Never, but never, sign anything until you have consulted with us and decided to retain a lawyer, whether through us or otherwise. People may claim you need to sign papers to protect your assets, your vehicle, your records, and valuables - or to avoid other dire consequences. Don’t take their advice. That means sign NOTHING without your lawyer’s approval. And you don’t have to sign papers of any kind. No matter what anyone says, you have the right to consult your trusted lawyer before you sign anything.

Beware of Insurance Reps

Sometimes insurance company reps or others may tell you they will fix your vehicle if you will sign a simple piece of paper called a “Release” - DON’T fall for it: Your signing this release could result in your waiving or releasing all your other rights to money damages and compensation for your injuries or losses.

Hidden Motives

Think about the ulterior motives of those who ask you to sign a paper unapproved by your trusted lawyer.
No one will ask you to sign anything unless they want written proof of the agreement stated on the papers. While that paper may look innocent, it can have disastrous effects on your pocketbook - and even on your ability to get the kind of medical care you deserve.

Denying You Your Rights

Your signing some papers could keep you from ever recovering the compensation you deserve for the injuries and damages suffered in the accident.

How Your Lawyer Can Help

A good lawyer will review documents before you sign them, tell you when not to sign a document, and fight for your rights if someone requires a harmful document in exchange for your getting your car fixed or medical payments.

Typically, an insurance company representative will call or visit you shortly after your accident and offer you money to fix your vehicle and pay for your medical bills. No matter how friendly and helpful they seem, no matter what they offer you, insurance reps have primarily one goal - to save their company money by paying you less than a good lawyer would make them pay.

Insurance Rep Hype

If you hire a lawyer now, your lawyer will usually get you more from the insurance company than you can get on your own. Insurance reps do not want you to hire a lawyer now. They will say things like, “Oh, you don’t need a lawyer for this. You and I can handle this easily without a lawyer and save you from paying legal fees” - and then they will offer you an amount of money. Just remember: what they offer you will almost always look inadequate when compared to what a good lawyer could make them pay you.

The Hidden Motive Behind the Hype

Think about it. Insurance companies have one primary purpose: to earn a profit for their companies. In fact, the officers and employees of an insurance company can get fired or replaced if they do not earn enough profit for their owners.

Insurance Aims to Pay You as Little as Possible

So, no matter how friendly an insurance company rep appears to you, no matter how reasonable or persuasive the rep’s pitch to you, remember that the rep’s goal is to please the boss by paying you as little as possible. Every insurance company rep must please his/her boss first. You come second - and cutting to the bone what they pay you provides a great way for insurance company reps to get promotions
and bonuses from their companies.

How Insurance Companies Profit at Your Expense

Insurance companies operate on a simple calculation: “Take in more money than paid out.” That is the profit they make at your expense. To profit they must charge more for their insurance policies than they pay out in insurance claims to accident victims like you. In other words, their profit depends on their paying you as little as possible.

How Your Lawyer Can Make Insurance Companies Pay More

A good lawyer will negotiate with insurance reps to fight for your right to recover the maximum payment
entitled you - and will cost you nothing until we recover payments for you. When lawyers have a reputation for winning court battles on behalf of accident victims, insurance companies listen to them. Faced with one of our trial lawyers, insurance companies know they better pay you more - or risk even higher payments in a court case.

The Insurance Trap

A few accident victims think they can just settle their own case with the insurance companies, and thereby save the percentage a lawyer would usually take from the insurer’s payments to you. Do not let yourself fall for this trap.

If the law and the parties’ insurance coverage permit, a good lawyer will help you get your auto fixed or repaired quickly, and will fight for your right to have a temporary replacement rental vehicle in the meantime. Beware of attempting to do this on your own, for you face a special danger here: you could get your vehicle fixed — and lose the rest of your case because of it. The unwary sometimes unknowingly sign away their rights to further compensation for their damages — just by signing a so-called “simple” release to get their vehicle repaired or replaced. Getting your transportation back depends on a number of complex legal provisions — a virtual snare for the unwary. A good lawyer will save you from this trap. Your trusted lawyer will maneuver through the thicket of complexities doing everything possible to get you up and running quickly with transportation that suits your needs.

How Your Lawyer Can Cut the Complexities

Your lawyer will also save you countless hours of confusing telephone calls and errands in making the proper arrangements for you to get a working vehicle promptly.

The Dangerous Trap

Beware of insurance company representatives who offer to get your car fixed and make other promises to you. Insurance companies do not have your best interests at heart, no matter how nice they seem (see below). Especially avoid signing anything — even a simple property damage release — for anyone
but your trusted lawyer.

Find a lawyer and law firm you really trust. Don’t choose your lawyer until you’re sure you like and trust him or her. And never sign up with a lawyer who visits you without your invitation. First check out the reputation and experience of each lawyer and law firm you visit. This booklet will help you decide which lawyer to hire. Use the checklists and information here for deciding which lawyer will serve you best. If you want to talk with us about your injuries, you can do so free, and without any obligation or commitment whatsoever, even if you have already considered another lawyer.

Some Accident Victims Think, “Aw, I can handle this on my own”

These folks mistakenly mutter to themselves, “It’s just a matter of talking to the insurance adjuster — and he seems pretty fair. Anyway, it will save me having to pay a lawyer’s fee.”

Abraham Lincoln’s Advice

Such a stance ignores the wise advice of Abraham Lincoln who said, “He who represents himself in a lawsuit has a fool for a client.” Self-representation in an accident case is like playing in a foreign game without knowing the rules.

How Do You Know Your Rights?

After all, you cannot know whether you’re treated fairly unless you know all of your legal rights. You cannot know whether someone cheats you out of something unless you first know you have a right to it. That’s what a good lawyer should do for you.

Will Representing Yourself Save You Money?

Almost never. A good lawyer will usually win more money damages for you than you could have obtained from the insurance company on your own. Why? Because that lawyer will perform, to the full extent required by your case, all of the 137 separate legal skills listed on pages 11-13. (And, if necessary,
represent you in all of the 23 Stages of a Law Case listed on pages 14-15.)

Four Sure Signs of a Lawyer You Can Trust:

(1) Your lawyer listens to you and helps with your immediate needs.
(2) Your lawyer charges you nothing for getting your vehicle repaired or replaced by the opposing party’s insurance — and an interim rental vehicle — to the full extent permitted by policy coverages and the law.
(3) Your lawyer immediately assigns you and your case a paralegal and a qualified investigator to interview you, examine the accident scene, and take vital photos.

Your healing is the first and foremost priority. Make sure you have dependable, competent medical care. You want medical providers who will listen to you, address your ailments, and continue to serve you until you feel 100% well. Doctors and hospitals want to be paid now, and your accident may result in your not having the funds now for proper medical treatment. Hiring a trustworthy attorney now can help you get the best medical care you need, because a good lawyer will immediately suggest ways and make arrangements, where possible, for you to obtain high quality medical care.

How Your Lawyer Can Help with Medical Care

A good lawyer will (a) guide you through the maze of medical options, (b) make sure you get the kind of care that helps you heal without your having to make immediate payment, and (c) protect your rights to recover maximum monetary damages for your injuries, medical expenses, and all other losses.

How Your Medical Care Determines Your Law Case

The amount you recover in your legal case arising out of an accident depends very much on your ability to prove, through medical documents, the breadth, type, and severity of your injuries. Therefore, your recovery depends on the quantity and quality of notes, reports, and other documents your health providers make. A good lawyer will show you how to get and preserve those all-important documents.