Imagine driving in northern California on the highway and slowing down in traffic. Suddenly, a car rear-ends yours, and you’re seriously injured, and your car is totaled. Now you wonder what you should do.
Navigating the aftermath of a severe car accident can be intimidating. However, hiring a car accident lawyer for your Allstate injury claim can make a massive difference in the resolution of your case. Ensure you speak to a car accident attorney immediately after a car accident. This will ensure your Allstate injury claim results in maximum compensation.
Common Pitfalls Of Handling Your Own Allstate Claim
First, understand that many car accident victims don’t hire a car accident lawyer to represent them in insurance negotiations. That’s up to you; no law requires you to hire a car accident attorney. However, you should know that handling your own Allstate claim may lead to mistakes that cost you dearly:
Underestimating Damages
Many car accident victims don’t understand the full value of their claim. A serious car accident with injuries may be worth much more than many realize. You may be due not just compensation for your car and current medical bills. A severe injury, such as a serious head injury, may entitle you to Allstate compensation for future medical expenses, lost future income, mental and emotional distress, and more.
Underestimating the value of your claim can be disastrous. Imagine if you thought you had only $5,000 in medical bills and settled with Allstate for $7,500. However, a month after you signed the settlement documents, you discover you have nerve damage that prevents you from using one side of your body. You have worse injuries than you thought, but now you won’t get enough compensation to pay for your medical bills or future lost income.
You can avoid this problem by calling a car accident attorney the day after the accident and getting a free case review. A skilled attorney will tell you that hiring a lawyer in this situation will lead to more compensation from Allstate to ensure you have the best recovery.
Not Proving Fault
Receiving compensation from Allstate requires you to prove that another party violated their duty of care and injured you in an accident. Proving fault is often more complicated than you think.
For example, a rear-end crash is usually blamed on the rear driver for not stopping and hitting the car in front. It sounds straightforward, but Allstate can argue that you did something to cause the accident, such as slowing down without any reason. Trying to handle your own claim can result in the claim being denied. You then can hire a car accident attorney for help, but you’ll save time and frustration by hiring an attorney from day 1.
Dealing Ineffectively With Allstate
Working with an adversarial insurance company after a serious car crash can be frustrating and time-consuming. Remember that you may be seriously injured, unable to work, or even in the hospital. You aren’t in the best frame of mind to handle insurance negotiations and evidence gathering.
Allstate may use your situation against you. They can try to minimize their client’s role in the accident and pressure you to take a quick, low settlement. You may be tempted to settle because you’re hurt and need money. Insurance companies know this game well and will use every advantage they have over you to save the insurance company money. The adjuster may slow-walk the claim and bury you with document requests.
You can avoid this mess by retaining a car accident lawyer when you receive medical attention from the accident. Your attorney is a skilled insurance negotiator and knows how to handle shady insurance company tactics. They also will communicate directly with Allstate so you can concentrate on resting and healing. Furthermore, your attorney will advise you on the quality and fairness of any settlement offer from Allstate. They’ll tell you if the offer is acceptable or too low.
Missing Critical Legal Deadlines
Legal and insurance proceedings have essential deadlines. For example, many states have two or three-year statute of limitations rules in effect. You must file a lawsuit within that timeline after the accident or forfeit the right to compensation. Two or three years can pass quickly, then the time to file for compensation is gone. A car accident attorney will ensure that legal paperwork is filed on time.
How A Car Accident Lawyer Helps With Your Allstate Injury Claim
Hiring a skilled auto accident attorney immediately after the accident is the best move you can make to get the best Allstate claim resolution.
One of the best reasons to retain a personal injury attorney for your Allstate injury claim is they will help gather evidence to prove the other person caused the accident. The Allstate claims adjuster will require you to prove that another party’s negligence caused the accident. It can be more difficult than you think.
Personal injury attorneys are adept at gathering and interpreting crash evidence to prove fault. Your attorney will collect critical crash evidence, including eyewitness statements, traffic surveillance video, medical records, crash scene evidence, and testimony from crash reconstruction experts to build the best case to present to Allstate.
The Personal Injury Attorney Advantage
Car accident attorneys can file complex court documents and other legal notices according to local guidelines without any procedural mistakes that can cost you. This is important for your Allstate claim and any potential lawsuit if the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair settlement.
Some may say that obtaining claim advice from friends and families who have been in accidents can assist. However, family and friends usually aren’t car accident attorneys and may not have the knowledge or skill to assess your claim fairly. Your attorney’s experience with the legal and insurance systems will be vital for negotiating a fair settlement.
