Reaching Out: How The Right Legal Avenues Can Help

When to Call a Personal Injury Attorney After a Car Accident

29 January 2016 by Jessica Spencer

If you've been injured in a car accident, of course your first concern should be to get proper medical treatment. You need to do this to ensure your health, but it can also be good to see a doctor as soon as possible in case you need to make a claim against the other driver's insurance policy. In some areas there are laws that stipulate that you must seek medical treatment within a limited timeframe after a car accident in order to be eligible for monetary compensation for those injuries.

After caring for yourself medically, you may wonder if you should then also call a personal injury attorney. It's good to do this if you ever suspect you may need their services, but note a few times in particular when you may want to make such an appointment.

1. If the other driver is not insured

Your own auto insurance company or medical insurance company may pay your medical costs after a car accident if the other driver is not insured, but you may need the help of an attorney to ensure that all your costs are paid. Insurance companies may try to avoid paying your medical bills; your auto insurer and healthcare insurer may go back and forth as to who is responsible for your bills, and in the meantime, you may not get reimbursed for those costs. To avoid this type of unpleasant delay, visit a personal injury attorney so he or she can negotiate with the insurance companies as to who is responsible for your medical coverage.

2. If you have any type of long-term injury

A long-term injury doesn't mean just being in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. You can suffer from migraines because of whiplash or have vision problems if you injured your head in a car accident. Long-term injuries might also refer to a limp or pain that you will need to deal with for the rest of your life. Any type of injury or other suffering you have from the car accident that doesn't heal quickly should mean the involvement of an attorney, so he or she can ensure all your medical bills are paid and note if you're entitled to any other compensation.

You may also need to see a personal injury attorney if you're denied any type of disability payments, social security, or other such payments due to a permanent injury caused by the accident. An attorney will note when you are eligible for such programs versus just having your medical bills paid by an insurance company and can often help you apply for and secure this type of payment.

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