Archive for year: 2014

So is Hiring an Attorney a Greedy Thing to Do?

You are not the type of person who wants something for nothing. You work hard for your money; you believe other people should have to work hard for their money as well. We wholeheartedly agree. Hiring an attorney to represent you after an injury is not trying to get something for nothing. If you were not injured at all, do not hire an attorney. Do not lie to them to try to trick them into lying to an insurance company. That is not what attorneys do. We are in the business of making sure that victims are compensated fairly by the enormous insurance companies that are being paid to cover losses that may happen.

When people get hurt because someone else made a mistake, the law steps in and tries to make things right. We practice civil law, so we are not there to punish anybody. That is what criminal law does. If someone crashes into you, criminal law applies as well, by giving that person a ticket, that’s it.

Civil law is not about punishing anybody, it is only focused on helping the victim who was not at fault by making things right by them. The intent of civil law is to make it like it never even happened like a time machine would. Except, we don’t have the technology for a time machine, so civil law says that the insurance for the at-fault person has to cover everything so that it’s like it never happened at least financially speaking. That’s where injury attorneys step in. Our job is to be in your corner to make sure the insurance company values you like a human being with a life, rather than just treating you like a claim number on a page.

If you get hit in a car accident, or your kid gets bitten by your neighbor’s dog, hiring an attorney to handle your insurance claims is not greedy– it’s smart. Think about it this way, if one of those things happened to someone that you love, and you had some extra cash lying around, would you rather help that person by paying their medical bills, which were not even their fault, or would you rather donate your extra cash to an insurance agency so they can buy extra helicopters for their CEO’s yacht? It’s a very stupid question. Helping your loved one recover instead of paying extra bonuses to corporations is not greedy, it’s the opposite. It’s fair and it’s compassionate. Why then would you not do the same for yourself? If you won’t take the first step to help yourself, who will?

So is Hiring an Attorney a Contentious Thing to Do?

            You don’t like to be controversial or abrasive. Either do we. Life is better when we all get along. We feel the same way. We do not instigate any type of angry interactions with anyone. Our goal is to represent you and serve your interests the best that we can. No one responds well to antagonists. Treating people poorly will not get the result that we want for our clients. That is why an experienced injury attorney will treat all parties with the upmost respect throughout the process of handling a claim. In fact, 99/100 times, when we get involved and can properly handle your car accident claims from the get-go, no one even goes to court. No one gets sued.  This is because the truth is, the nice little old lady that hit you with her car never pays a dime, who really has to cover everything is her insurance. We deal directly with the at-fault person’s insurance adjuster, to make sure they pay out the fair amount to truly make up for what happened to you in the crash, rather than just letting them pay you whatever they decide.

You may worry that an acquaintance of yours might be upset with you for involving an attorney after you were hurt by his or her negligent actions. Honest people can understand that it is not strange to seek compensation when you are wronged. What would be strange is if people never learned to be more careful because no one ever asked them to pay the consequences for their actions. For example, let’s say you were on a walk when your neighbor’s pit-bull ran up and bit you on the leg. Asking your neighbor’s Home Owner’s Insurance to pay for your medical bills is not contentious. It’s fair and clearly reasonable. On the other hand, your neighbor keeping a potentially dangerous dog and allowing that dog to roam free in front of the house is quite contentious. Not very neighborly. Even if that is the nicest dog of all-time, shouldn’t people be responsible to take care of their own dogs and cover any damage their own dogs might cause to others? Utah law says yes. Consulting an attorney after an injury does not mean that you do not believe your injury was caused by an accident. It does not mean that you believe that your neighbor acted intentionally. Those cases are rare. All it means is that through an unfortunate accident, you were harmed, and you would like the assistance of a professional to make sure the applicable insurance company helps you get better.

So I’m Not a Bad Person if I Sue?

            No. But there certainly are plenty of negative implications if you don’t at least consult an injury attorney. Civil law tries to protect accident victims from any unnecessary heartache and pain after their injuries. To not use that system will result in injustice for all parties involved. It is not fair to you because you would bear the cost of an accident that was not your fault. It is not fair to the other party because their insurance company will continue to get rich without ever providing the service that they are being paid to provide. It is not fair to society as a whole because businesses and individuals would not internalize the costs of their negligence. Covering the cost of harms we cause by accident is how the world slowly gets safer. It’s why cars now have seatbelts. If you are hurt in an accident, don’t be afraid to do the right thing- call for a free consultation with an injury attorney.