As an injured victim of a hit and run accident, hiring an attorney is crucial to ensure that your rights are protected and that you can fully concentrate on your recovery.
By entrusting your insurance claim or lawsuit to an experienced hit-and-accident attorney, you can have peace of mind knowing that a dedicated legal professional is fighting for your best interests.
While you are allowed to handle your insurance claim on your own, most people find it beneficial to hire an attorney.
With numerous firms to choose from, selecting the right hit-and-run personal injury attorney in Cape Girardeau becomes an important decision in your pursuit of justice.
How Can a Hit and Run Injury Attorney Help You?
Many accident victims choose to hire an attorney for multiple reasons, including:
The Complicated Nature of Hit Hit-and-Runident Cases
When two motorists with insurance collide, they generally exchange information and let insurance companies sort it out. Attorneys can also help, but the process is typically straightforward.
When a hit and run accident happens, the process of seeking compensation can be more complicated. An attorney may need to work with law enforcement to identify the liable motorist; even then, the motorist may lack insurance.
When the insurance and legal processes become complex, many accident victims prefer to have a lawyer leading their cases.
The Bad-Faith Tactics of Insurance Companies
Whether or not authorities identify the liable motorist, you may need to go through insurance companies to get compensation.
Unfortunately, insurers sometimes act in bad faith by:
- Denying claims without just cause
- Delaying claims
- Issuing lowball settlement offers
- Misrepresenting the details of an insurance policy
- Refusing to cover certain accident-related losses
An insurance company will look out for itself. An attorney will look out for you, handling any bad-faith tactics as they fight for your financial recovery.
The Physical and Psychological Demands of Insurance Claims and Lawsuits
Even accident victims who understand insurance claims should hire a hit and run accident lawyer because a claim or lawsuit can:
- Require substantial time
- Demand your attention
- Require physical and cognitive effort
- Prevent you from resting
- Prevent you from receiving regular treatment
Clients often have personal responsibilities that don’t stop because they’re in an accident. You may preserve your health (even diminished health) and protect yourself psychologically by hiring a hit and run accident attorney for your case.
The Benefits That Lawyers and Their Firms Provide
In some sense, hiring an attorney protects you and your case.
However, attorneys can also provide tangible benefits, including:
- Experience: An attorney who has successfully represented hit and run accident victims will understand potential challenges that can arise in your case.
- Financial resources: Your law firm will likely cover the entire financial cost of your hit and run case.
- Guidance: Your attorney will guide you through every aspect of your case. They will rely on their experience and legal training to provide sound, logical advice. This includes whether to accept any settlement offers you receive from liable parties.
- Legal services: Of course, your lawyer will provide several legal services. This includes negotiating a settlement on your behalf.
- Administrative services: Attorneys and paralegals will likely draft paperwork, submit legal documents, lead communications, and manage the other aspects of your legal case.
As you can see, an attorney and their law firm can provide numerous benefits. Once you choose to embrace these benefits by hiring a hit and run accident lawyer, you must then decide which firm to trust with your case.
How Should I Choose a Hit and Run Accident Attorney?
An attorney’s primary mission is to get the money that you deserve. However, you should also expect your lawyer to handle your case with urgency and a personal touch.
To narrow down potential hit-and-run accident attorneys in Cape Girardeau, consider the following:
A Law Firm’s Case Results
Most law firms will publish their most impressive case results. You should consider these results, as case results can be an indicator of a law firm’s effectiveness as negotiators and trial attorneys.
Serious motor vehicle accidents can cost thousands of dollars. Always ensure a law firm is capable of getting substantial financial recoveries before you hire one.
A Law Firm’s Practice Areas
Most personal injury firms handle motor vehicle accident cases.
However, you should consider:
- How many motor vehicle accident victims a law firm has represented
- How much money a law firm has won for motor vehicle accident victims
- Whether a law firm explicitly serves hit and run accident victims
Some law firms prioritize hit and run accident cases. These types of accidents may require more complicated insurance processes, and your legal team may understand how to fight for the money that hit and run victims deserve.
An Attorney’s Client Reviews
Put stock in the words of former clients. While a law firm may publish testimonials on its website, consider reviewing public reviews for a more balanced collection of client evaluations.
Client testimonials may help you understand:
- How a law firm treats its clients
- Whether a law firm is trustworthy
- How a law firm communicates (or doesn’t) with clients
- Which law firm is right for you
Client testimonials are one of several criteria for choosing a hit and run attorney.
The Experience of Your Free Consultation
Personal injury law firms typically provide free consultations. A consultation is usually a phone call with a law firm representative.
During your consultation, you can:
- Explain the circumstances that have led you to call the firm (a hit and run accident)
- Ask questions about the law firm
- Hear information that the law firm’s representative deems important
- Find out how to hire the firm, if you choose to do so
You can gauge the firm’s client service during your consultation. The way that the representative treats you during the talk may be a preview of the firm’s client service for a hit and run accident victim.
How Does an Accident Victim Get Compensation After a Hit and Run Collision?