Dealing With Allstate Insurance Company Adjusters
One of the major challenges after a severe auto accident is dealing with an insurance company, such as Allstate. Allstate is a large company aiming to pay as little as possible for insurance claims. Filing an insurance claim with Allstate can be difficult, and you may not be in the ideal frame of mind after a severe car accident. Working with a car accident attorney can make all the difference.
Your auto accident attorney can handle Allstate insurance negotiations to obtain more compensation. An attorney is highly experienced and trained in insurance negotiations. They can present the crash evidence favorably and demand the most money for medical bills, lost earnings, lost earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering. Your auto accident lawyer will also help you deal with difficult issues, such as disagreements over fault or the value of your injuries.
You can think that negotiating directly with Allstate will save you time and money. However, many accident victims don’t know how to negotiate effectively with an aggressive Allstate claims adjuster. Nor do they understand the full value of their claim. Saving money on legal fees can backfire because you don’t receive the maximum compensation for your Allstate claim.
Calculating Car Accident Compensation
You will probably have serious losses after a major accident, such as lost income and medical bills. Filing an Allstate car accident claim is supposed to fairly compensate you for these things, such as losing quality of life after a severe accident. Your auto accident attorney knows how to assess your losses accurately.
Your attorney can accurately calculate your total losses from the accident and economic and non-economic damages. They will work with economists, occupational experts, and medical staff to accurately estimate the full value of your claim. Then, they will negotiate with Allstate to compensate you the most. If Allstate questions your injuries or doesn’t pay enough, your auto accident attorney may recommend filing a lawsuit and presenting the case to a jury.
Attorney Experience And Reputation
Retaining an experienced auto accident attorney has a major effect on the outcome of your Allstate claim. Selecting a local attorney with a proven record of settlements and verdicts is vital. You don’t want an inexperienced or average personal injury attorney working on your Allstate claim.
Attorneys with average skills and experience can still make money by handling many cases. However, you have only one injury claim and one chance to maximize what Allstate pays you. Thus, it’s critical to hire a car accident attorney with proven skills in your type of auto accident.
An excellent way to understand the quality of a personal injury attorney is to review their recent auto accident cases. See how the last several cases they handled were resolved. A car accident lawyer who has overseen complex auto accident claims and lawsuits with excellent outcomes probably has the skills, knowledge, and resources to represent you effectively with Allstate.
A skilled attorney indeed costs money. However, personal injury attorneys don’t charge upfront fees; you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket costs. Your attorney is paid by contingency agreement, so their legal fees are deducted from your Allstate settlement.
A Skilled Car Accident Lawyer Will Maximize Your Allstate Compensation
Working with a skilled car accident attorney means you’ll get more money from Allstate in most cases. Recent studies confirm that car accident victims usually receive more compensation by hiring a car accident attorney:
- The Insurance Research Council found that accident victims who retained an attorney with their insurance claims received approximately 3.5 times more compensation than those who handled their own claims. This increase in insurance compensation more than makes up for the attorney’s legal fees.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states there were 6.7 million auto accidents in the US in 2020. This shows how critical it is for many Americans to retain a car accident attorney to get the most compensation from the insurance company.
- A recent legal marketing study found that people who hire a car accident attorney receive approximately twice as much compensation as those who represent themselves.
Maximizing Your Settlement Faster
With their personal injury knowledge, your lawyer will work quickly to settle your Allstate claim for the most money. Many Allstate accident claims settle in a few weeks or months, but others can take longer. Your attorney may recommend that you wait until your auto accident injuries are fully healed before commencing Allstate settlement negotiations. This patience can lead to more compensation, which is critical to your long-term recovery. However, your attorney will work to settle the claim as quickly as they can. They also know that Allstate may try to slow down the claim by pressuring you to take whatever they offer. Your attorney will contact the insurance company and pressure them to settle immediately. A car accident attorney with an excellent reputation may also use the threat of a personal injury lawsuit to speed negotiations. Lawsuits are expensive for insurance companies, and appropriate pressure from an aggressive personal injury attorney may encourage a fair settlement.
Contact A Car Accident Attorney
A car accident can leave you with devastating injuries, such as head or neck injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, and long-term disability. If another driver caused your accident, you may need to file a car accident claim with Allstate or another insurance company. The other driver’s insurance adjuster will work hard to minimize what they pay for your damages. Hire an aggressive auto accident attorney rather than settling for whatever scraps Allstate gives you.
A skilled car accident attorney will listen to your story, help with medical needs and fight tirelessly for the most compensation from Allstate. If the settlement offer is too low, they will continue negotiations and your attorney may recommend filing a lawsuit, if necessary. Your auto accident lawyer is your trusted advocate during your car accident case. They will always provide the best advice to you, whether it is to settle or go to court. Talk to a car accident attorney today before handling your Allstate accident claim alone. They have the ability to succeed against Allstate.
