Debunking 5 Common Myths People Believe About Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer

When you have been injured in an accident that was caused by another person or party – whether it was a car accident, a fall, or something else – you have a legal right to pursue compensation for the cost of treatment and the pain you suffered via a personal injury claim.

However, the process of filing a claim can be confusing and frustrating, and the prospect of hiring a lawyer can seem even more intimidating for many people who have never had to deal with the legal system before. There are many stigmas and false ideas associated with enlisting representation, but not knowing the truth about hiring an attorney to take your case can hurt you and your family financially in the long run!

The Florida Law Group has been serving injured accident victims all over the state of Florida for nearly 40 years and have over 100 years of collective experience on our team, so we have encountered many of these myths about hiring a personal injury lawyer in our interactions with prospective and new clients. We wanted to take this blog to address and debunk 5 common myths people believe about hiring a personal injury lawyer! Here are the top 5 we most frequently encounter:

Myth #1 – “I don’t need a lawyer, I can just file a claim with my insurer.”

The first thing most people have been taught to do after they are in an accident is to call their insurance company to file a report – if they are medically able to, many people even do this at the scene. There are a few reasons why it is not advisable to do this….one being that most people are really shaken up after an accident and in a fragile emotional state and two being that directly after an accident is too soon to know the extent of the injuries sustained. Why are these two reasons important? Because insurance companies are NOT your friend!

Insurance adjusters may answer the phone and express sympathy or be incredibly kind to you about your accident, but while they may be nice people, they are not looking out for your best interests. They are looking out for the best interest of the company – that’s their job – and the best interest of the company is to avoid paying out claims to injured accident victims, because it saves them money. When you answer the phone and give a recorded statement to the insurance company right after an accident, without being coached by an attorney, you may say things that can be used against you later, to prevent you from recovering compensation.

Even if you wait until you are in a stable condition and try to file the claim on your own, you are still facing an uphill battle. You don’t have a lot of leverage against the insurance company to negotiate with, and you may not realize the full value of your injuries. You need your energy to rest and heal, not fight with your insurance company! Filing a claim on your own has lower chances of success. A lawyer has the extensive experience, legal knowledge, and credible reputation necessary to make your insurance company give you the full amount you deserve. A survey by Nolo revealed that only 51% of respondents received a payout when they tried to go it on their own, compared with 91% who saw payouts with a lawyer. Additionally, respondents without lawyers saw an average of $60,000 less in their settlements.

Myth #2 – “I can’t possibly afford it.”

Many people are under the misapprehension that hiring a personal injury lawyer is something only rich people can do, but this could not be further from the truth. Hiring other types of lawyers can be expensive, yes – if you need an excellent criminal defense attorney or an excellent estate planning lawyer, you may pay a pretty penny – but hiring even the most prestigious personal injury lawyer is essentially free for anyone.

Let us explain at the risk of being disbelieved. It’s not exactly free, but it is almost like that. Most personal injury law firms, including The Florida Law Group, charge on a contingency fee basis. This means that they only get paid if they win your case and recover a monetary amount, and they don’t get paid by you directly – they get paid out of a percentage of the settlement. Let’s say that your lawyer is able to recover a $75,000 settlement; with the average 33% contingency fee, you still take home $24,750 (in general, in Florida, these types of settlements are not taxed). You pay nothing upfront, and because you are winning money that you would not have won without their help anyway, you incur no financial risk. If they lose and win you nothing, you don’t pay them their legal fees. What’s more, because the lawyers make a percentage of your settlement, it is in their own best interest to procure the largest settlement possible for you, so you can trust their motives!

Contingency fee arrangements make personal injury litigation affordable for anyone who is injured in an accident. In fact, you may not be able to afford not hiring a lawyer, after factoring in the cost of the medical bills to treat your injuries and the wages you lost for taking time off of work to heal. What’s more, most personal injury lawyers (including the Florida Law Group!) offer a free consultation where you can meet the attorney, discuss your case, and get an idea of what to expect before pursuing legal action.

Myth #3 – “My injuries are too minor to justify the time/cost/hassle.”

This is another myth about hiring a personal injury lawyer. What seem like “minor” injuries at the time of the accident may reveal themselves to be major injuries later on. Sometimes adrenaline can prevent you from realizing the full extent of your injuries at the scene, and some injuries like brain or neck injuries can take over 5 days to start showing symptoms.

Victims of “minor” injuries may also not realize that there is still an incredibly high cost to treat any injury. If you get an imaging test done to make sure there are no permanent problems, or have to go to physical therapy, those expenses can be much higher than you may think – potentially thousands of dollars. According to the CDC, the average ER visit for a car accident victim is $3,300; if the victim is hospitalized, the average cost is $57,000. There are deductibles and copays you must meet, even for “minor” injuries. Thousands of dollars isn’t minor for most families! Hiring a personal injury lawyer can help you get compensated for those costs. Because you don’t pay anything upfront, you don’t have to worry about the cost of representation, and there really isn’t as much hassle involved in litigation as you may think! Which bring us to myth number 4….

Myth #4 – “It’s too much work to hire a lawyer and fight for compensation.”

The truth is that fighting for compensation on your own is too much work. People hire personal injury lawyers because they make the process easier! A good accident attorney will take the time to explain your legal options, investigate your case, and handle the paperwork on your behalf. All you really have to do is cooperate with them by signing anything they need you to sign and then they take it from there! In most cases, you won’t even have to go to court.

Finding the right lawyer you trust to represent you can be an initial challenge – you have many options of firms to choose from – but you can read reviews, look up their accreditations and awards, view case examples, and read articles online. Because most attorneys offer a free consultation, you can meet them at no obligation and see whether they may be the right fit to work with.

Myth #5 – “People who file personal injury lawsuits are just greedy opportunists.”

This is one of the biggest myths about hiring a personal injury lawyer and one of the biggest reasons people avoid litigation – they see attorneys as ambulance chasers and people who hire them as not being people of integrity. Truly, that is a misconception that has been perpetuated by misleading media headlines and false stereotypes. Really, The Florida Law Group believes in justice, as do many personal injury lawyers. When you’re injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence and you have to pay for it, that’s not fair. The majority of cases we handle are people who have been seriously hurt and have had their lives significantly interrupted. We care about your safety and holding guilty parties accountable for their actions. Our attorneys pursue the damages that our clients truly deserve!

For example, take a 1992 case you may have heard of, where a 79-year-old woman in New Mexico ordered a McDonald’s coffee and spilled it on her lap. She sued for damages, and a jury awarded her $3 million dollars. Many people looked at that case and thought “how ridiculous”, but a closer look at the facts revealed that Mrs. Liebeck actually suffered 3rd degree burns on her inner thighs and elsewhere, requiring skin grafts. McDonalds knew that their coffee was hot enough to cause burns and had actually known about this danger for over 10 years. Now, there were specific reasons why the jury awarded the injured victim so much, but doesn’t it make sense that due to the pain and trauma that lady suffered, the surgeries she had to pay for, and the neglect of McDonald’s to care for the safety of their customers, that she should be compensated for her injuries? That’s why personal injury lawyers exist – to get justice. You are not a greedy opportunist if you hire one!

Trust the personal injury lawyers at The Florida Law Group!

Injured in an accident? Call The Florida Law Group today! We have successfully recovered over $1 billion for our clients. We have over 11 locations around the state to better serve you! Our lead attorney, Chris Limberopoulos, is a board certified civil trial specialist, a distinction that places him in the top 1% of attorneys. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation!