What Will a Spartanburg Personal Injury Lawyer Do for Me?
We often get this question because people wonder where the advantage lies in hiring a personal injury lawyer in Spartanburg. I put together this list of what I do as an accident attorney and how my team and I can potentially help maximize your case’s value.
1. Gather evidence to build a stronger case.
Evidence is key in personal injury cases but is not always readily available. Evidence often begins to disappear in the hands of defendants. Attorneys can send what is called a preservation of evidence letter, also known as a "spoliation" letter, to the at-fault party to ensure any relevant evidence, such as phone records, video recordings, etc., are preserved so they can be used during negotiations with the insurance provider.
2. Negotiate with insurance companies.
Insurance companies make money when they avoid paying out claims – especially by avoiding paying a person’s policy limits.
When you aren’t represented by an attorney, insurance adjusters may try to take advantage of you because you don’t know the nuanced language to use when presenting your insurance claim. The adjuster may also stonewall you until you agree to accept a smaller settlement than you deserve. Personal injury lawyers deal with insurance providers day in and day out. We know how to negotiate with them and make them understand your injury's impact on your life. The right lawyer will not be bullied by an insurance adjuster.
3. Has the resources to hire experts.
Sometimes, hiring an expert during the investigative process is necessary to prove a point to the insurance company in a personal injury case. For example, suppose a drunk driver hit you, and you suffered multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury, and you could no longer return to work. In that case, our firm has the resources available to hire a team of experts to determine how the injuries from the accident will affect you throughout your life. We can hire a life care planner to determine what medical treatment you need and how much it will likely cost. We can also hire an expert to calculate what your lost earnings will add up to over the course of your life because you can no longer work the same job after the accident. Our operating account allows us to work with these experts to further illustrate your story so we can recover compensation for every harm and loss you experienced.
4. Identify all possible sources of compensation after someone is injured.
Insurance companies don’t just offer a summary of how much insurance coverage a person, trucking company, bar, or restaurant has to pay someone’s injury claim. Instead, you must dig and identify what policies are available for recovery. The right accident lawyers in Spartanburg will know how to look for additional car insurance policies in the household that can be stacked, hidden umbrella policies, or commercial policies. If your injuries are the result of a drunk driving accident, an injury lawyer may be able to find additional sources of compensation through South Carolina’s Dram shop laws.
5. Take your case to trial if an insurance company refuses to pay a fair settlement.
If, after all of our efforts, the insurance company still refuses to pay a fair settlement for your injuries, our lawyers are not afraid to take your case to trial and let the jury decide how much compensation you should receive for your injuries.
6. Set up liens against your medical bills so they won’t go into collections while you wait for your settlement money.
It can sometimes take months or even years to settle a case with complex injury cases. During that time, your medical bills will continue to grow. Though we recommend you file all medical bills with your health insurance, we understand that not everyone has health insurance coverage to help them take on the financial challenges associated with serious injuries. To help ease the burden, we can send a “letter of protection” to your medical providers, a legal promise that they will be paid out of your settlement funds when your case is closed.
7. At the end of your case, the legal team can attempt to negotiate your medical liens down.
Sometimes, at the end of a case, hospitals and other medical providers may reduce your final bill at our request. Our Spartanburg legal team can negotiate reductions with them by explaining how additional funds are needed for future care and to cover lost wages.
8. Client-focused injury lawyers will take everything off your plate so you can focus on healing while they focus on your case.
Life-altering injuries are stressful – not just for the injured person but for friends and family as well. During the healing process, the last thing you want to deal with is relentless insurance adjusters. At our injury law firm, we pride ourselves on allowing clients to focus on the healing process while we take care of everything else. We want them to have peace of mind knowing that we have their back and will do everything we can to help them achieve justice and hold the responsible parties accountable.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
We offer free consultations, and if we sign your case, our Spartanburg injury lawyers work on what is known as a "contingency basis." This means you pay absolutely no fee unless we can make a financial recovery on your behalf. If we cannot recover from the insurance company, you are not obligated to pay our attorneys anything.
Like other injury lawyers in South Carolina, if we recover money for your damages, our fee is 33 to 40 percent of the recovered amount. We promise never to put more money in our pocket than our clients at the end of the case. You were the one who was injured, so we believe you must be the one to receive the most. We also work with your medical providers to reduce their fees as much as possible so we can maximize the amount of money you take home at the end of your case.
Common cases that we've handled in Spartanburg include:
