If You Hire A Personal Injury Lawyer, He Or She Will Get Most Of Your Money
Having represented Alabamians that have suffered personal injury and bodily injury for over a decade, we know clients are routinely told by insurance adjusters not to hire an Alabama personal injury lawyer, because all he or she will do is take most – or even all – of the money recovered. Why would an insurance adjuster working for Goliath make such a statement? Because the right Alabama personal injury attorney – David – knows how to deal with insurance adjusters. Insurance companies keep files on personal injury attorneys, and they know if you go to a “David,” then they will likely have to pay full value.
While personal injury attorneys are compensated for our work, we accept personal injury and wrongful death cases on what is commonly referred to as a “contingency-fee basis.” This means that an Alabama personal injury attorney’s payment is contingent upon you getting a recovery. The percentage an Alabama personal injury lawyer receives is different based upon the nature, complexity and riskiness of the case, and is agreed to by the Alabama personal injury attorney and client at the outset of the case. In other words, the Alabama personal injury attorney almost always fronts the entire costs of the case.
Some cases can be very expensive and Alabama personal injury attorneys that properly develop and present a case can spend in excess of $25,000.00 per case, while some cases can even exceed $100,000.00. If a case is lost, the Alabama personal injury attorney does not seek reimbursement from the client. In essence, an attorney that loses a case must absorb the cost. If the client wins a recovery, the Alabama personal injury attorney is reimbursed the expenses and obtains compensation based upon the contingency fee agreement.
If you don’t hire an Alabama personal injury attorney, the insurance company may get away with paying as low as 50 percent or lower of the claim’s value. Think about it: 70 percent (client’s share) of $100,000 is a lot more than 100 percent of $50,000. Not only does the right Alabama personal injury attorney know how to effectively deal with Goliath’s adjuster, but he or she actually has a natural advantage over the adjuster. A good Alabama personal injury lawyer knows how to use the law as a sword. Most insurance adjusters are not attorneys and have never been Alabama personal injury lawyers. Therefore, when it comes to matters of the law, they are often out-matched and without the proper weapons. The reality is that most seriously injured victims need David.
There is an important concept in law referred to as the “burden of proof”. As the injured, you have the burden of proving your case in a court of law. That means that you have to prove your case. If you have ever been involved in the civil justice system as a member of a jury, you know proving a case in a court of law is often not an easy task. Despite what you may believe, there is no such thing as a perfect “open and shut” case. The law is complete with procedural requirements that necessitate the right personal injury attorney to be prepared with his five smooth stones. Lawsuits are often expensive and most people do not have the financial resources to effectively wage a battle with Goliath.
Can you get a more fair recovery by collecting 100 percent what is offered by the insurance company without an Alabama personal injury attorney or by accepting a lower percentage of a much greater offer with the benefit of the right attorney? We can’t speak for all Alabama personal injury attorneys, but our firm turns down cases when we feel like our clients will get less with an Alabama personal injury attorney than they would without an Alabama personal injury attorney. We want the clients to benefit from our work. We want to take cases that we add value to. Goliath’s insurance adjuster knows this, thus their statements about not hiring an Alabama personal injury attorney.
Aaron Gartlan is a graduate of Troy University and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law who focuses his practice exclusively on representing those injured by the wrongdoing of others. He is member of the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In addition to his legal practice, Aaron teaches Business Law as an adjunct instructor at Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business and serves as a field artillery sergeant in the Alabama National Guard.
