When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
by Mark Wolfe , Personal Injury Attorney

When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer? This is probably the most common question personal injury victims ask when they’ve been hurt by someone else. To really provide a meaningful answer, there are two things you should keep in mind. First, the more serious the injury the more benefit you will get from hiring the right personal injury attorney for your claim or case and second, there’s a difference between talking or consulting with a lawyer and hiring a lawyer. We’ll review these two topics in reverse order.

Many victims of a personal injury are reluctant or hesitant about hiring a personal injury lawyer right after their injury. Some victims think they can handle the claim themselves without having to share a portion of the recovery with a lawyer. Some victims believe hiring a lawyer will make them appear greedy or opportunistic. While these are valid concerns, personal injury victims need to understand the difference between “hiring” a lawyer and simply “consulting” with a lawyer. Not every victim of a personal injury will need or benefit from hiring a personal injury lawyer; HOWEVER, every personal injury victims should at least know their rights and have some basic legal information about their claim. The sooner a personal injury victim has that information, the better informed he or she will be about all the critical decisions related to the insurance claim. Almost every personal injury attorney in America offers “free consultations.” Many personal injury lawyers even offer free downloadable guides for automobile accident injury claims or on the job injury claims. If you’ve been the victim of someone else’s carelessness or recklessness, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Most legitimate personal injury lawyers will also explain whether or not you’ll need to hire a personal injury lawyer for your claim and the benefit of hiring the right personal injury attorney for your claim.

As stated above, the more serious the injury the more you will benefit from hiring the right personal injury lawyer. But why? The simple truth is insurance claims are complex. Even non-catastrophic injury claims are subject to the insurance company’s rigorous claims processing and analysis protocol. The insurance company’s goal on EVERY claim is to pay as little as possible. The insurance industry is a profit driven industry and not a charity. The complex procedures they use in analyzing and evaluating a personal injury claim are designed for the simple purpose of paying as little as they can on a claim and making sure all claims are paid at an equally low rate. It’s not the insurance company’s job to help you get the maximum benefits that are owed to you! Also, almost all personal injury claims involve a secondary claim for repayment from the victim’s proceeds. Hospital liens, Medicare/medicaid lines and health insurance subrogation claims all can impact a personal injury victim’s financial recovery from a claim. A qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer can help make sure all appropriate value drivers for your claim are identified and presented to the insurance company and he or she can favorably resolve any secondary issues related to your claim. Even in smaller personal injury claims, an experienced and qualified personal injury attorney can significantly and legitimately increase the benefits you recover.

When you consult with an experienced and qualified personal injury attorney he or she will be able to give you a meaningful opinion, based upon the factors discussed above, as to when it would be beneficial for you to hire a personal injury lawyer to present and prosecute your claim with the insurance company.

If you would like a free consultation with Mark about your potential insurance claim, please email him at mark@brwlawyers.com or send a text to 251 533-9548 (cell). You can also call Mark directly at 251 410-7761.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMERS: Alabama Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2: No representation is made that the quality of legal service to be performed is greater than the services provided by other lawyers. The Mississippi Supreme Court advises that a decision on legal services is important and should not be based solely on advertisements. Free background information is available upon request to a Mississippi attorney. The listing of any area of practice by a Mississippi attorney does not indicate any certification of expertise therein. See Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.2(d), Rule 7.4(a), Rule 7.6(a) (1997). Statement in compliance with Florida Bar Advertising Rules: “The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. [Florida Rule 4-7.2(d)]. General Disclaimer: This information is posted for general information purposes to help those interested parties or persons with potential civil claims better understand their rights and potential causes of action. If readers are currently represented by an attorney on the subject matter of this post then they are encouraged to continue with said representation. No attorney-client relationship is established by this post.

What is Business Interruption Insurance? Does it Apply to the Covid 19 Shutdowns?

Mark Wolfe, Attorney at Law
mark@brwlawyers.com

Business Interruption Insurance or also known as Business Income Insurance is an added coverage found in a business property insurance policy or as part of a comprehensive business operations policy.  Business interruption insurance can compensate businesses for lost revenue, rent and lease payments, mortgage payments, other loan payments and taxes. Employee payroll may be covered, along with costs of having to relocate temporarily or permanently to new premises.

The key is that this coverage is derivative from a covered loss under the insurance policy and it is an “add-on” coverage that is paid for in the premium package. It is generally not a stand alone coverage. The business must suffer a covered peril that results in an interruption to normal operations so as to trigger this coverage, if it is part of the policy.

A similar example of a derivative coverage that can be “added on”can be found in your automobile policy. As part of the collision coverage or comprehensive coverage you may have added “rental car insurance” for an additional premium cost. If your car is damaged in an accident (collision coverage) or burns up in a fire (comprehensive coverage), your rental car insurance will pay for a rental car until the property loss is adjusted and paid.  If your car becomes un-driveable for some other reason not covered under the auto-insurance policy you can not use your car rental coverage.

This is also the way business interruption insurance works. If it has been added-on to the policy, the loss must be derived from a covered loss. Herein is the problem for many business owners suffering under the Covid 19 business shut down, the loss is most likely not from a covered peril. In fact, some business insurance policies have specific exclusions for damages related to or caused by a communicable diseases or pandemic.

However, if you are not sure whether or not you have this type of coverage or even if you don’t think you have a viable claim, you may want to consult with an experienced insurance claim lawyer. Business insurance policies are complex and they vary greatly from business to business. They can often be vague or ambiguous in definitions of covered losses and benefits. These uncertainties under a policy may work to the claimants advantage so as to allow a business interruption claim.

If you would like a free consultation with Mark about your potential insurance claim, please email him at mark@brwlawyers.com or send a text to 251 533-9548 (cell). You can also call Mark directly at 251 410-7761.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMERS: Alabama Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2: No representation is made that the quality of legal service to be performed is greater than the services provided by other lawyers. The Mississippi Supreme Court advises that a decision on legal services is important and should not be based solely on advertisements. Free background information is available upon request to a Mississippi attorney. The listing of any area of practice by a Mississippi attorney does not indicate any certification of expertise therein. See Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.2(d), Rule 7.4(a), Rule 7.6(a) (1997). Statement in compliance with Florida Bar Advertising Rules: “The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. [Florida Rule 4-7.2(d)]. General Disclaimer: This information is posted for general information purposes to help those interested parties or persons with potential civil claims better understand their rights and potential causes of action. If readers are currently represented by an attorney on the subject matter of this post then they are encouraged to continue with said representation. No attorney-client relationship is established by this post.