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There are certain individuals who believe that using the services of a lawyer is a waste of money. They believe that a person should be able to represent themselves when it comes to various legal issues such as estate planning, home purchasing, and so forth. While it may be true that there are a few legal issues that can be handled by a layman it should be emphasized that this does not include anything to do with personal injury law.
There is a well-known story about a man who was seriously injured in an automobile accident. The man was taken immediately to a local hospital where the doctors performed a variety of surgeries because of the injuries that this particular man incurred from the accident. After the surgeries the man was wheeled into a private room to recover. The doctors who performed the surgeries knew that his recovery was going to take quite a while because of the seriousness of his injuries.
When the man woke up from the anesthesia the first thing that he saw was a stranger hovering over his bed. The stranger was a representative of the insurance company of the other automobile driver. The police report stated that the other driver was responsible for the accident. The insurance representative did not mention this fact to the injured man. He simply started to explain to the man that it would be in his best interest to make a quick settlement.
He emphasized to the injured man that there would be a lot of medical costs because of surgeries. The insurance representative assured the man that a fair settlement from his company would help to pay them off. He also falsely pointed out that the hospital would be wanting reimbursement immediately. This was not a true statement. Nevertheless, he continued to pressure the man into signing. If the man signed the settlement document today then he would be free from all of the hospital’s medical costs.
This particular man was young and had very little experience in these type of matters. He was a family man with a wife and two small children. He was worried and stressed. How would he be able to pay for all of these medical costs if his injuries prevented him from working? The company that he worked for only provided minimal insurance coverage for these type of incidents. He therefore reluctantly signed the settlement.
It was not until a few months later that he discovered what a bad mistake it was to sign. Yes, the insurance company did pay for some of his hospital costs but unfortunately he had thousands upon thousands of dollars in other costs including prescription drugs, therapy and rehabilitation costs, and automobile repair costs.
This young family man was duped by a fast talking insurance representative. The young man was unable to work for months and he required continual therapy treatments and drugs for years. The sad part of the story is that it could have all been prevented if he would have first talked to a personal injury attorney.