If you’re looking to make a personal injury claim, looking for the right representation can be an added problem in what is already a very stressful time. With everything you have to contend with, including ongoing medical treatment and costs, and concerns regarding lost earnings, it might be tempting to forego the process of finding the right personal injury attorney and decide instead to represent yourself.
After all, you have a valid claim; most of these incidents are settled before they go to court, so how difficult could it be? However, in reality, the reason why many of these claims are settled relatively easily is that they typically have the right legal representation, and for so many reasons, representing yourself is not worth the risk.
Lack of knowledge and experience
This alone should be enough to discourage you from trying to go it alone, as there is more at stake here than perhaps you think. This is not the same as painting your house yourself rather than employing a decorator; this would be more like trying to perform surgery on yourself, which you almost certainly wouldn’t do.
Personal injury law is very complicated, and insurers have their own specialist teams who know every nook and cranny of every minor legal technicality. There is almost no chance that you will be able to match them effectively, especially if you are still recovering from the accident that instigated the claim.
You will lack the knowledge of the procedures involved and lack the years of training that a personal injury attorney would have, and you are very likely to come away with far less than you would otherwise get if anything at all.
Danger of emotional responses
Your naivety in such situations could combine with your emotions to create further problems. As the accident happened to you, the events may still feel quite raw, and this will not make any arguments you make as coherent as the ones made by somebody with no emotional link to the matter. This might also mean that you might react to any response you receive in an unprofessional manner, which is exactly the last thing you need in such cases.
Plan in advance
One possible solution to sidestep all of these issues is to plan in advance. By researching personal injury attorneys now, rather than when you are in an accident, you know who to ring and have everything taken care of if the worst does happen. Identifying one with a proven track record like Horst Shewmaker that works in your local area, and having their number stored in your phone might just be as prudent as storing a car servicing company in case of breakdowns.
To wrap things up
By now, you’ll know a number of reasons why you shouldn’t try and represent yourself in any sort of personal injury matter, although any one of them should be enough to discourage you on its own. Your lack of knowledge and experience, as well as your very strong emotional link to the matter, should mean that you leave matters in the competent hands of a professional, especially a proven one you have researched beforehand.
