on a daily basis. Also remember that attorneys may need medical providers to testify at a jury trial, which ultimately means that an attorney and doctor must act as colleagues if they are going to succeed. Overtime, this creates a professional bond in which the attorney understands and accepts the work ethic of the doctor or medical provider, and in turn, the medical provider recognizes certain attorneys who work hard and tirelessly to obtain winning settlements for their clients. As such, these two professionals may agree to enter into an agreement in which the medical provider treats clients free of charge as long as the attorney sends a “Letter of Protection”. This letter states that the attorney agrees to pay back a fair amount for the services provided if the case reaches a settlement. This means the medical provider can rest assured that if the insurance company agrees to indemnify the injured party, they will be paid for their help and time.

Thanks to our friends and contributors from Brandy Austin Law Firm PLLC for their insight into why one may want to hire an attorney.