Motor vehicle accident victims have two primary options for seeking money after their collision:
- An insurance claim
- A lawsuit
Your options for seeking compensation may depend on whether authorities identify the hit and run motorist. If you know who the driver is, you can sue them for damages.
Your insurance policy may cover accident-related losses depending on the state where your accident happened. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can be beneficial when a motorist leaves the accident scene, or that motorist does not have insurance to cover your losses.
Who Must Cover the Cost of My Accident-Related Damages?
Risky motorist behaviors can result in serious accidents. If someone left the scene of your accident, it can indicate that they engaged in risky behavior that makes them liable for your damages.
Motorists are not always liable for an accident, even if they leave the collision scene.
Other parties who can be financially responsible for an accident are:
- Motor vehicle manufacturers: When defective vehicle components cause an accident, the manufacturer may be liable for accident victims’ damages.
- Municipalities: Cities and other government bodies can be legally responsible for unsafe road conditions. These conditions include but are not limited to unsafe roads, defective traffic signals, and fallen signage.
- Employers: An employer may be responsible if their employee causes an accident.
Your legal team will determine who is liable for your damages. Multiple parties can be liable. Whether through insurance claims or lawsuits, we will fight for the financial recovery you deserve.
How an Attorney Can Help With Your Hit and Run Accident Case
A hit and run accident attorney will manage every aspect of your claim or lawsuit. You can trust a law firm to represent your interests from the strategy phase to the final moments of negotiations or trials.
Some of the services we provide hit and run accident victims are:
- Gathering evidence: Your lawyer will secure any evidence, including witness accounts, police reports, and video footage, that benefits your case.
- Completing all paperwork: Your lawyer will draft, proofread, and submit all paperwork related to your claim or lawsuit.
- Communicating with insurers: Insurance companies play a key role in hit and run accident cases, but they act on their own behalf. We will deal with insurance companies so they cannot violate your rights.
- Documenting your damages: Your lawyer will get all medical records, invoices, and other documentation of your damages. This documentation will show the exact types of harm that have resulted from your hit and run accident.
- Calculating your settlement value: Before negotiations begin, an attorney will calculate exactly how much money you are entitled to. The settlement value will include economic damages (like vehicle repairs and medical bills) and non-economic damages (including pain and suffering).
- Negotiating for your settlement: Having an experienced lawyer negotiate your settlement can prove wise. Insurance companies and other liable parties often have experienced negotiators on their side. By retaining your own experienced representative, you may end up with the money you deserve.
- Completing any necessary trial: Most civil cases settle. However, you should ask a law firm explicitly whether it will take your case to trial if doing so is in your best interests.
A law firm’s end-to-end legal services will allow you to focus on your recovery. A capable firm adapts its strategy to the needs of each hit and run accident victim we represent. However, the goal is the same in every case: to get the entire settlement or judgment the client deserves.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Hit and Run Attorney?
Most personal injury law firms use a contingency fee structure.
This structure helps a client, as a contingency fee means:
- The client pays the law firm no upfront fee.
- The law firm pays to hire professionals, conduct an investigation, reconstruct the accident, and complete every other step in the legal process.
- The law firm only receives a fee if they get money for the client.
Personal injury firms generally receive a percentage of the client’s settlement or verdict. This means that, as a client, you’ll never pay your lawyer out of your pocket. Your attorney will aim to get a financial amount that covers all your accident-related damages even after accounting for attorney’s fees.
What Types of Damages Can I Get for a Hit and Run Accident?
Each hit and run accident victim has different damages totaling different financial amounts.
Some of the common damages among hit and run accident victims are:
- Medical bills
- The cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle
- Lost income
- Lost earning power
- Temporary transportation expenses
- Pain and suffering
One of your attorney’s duties will be calculating all your accident-related damages. These high costs can further increase if you suffered significant injuries during your hit and run accident.
What if Law Enforcement Officers Do Not Find the Motorist Who Caused the Hit and Run Accident?
You may not sue the at-fault driver if law enforcement officials do not identify them. However, you may still deserve money through an insurance claim. You may have other options for seeking compensation, and a lawyer will explain those options to you.
All is not lost if the hit and run motorist is not found.
Can I Seek Money for My Hit and Run Accident Without a Lawyer Helping Me?
While you can handle your own insurance claim or lawsuit, hit and run accident victims hire lawyers for several good reasons.
Without a lawyer, you may:
- Find the many responsibilities of a claim or lawsuit overwhelm you
- Suffer health issues because of the demands of your claim or lawsuit
- Fail to negotiate the settlement you deserve
- Pay a direct financial cost to complete your case
Hiring a lawyer gives you legal services, financial support, and the freedom to focus on your recovery.
Contact a Cape Girardeau Law Firm Near You to Seek Compensation for a Hit and Run Accident
Car Accident Attorney, Phillip J. Barkett
Never assume you cannot obtain compensation if a driver flees the scene of a crash.
With the help of the right Cape Girardeau car accident lawyer, you can discover all possible options for financial recovery.
Whether you seek compensation from uninsured motorist coverage or they find the driver, you need legal help.