Not everyone feels comfortable picking up the phone and calling a personal injury attorney. We’re not sure why – we’re really great people to have in your corner! We care about our clients and have a personal relationship with each one. We even spend time on the phone answering questions from people who are not our clients because we are passionate about advocating for our community. (Learn more about who we are and our team here).
But if you are someone who is still trying to decide if this is the right time to pick up the phone, let’s talk about when you need a personal injury attorney.
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If you’ve been hurt by no fault of your own and have medical bills, you need a personal injury attorney.
Hospitals and insurance companies have forms which will ask you if this was an accident. They are going to want to know if there is someone at fault that should be paying for this other than your health insurance. And we all know how quickly medical bills can add up for a severe injury, especially if an insurance company decides the injury is not their obligation to pay. Or you may have submitted your bills to the insurance company of the other party already, from a car collision perhaps, and that insurance company isn’t paying. If you are injured, you need to focus on healing. A personal injury attorney can manage the bills: where they need to be sent and which party is responsible. If needed, a lien can be placed on your medical bills that will suspend their payment due date pending trial. This will protect you from debt collectors which can again, let you focus on healing.
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If your injury is causing you to miss work and lose wages, it is time to talk to a personal injury attorney.
In California, we have 12 weeks of Family Medical Leave, but those 12 weeks can go by rapidly in the event of a severe injury and at that point, an employer might dismiss you from your job completely which can remove any benefits you had with it, including your medical insurance which you might be using. Do not wait until the 11th week to see out assistance from a personal injury attorney, start looking as soon as you realize you’ll be missing work. Your injury may become long-term, especially if there are any unforeseen complications. And this lost time is something you’ll want to recover from the at-fault party, which a personal injury attorney will be able to evaluate for you.
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The moment there is a dispute over liability or payment – call a personal injury attorney to protect your rights.
The moment of an accident or injury, many people will say things without knowing what their insurance company or employer will actually do. For example, if you were hurt on public transportation, the driver might apologize profusely and say that the City or other responsible entity will pay for everything, but this person is not in a position to make those decisions. The moment someone tells you “no” when you’ve been injured (mentally or physically) or suffered a loss (of property, money, or job) is the time to pick up the phone and call a personal injury attorney. If the person, company, or insurance provider deemed at-fault is no longer working with you, you need professional assistance. They have a team on their side and you should have one, too.
Hiring a personal injury attorney is not an over-reaction to a situation. You are protecting yourself against insurance companies and businesses with teams of attorneys skilled at working against people who do not seek legal counsel. By selecting a personal injury attorney to represent you, you’ll have an advocate for you and as needed, they will bring in a team of experts who understand the focus of your case. If you’ve been injured through no fault of your own, you shouldn’t have to fight alone.
