For the same reason you shouldn’t give yourself a haircut. You likely don’t have the training to be successful in the profession and you can’t see what’s going on behind your own head. It also ends up costing you more money to fix than if a barber would have handled it from the beginning.
Personal injury cases, especially those that arise from car accidents in Atlanta, Georgia, require knowledge of many areas of law including torts, contracts, and insurance. One also needs to know the laws of court procedure if a lawsuit has to be filed. A trained and experienced attorney can more thoroughly and confidently represent your interests simply because he/she has just that hard earned knowledge and experience that you would have no reason to possess. Often attorneys have dealt with the same insurance company many times and know what to say or not say, when and how to present a demand for settlement or present your case in a way that helps the insurance company “see the light” (the true value of your damages). People inexperienced with insurance companies and the claims process can do significant damage to their own case by saying things they shouldn’t at inappropriate times — like admissions of liability and denial of damages — or even cashing a small check the insurance company may send out of the blue thereby cutting off any further recovery. Insurance adjusters may come across as your friend, but they are very smart and know how to manipulate the situation. A person with personal injuries is not only in the wrong frame of mind just after an auto accident or slip and fall, but doesn’t have the tools to negotiate with the more experienced adjuster.
An attorney can also give you an unbiased perspective. To you, as a personal injury victim, your case is unquestionably valid and valuable. An attorney with years of experience, however, can honestly evaluate your case, tell you both the negatives as well as the positives and tell you how much you can expect to receive in damages. They can also give you an idea how long it will take to get the claim resolved (regardless of what the TV attorneys may want you to believe). When you work on your own case, expectations in all these areas can be unrealistic without the perspective of court decisions over the years and how the insurance company looks at cases like yours. Having an experienced attorney on your side can give you the perspective and rational, unbiased advice to make the best decisions.
People think they're going to save money by representing themselves. The truth is however that in most personal injury cases, the attorney doesn’t get paid until you do. So if nothing comes of the case, you haven’t lost any money. When you represent yourself, you don’t know the true monetary value of your injuries, and it’s likely that you’ll settle for far less than you deserve, or reject a reasonable offer and end up with nothing.
Don’t be uncertain of what to do after an accident with personal injuries. The safest course is to consult with an Atlanta, Georgia accident injury attorney as soon as possible. Contact the Sid Weinstein law Firm, 24/7, for a free accident and personal injury consultation by calling 404-522-3108. We can come to you at your home or any of the Atlanta, Georgia area hospitals including Grady Memorial Hospital and Atlanta Medical Center.