Find immediate answers to the questions you most likely have.

Q: Do I need a personal injury lawyer?

A: Not always. It depends on a number of factors, including the type of claim that you are making.

If you have a property damage claim only, you may be able to resolve issues with the other driver's insurance company without a lawyer. There tends to be a fairly established market value for a vehicle and it is not too difficult to establish the amount of the loss. If you are having difficulties on a property damage claim, or have any questions about this type of claim, contact a lawyer. If your claim also involves personal injury, see the paragraph on bodily injury below.

If you are injured through the fault of someone else you may have a bodily injury claim. For this type of claim a lawyer generally is needed. There is no set schedule or formula for payouts on bodily injury claims. Most people who handle these claims on their own end up obtaining less compensation than they are entitled to. This is because there are no hard–and–fast rules for evaluating the claim. Each case is unique and a combination of many factors goes into properly evaluating the claim. In this type of claim, a person is dealing with an insurance adjuster who is well–schooled in building goodwill to settle the claim for low dollars. In the long run, an adjuster is evaluated and promoted based upon how little money is paid out on a bodily injury claim. Whether it is "fair" has nothing to do with it. Every dollar the insurance company does not pay to you is a dollar more of profit to the company. It is a one–to–one relationship. Even if you are dealing with the same company as your own insurance company (because the other driver was insured by the same company, or you are making an uninsured motorist claim) odds are you will be better off represented by a lawyer. The adjuster at your company is not evaluated based on whether you are "happy," or whether you keep your insurance with the company, but on the amount of the payout.

The graph below demonstrates that payouts when a personal injury lawyer is involved on a bodily injury claim in Colorado are roughly 250 percent higher than when a personal injury lawyer is not involved. Please note these figures come from insurance company sources, as indicated. Even though you may choose to handle your bodily injury claim yourself and thereby save lawyer's fees, you are typically going to be worse off. As shown by the graph, even after paying lawyer's fees, a person is statistically better off being represented by a personal injury lawyer than representing him or herself.





Please also look at the section on client testimonials on this site. Case completion questionnaires of my clients show that 97% of my clients reported they were better off represented by a lawyer, and 99% said they would use my services again if injured in an accident. Click here to see testimonials.

There are some bodily injury or wrongful death claims where a lawyer is not needed, but overall, people are better off being represented. Since most lawyers will have an initial consultation at no charge to you, the very least you should do is check out whether a lawyer can benefit you in your case. This can be done conveniently on–line at this web site by clicking here.

Colorado Springs
217 E. Fillmore Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Phone: (719) 473-3040
Toll Free: (866) 254-1274

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