When You Need to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injuries from motor vehicle accidents can be devastating; likely requiring the skills of a motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD drivers trust to help victims get the compensation they deserve. At Cohen & Cohen, we have dedicated our lives to being that resource to victims shaken by the negligence of another. We want to help you too.
In most scenarios, hiring a lawyer may yield better results than someone representing his or her self. Here are six common scenarios when can be beneficial to hire a motor vehicle accident lawyer in Rockville MD:
1. Your injuries from a motor vehicle accident are extremely serious. If you answer yes to any of the following questions you should strongly consider hiring a motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD residents are confident about:
- Did the accident render you permanently disabled?
- Do your injuries include scarring?
- Did you spend at least 24 hours in a hospital after the accident?
- Have you received more than a month’s worth of treatment for your injuries?
2. When your personal injury case requires the services of a technical expert or demands a substantial amount of money upfront to prepare and try your case. A motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD turns to for help will probably pay upfront for an expert’s research and time for testifying on their client’s behalf. If you hire a lawyer, you won’t likely have to pay until after they win a settlement or win the case in court. Experts can be indispensable in a lawsuit, so it can be important to include the knowledge in your case preparation. For example, if your motor vehicle accident was caused by a faulty part in any of the vehicles involved, an expert may be able to:
- Identify the part
- Explain how it failed
- Contribute to making a compelling argument for why the part manufacturer is liable for your damages.
Bringing in experts generally requires taking their depositions or statements, hiring a transcriptionist, hiring a court reporter if it goes to trial, and much more. Not only is it expensive, the process can be quite complex. A critical wrong step can potentially shut down your case.
3. When a settlement cannot be reached and the case moves to trial. If the lawsuit is held outside of small claims court, very rarely does someone do well representing his or her self. Higher courts have many rules governing to procedures, and can be strict about enforcing them. It can be a legal nightmare to navigate unless you are a top motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD can provide. In addition, you may have to face a defendant with deep pockets and a large team of aggressive lawyers.
4. When the defendant is a local, state, or federal government entity. When dealing with any level of government, personal injury claims are subject to shorter deadlines and different requirements. A skilled Rockville MD motor vehicle accident lawyer will be very familiar with the deadlines and processes that come into play with government entities. The attorneys at Cohen & Cohen are well versed at what is required to pursue litigation against the government.
5. Class action lawsuits. If your personal injury was caused by a common failure of an automotive part such as a defective tire, you may have an opportunity to “opt in” to the class action lawsuit. Class action lawsuits against manufacturers can drag on for years. This can require investing large sums of money into the case with no promise of reimbursement until or unless you win the lawsuit. A large legal firm representing the class action participants can absorb those costs indefinitely, which is usually not true for an individual representing his or her self.
6. When the insurance company is unwilling to pay you a fair and timely settlement. A top motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD has to offer will likely define this as a bad faith claim. It arises when an insurance company purposely extends the time frame in which it will pay you, or refuses to pay you at all even though you are entitled to that compensation. A bad faith claim almost always ends up in court. You will need to present a strong case that the insurance company is in the wrong. You can be assured that they will likely have a team of attorneys on their side of the table. Hiring a lawyer from Cohen & Cohen to represent you may greatly increase the chance that you will win the lawsuit.
How to Choose a Lawyer for Your Personal Injury Case
Personal injury cases can involve many areas of law and levels of expertise. When narrowing down your choices for representation, look for a motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD residents rate highly and who does the following:
- Practices in the area of motor vehicle accidents. For instance, for some of our attorneys at Cohen & Cohen, the majority of their work is focused on representing motorists injured in car accidents that were not their fault.
- Has been very successful in recovering damages for their clients. Cohen & Cohen has recovered more than $100 million to date.
- Is experienced at handling personal injury cases. Our attorneys at Cohen & Cohen have helped more than 10,000 personal injury clients and have worked on over 5,000 personal injury cases.
- Offers to evaluate your case with no obligation to hire them. At Cohen & Cohen not only will one of our attorneys be happy to give you an honest opinion about your case, we do not charge for the initial consultation. Bring your accident-related receipts and documentation to the first meeting, and one of our attorneys can sit down with you and review your personal injury case.
Cohen & Cohen has represented personal injury victims in the Rockville MD area for two decades. During that time our legal team has worked hard for our clients, making sure that their rights are protected. Personal injuries suffered in motor vehicle accidents can be devastating, so be sure to choose a motor vehicle accident lawyer Rockville MD victims rely on for justice and call Cohen & Cohen today.