We get asked a lot, "Do I even need a lawyer for a car accident case?"

Many car accident victims wish to handle their claims themselves. Car accident cases may seem simple: the police report says the other driver is at fault, you have bills from the auto repair shop and the hospital, and you know how many days you had to miss work. It's simple math to calculate what you are owed. And the insurance company "has" to pay. Lawyers "cost money," and many people have negative views of lawyers. You just want this whole bad episode behind you and to be adequately compensated. At Grossman Law Offices, we understand.

Questions answered on this page:

• How does having a lawyer help, even in "simple" car accident claims?
• How do insurance companies try minimize your injury claims?
• How can an experienced car accident company help you stand up to a bullying insurance company?

The main reason you need an attorney: the insurance company.

Despite what their employees might say or how empathetic they seem, the insurance company is not your friend. Insurance companies are public companies that exist to make money. They have shareholders demanding that they make a profit, employees to compensate, rent due, other claimants to pay, and high executive salaries and perks to fund. The bottom line is that they have every incentive to pay you the least amount possible. If you'll take $1,500 for a claim that's worth $15,000, then they pocket the rest. Insurance adjusters don't work for you; they work for the insurance company and they're trained to pressure you to take the least amount of money possible. Having a lawyer represent you doesn't mean you're not tough or smart, it just means you're leveling the playing field against insurance defense attorneys who charge hundreds of dollars per hour to fight for the same insurance company that wants to low-ball your claim.

And no matter what is right and wrong, the insurance company is under no legal obligation to actually pay you money at all. Many times they will find something in the police report or the other driver's recorded statement that "proves" you were in the wrong. Other times insurance companies will claim that injuries you sustained in the accident, were pre-existing. Perhaps their most disreputable tactic is to try and string along your claim as long as possible, because in many jurisdictions, you only have 2 years to file suit after an accident. After that your injury claim simply vanishes for all legal purposes.

Further, insurance company employees are trained to trick you into saying things that can hurt your case. They'll ask you to do a recorded statement, but then ask the same question 100 different ways to finally get the answer they want. As you can imagine, what they want and what you want are completely different. For instance if you were rear-ended by another car and suffered injuries, the insurance company might ask, "If someone is driving too close to you, do you tap on the brakes to get them to back off?" This has nothing to do with the fact that someone rammed into the back of your car, but if you say yes, like many people would, then you just gave them a chance to say that perhaps that's what you were doing when the accident occurred. Therefore, the person who is really to blame for the accident is you, not the person who recklessly rear-ended you.

Keep in mind that the insurance company has teams of costly, experienced lawyers working for them right now. Their job, what they're paid to do, is fight your claim. No matter how smart you are, if you've not been litigating this process for many years, you simply cannot know all of the pitfalls and potential problems. Think about it this way: Bill Gates is plainly brilliant, but would he do his own dentistry work? The same hold true when dealing with the insurance companies---it's time to call in a pro.

You can afford top-notch legal representation.

In the end, if you decide to hire us, you will never be charged one penny if you do not receive a financial recovery for your claim. Ever. We know that car accidents put real strains on our clients' families and their resources, and we cannot and will not take any money if our efforts are unsuccessful. Should we recover money for you, our fees and expenses will be taken out of that money and that money alone. Our car wreck attorneys only charge standard percentages for fees. We just get above-standard results.

Additionally, in many instances our firm can help negotiate down your medical bills. While doctors and hospitals are reluctant to negotiate with individuals, they negotiate fees with insurance companies and law firms all the time, which results in less money out of your pocket.

Most importantly, you're really not risking anything by consulting with an expert car accident attorney, because if your case really is that simple and the insurance company is treating you fairly, we'll tell you so. If you don't need us on your case, that is exactly what we'll tell you. We're not the business of taking a percentage of people's money for doing nothing, we think it's only right to get paid if we actually do something that benefits our clients. That's why we don't charge up-front fees. That's why we don't take cases where someone doesn't need a lawyer.

A free consultation is all reward and no risk

When you call Grossman Law Offices for a free consultation, we mean it when we say that it is all reward and no risk. If we determine that you don't need our expertise, you can proceed with the knowledge that you are being treated fairly by the insurance company. That peace of mind costs you absolutely nothing. However, if it looks like you do need our help, you get a team of lawyers who has fought and won literally thousands of car accident cases.

The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices treat each client with the attentiveness and respect they deserve. Our many successes over the last 25 years were not accidents or luck. Our attorneys have fought the insurance companies all the way through jury trials with skill, experience, and compassion for our clients' rights. Whether our clients endured minor injuries or had their loved ones tragically killed, we've brought the same passion and expertise to each case. We know the legal system, and we know how the insurance companies work. We can put that experience to bear for you and for your family today. For more information, call us today at (855) 326-0000.

If you have been injured in a car accident, the following related articles may interest you:

• An Overview of Car Accident Defenses
• How the Statute of Limitations Applies to Car Accident Case
• How Uninsured Motorist Provisions (UIMs) Work in Car Accident Cases