When you are the victim of a car accident, you may assume that you have a strong position and can successfully negotiate your settlement by yourself. You might be right under certain conditions, but you should not discount the benefits of representation from a car accident lawyer Las Vegas. Consider the following advice before you decide to negotiate with an insurer on your own.

Your self-reliant personality or a desire to avoid legal expenses may initially motivate you to forego legal help. Although you prefer to take care of things yourself, being self-reliant does not mean never asking for help. Serious injuries produce substantial financial damages. A car accident lawyer might succeed in obtaining a higher settlement than you could have on your own. In a situation like that, you could still come out ahead despite the cost of representation.

As you consider what to do next, evaluate the severity of your injuries. Someone with relatively minor injuries who only missed a few days of work could negotiate directly with an insurer and probably receive a fair settlement. The stakes are low for the insurer, and the company will not apply many resources to disputing your accident claim.

However, as the cost of an accident rises, insurers take a greater interest in pushing back against your claim. The company will marshal its resources to challenge the validity of your damages. This will occur when you are still trying to recover from the physical trauma of the accident. Car accidents often inflict psychological trauma as well. Meanwhile, an insurer might try to wear you down with frustrating demands for more documents.

People with bad injuries could have much to gain from injury lawyers Vegas. As the client of a lawyer, you get someone who can handle paperwork and conversations with an insurance adjuster. With a lawyer knowledgeable about Las Vegas injury law working for you, an insurance adjuster will have a harder time disputing your damages.

Comparative negligence is the law of the land in Nevada. What this means is that you could lose compensation if your actions contributed to the accident. If there are no questions about who the at-fault party is in your case, you should avoid accusations that you are partially to blame. Unfortunately, fault is not always crystal clear, and an insurer will exploit this lack of clarity to reduce your settlement. When fault might be open to challenge, a car accident lawyer will know how to defend you from unfair allegations about traffic violations.

You might be a fighter who is ready to dive into an insurance contract and identify the coverage that applies to you. Some people are good at this, especially if they have worked in the insurance industry.

Keep in mind though that you should not discount how your injuries could distract you even if you are skilled in this type of situation. Pain makes concentrating difficult. Medical appointments can eat up your time and leave you too exhausted to fully organize your evidence. Injury lawyers Las Vegas can investigate accidents thoroughly. They can subpoena evidence and send out preservation of evidence letters. They can interview witnesses, photograph accident scenes, and consider the many angles of attack that an insurer might launch against your claim.

Car accident cases can get complicated. You might look like the one who is at fault but the fact of the matter is that the other driver was texting and distracted. A subpoena for that person's mobile phone records is needed to access that evidence unless the person admitted to it on record. As you think about whether to self-represent or hire an accident attorney Las Vegas, take a hard look at your evidence. Do you have enough to make a strong claim?

When you make a third-party claim against the other driver's insurance policy, you may receive a quick response. An insurance adjuster will call you to discuss the claim. This person will likely come across as friendly and helpful, but insurance adjusters are trained to put people at ease and hopefully manipulate them into saying things against their best interests.

The prompt response from the insurance company may please you at first because you are hurting and in need of money. However, this is one of the most important times to keep your guard up.

The insurance adjuster may want to record your statements. Injury lawyers Vegas strongly advise against being recorded without having a lawyer at your side.

You need to approach these conversations with suspicion because an adjuster may try to get to agree with statements like:

• "So, you did not complain of any injury at the accident scene."
• "You said that you had trouble stopping because your brakes are old."
• "The kids in the backseat must have been distracting, right?"

An adjuster will fish for statements that make you appear to be partially at fault or that you are exaggerating your injuries. Awareness of their tactics can help you protect your interests.

Some people are better at these adversarial conversations than others. If you have a "people-pleaser" personality, dislike arguing, or are uncertain about the long-term impact of your injuries on your health and livelihood, then self-representation could be counterproductive for you. Injury lawyers will recognize right away the "tricks of the trade" that insurers will use against you.

You might have a general understanding that Las Vegas injury law grants you the right to recover money for your medical bills and lost income. A car accident lawyer, however, knows how to identify every expense that you could legally qualify for. Noneconomic damages that do not come with receipts, like pain and suffering, are especially difficult to quantify for an insurer. A lawyer can articulate meaningful arguments about your pain and suffering and potentially increase your settlement as a result.

In addition to making a full accounting of your losses, a legal team can organize the evidence to support all of your claims. This can be a daunting task as an individual burdened by injuries.

Furthermore, if you face unfair accusations of causing the accident, an accident attorney Las Vegas can push back against them. Letting your attorney speak on your behalf to an insurance adjuster may very well prevent the insurer from manipulating your answers in the first place.

Moss Berg Injury Lawyers Are on Your Side

You deserve a chance to collect a settlement that realistically covers your damages after a car accident. The Moss Berg team lives and breathes accident cases. We have extensive experience negotiating claims with insurers and the resources to go to court when your financial future hangs in the balance. Contact us for a free accident consultation today.