With mounting medical bills, damaged or destroyed property, and a host of injuries, the days following a personal injury are a stressful time. Pursuing fair compensation after an accident is just one more thing to deal with. Hiring a personal injury attorney is the best solution to getting expert help, and having your personal injury claim successfully taken care of.

The following are the benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney.

An Advantage Over the Insurance Companies

Hiring a personal injury attorney gives you an advantage over the insurance companies. Insurance companies provide necessary services to their clients, but the bottom line is they want to save money. When a claim is brought against one of their clients, they often set pitfalls with the goal of minimizing or eliminating the compensation the accident victim receives. Those pitfalls include:

  • Making quick, low settlement offers
  • Asking for a recorded statement
  • Slow or nonexistent communication

If the insurance company can get you to accept a quick, low settlement offer, the case is closed and there is no going back for more compensation. That is true even if you end up having more medical bills, or other expenses than were initially apparent. If in a recorded statement they can get you to say something, true or not, that puts some or all of the fault on you for causing the accident, it will be almost impossible for you to get full and fair compensation. Finally, by being slow to answer calls or avoiding them completely, the insurance company hopes to frustrate the victim, making them more likely to accept a low offer when it finally comes.

The reality is that most people simply aren’t equipped to handle these legal pitfalls on their own. At Craig Swapp & Associates our attorneys have combined years and years of experience dealing with insurance companies, including navigating their pitfalls. With expert-level knowledge of personal injury law, hiring an experienced personal injury attorney gives you an advantage over the insurance companies.

Fair Compensation

The central issue of any personal injury claim is fair compensation. If you’ve been injured in an accident because of the negligence of someone else, you deserve full compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered. Accidents, however, usually cause damage in a variety of other ways as well. At Craig Swapp & Associates our attorneys fight for the following:

  • All medical bills associated with the accident
  • The repair or replacement of damaged property
  • Ongoing physical therapy or emotional therapy related to the accident
  • Pain and suffering
  • A loss of quality of life
  • Wages lost due to time missed from work
  • And more depending on the specifics of the case

There are compensable items that are easy to put a number on, like medical bills. Other things like pain and suffering are more difficult. An experienced attorney can figure out exactly how an accident has impacted your life and then fight for fair compensation for all of the damages the accident caused, not just the hard costs like medical bills.

It Costs Nothing Out of Pocket

The majority of personal injury attorneys get paid by what is called a contingency fee. A contingency fee means that the attorneys pay is contingent on the final settlement offer they reach for their client. In other words, they don’t get paid until you do, and their pay comes directly out of the final settlement amount and not out of your pocket.

The way it works is the attorney determines what compensable items are involved in your damages and suffering (medical bills, lost wages, etc.). Then they begin to negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company until they either reach a fair settlement amount for the client, or they file a lawsuit in order to win the fair compensation.

At Craig Swapp & Associates (and the majority of personal injury law firms) the contingency fee is 33.3%. That means if the final settlement offer a personal injury attorney reaches for the client is $10,000.00 the attorney takes $3,333.33 as their pay. Contingency fees motivate the attorney to fight for the maximum compensation possible because the more you receive the more they do too.

If for any reason we decide we cannot successfully settle your case, you don’t owe us anything at all. If that is the case, we’ll quickly let you know and are happy to provide you with a referral to a law firm or attorney that may be better suited to help you.

You truly have nothing to lose by giving us a call after being injured in an accident. Call us today at 1-800-404-9000 to schedule a completely free consultation with our specialists.

Peace of Mind

Dealing with a personal injury claim on your own can be a confusing, time consuming, and anxiety-ridden process. A personal injury attorney can provide you with peace of mind, by taking care of the case for you. At Craig Swapp & Associates our experienced attorneys:

  • Manage all communications with the at-fault insurance company on your behalf
  • Refer you to experienced healthcare professionals if necessary
  • Answer any questions you have about your case at any time
  • Work tirelessly to maximize your total compensation

Having peace of mind during the personal injury claim process is an invaluable asset that a personal injury attorney can provide. While you focus on healing, our job is to take care of everything else.

A Knowledgeable Source

As in most things, experience is essential to be successful in the field of personal injury law. Our attorneys have helped thousands of clients with a myriad of different personal injury claims. We have experience in:

  • Car accidents
  • Truck accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Slip-and-fall accidents
  • Dog bites
  • Product liability
  • Medical malpractice
  • Premise liability
  • Death caused by negligence

With all of that experience, we are ready to answer any questions you might have and fight for fair compensation no matter the unique circumstances of your case.

Excellent Communication

It’s easy to feel out of the loop when dealing with a personal injury claim. There can be long periods of waiting for updates from the insurance companies. When you hire a personal injury attorney, you have someone always at the ready to provide you with excellent communication.

After you give the experienced personal injury attorneys of Craig Swapp & Associates a call you’ll meet with one of our specialists. At that meeting (by phone, in-person, at our office, or your home) our specialist will provide you with the contact information for the attorney who will be over your case. Soon after that meeting, you’ll get a call from your attorney, to introduce themselves and explain what they initially think about your case.

Along with your attorney, there will be a case manager assigned to you. The case manager is your first point of communication. They’ll update you on where the case is periodically and answer any questions that you have. 

At Craig Swapp & Associates we believe in clear, open, and frequent communication with our clients. An experienced personal injury attorney should provide the excellent communication required to give you peace of mind as we work together through your personal injury claim.

Negotiation, Lawsuit, Mediation, Arbitration, and Trial

An experienced personal injury attorney fights for fair compensation, including if the case goes further than negotiation.

At first, a personal injury attorney tries to negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance company. If that fails the next option is to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. Lawsuits can be settled a variety of ways, including mediation or arbitration. In mediation, both parties (and their attorneys) meet together and a mediator comes in to help a settlement to be reached. If a mediation is unsuccessful or isn’t an option the next step is arbitration. Arbitration is like a “mini-trial” where both parties and their attorneys are present and an arbitrator acts as a judge. The arbitrator listens to both sides and then decides on a fair settlement amount.

Finally, if negotiation and mediation aren’t successful the case can be brought before a jury and the jury decides the outcome.

An experienced attorney has the ability to take the case through whatever legal channel is necessary to reach a fair settlement. This is something that an average person simply cannot successfully do on their own.

You Decide when to Accept the Settlement

At Craig Swapp & Associates our attorneys provide the work and guidance to your personal injury case, but ultimately it is your choice when to settle. This gives you power over your settlement. If we haven’t reached a number that looks fair to you, then we’ll continue negotiating, or take the next legal steps required to reach the settlement you deserve.

Get in Touch

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, our experienced attorneys are ready and eager to help you. Give us a call at 1-800-404-9000 or fill out the online form at the bottom of this page. You can also check out more information at www.craigswapp.com or by visiting us on Facebook.

There is no need to fight this fight alone. Get the benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney by getting in touch today.

Written By: Ryan Swapp     Legal Review By: Craig Swapp