Another Driver Rear-Ended Me. Do I Need to Get a Lawyer?

Maybe yes, but maybe not. We get a lot of calls from people who have been in car wrecks, but who don’t necessarily need a lawyer. What they need is some guidance about what they should do next, how their medical bills should get paid, and how they should go about deciding whether to get a lawyer. We are all about saving people money.  So if we hear about your case and think it’s something you can handle on your own, we will tell you so and give you advice about how to do it.

Free Consultations and Guidance from Lawyers

Most lawyers who handle accident claims will gladly talk to you for free and help you figure out whether your case is serious enough to spend the money they would charge to represent you. So go ahead and call a lawyer to get some basic advice and then you decide. You may need to call several times, since at first you may not know how seriously you were injured, or how long you will be out of work.

When You May Not Need a Lawyer After an Accident

For example, John called me a few weeks ago. Another driver had turned in front of him, damaging his truck and injuring his neck. He did not think he was all that injured at the scene so he drove himself home. Within two days he was pretty sore and was having a hard time moving around. He went to his doctor, and was ordered to rest for a week. He was given some muscle relaxers. After that he worked light duty at his regular pay for several more weeks. He also went to the chiropractor a few times and that made him feel better.

John wasn’t sure if he needed a lawyer, but his friends said he did. We listened to John’s story and thought he would be fine handling his personal injury claim on his own. We told him to pay for his medical bills with his health insurance. We checked over his medical payments insurance coverage and explained how to claim the payment. We checked to make sure his truck was repaired, and explained how he could ask for compensation for his personal injury after he was all healed.

When John is completely healed, he can call us again before presenting his claim to the insurance adjuster and we encouraged him to do that.

When You Need to Call a Lawyer After an Auto Accident

Of course not all cases are simple like John’s. If, for example, your injuries are significant, if your medical bills are high, if you were hit by a drunk driver, or if the insurance company for the driver who caused the wreck refuses to take responsibility, then you likely do need an Durham car accident attorney, and if you call us about that kind of case, we aren’t going to say, go handle it on your own.

So if you are in a wreck, feel free to call a lawyer to consult about it. You will likely get some helpful advice that will help you make better decisions for yourself and your family.