Handling your injury case without an attorney can cost you money.

You may be wanting to save a few bucks on attorney fees, but not using an attorney in your personal injury case and settling with other parties may lead you to lose more money in the end.

It isn’t surprising that a personal injury victim may want to save money by settling directly with the insurance company rather than pay an attorney, and I don’t blame them. There is never enough money after suffering a personal injury, and you deserve every penny you can get! But what many people don’t know is that saving a few dollars in attorneys’ fees can cost you in the long run. There are more benefits to hiring an attorney to handle your personal injury case.

Words matter, and if you sign a release after an injury claim, the case is over. This happened in a recent case that is now in the Missouri Court of Appeals and could cost the victim thousands of dollars. The case is Traweck vs. Timothy Smith and Davis & Bell Auction Service, LLC. The injured victim settled with the driver of the other vehicle after a car wreck. Because she signed a “general release” that released all other parties who may have been liable, the trial court ruled that she could not later sue the owner of the vehicle.

The case is still not resolved, and the Court of Appeals has sent the case back to the trial court for further action. We will have to wait and see what the outcome is. The plaintiff collected policy limits from the driver but losing the right to sue the owner of the vehicle will cost her many thousands more.

Unless you are familiar with the law of injury cases and contracts, you take your chances when you handle your only injury case on your own! You benefit by having an attorney because they have experience with the language and jargon of personal injury cases and they can protect you from signing documents that can have far-reaching implications.

Sure, you may pay more upfront but the benefit of having representation from an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney will help prevent your case from ending up like the example above. In addition, having a qualified and experienced attorney will save you time in getting your injury case settled and maximize what you actually recover. When it comes to your personal injury, don’t settle for less.

If you or a loved one has been injured, The S.E. Law Firm can help you with your personal injury claim. Contact us for a free consultation. You can call us at 314-252-9937, our toll-free number 866-955-5297, or email us at courtnotices@farrislaw.org.