The question about if you should get a personal injury attorney or just deal with the insurance company yourself is always the same, get an attorney. The simple fact is with an attorney you are more likely to get a much higher settlement than without an attorney. This does not mean that if an accident is completely your fault and you are not covered by your insurance, that a personal injury attorney can help your situation, but you have much better chances than with no attorney at all. I had just had a case where a gentleman had tried to resolve the matter with the insurance company himself, and the evidence that the insurance company collected and the statements he made gave them enough reason to deny the claim and close the case. At this point the gentleman then came to my Lor office seeking our assistance. Once all information was collected from the insurance company, we had realized that he had said too many things that did simply did not help his case and gave sufficient reason for the insurance company to close their claim. The main problem with this situation was a number of things he’d hold the insurance company, contradicted the evidence that the inspectors had obtained from the motor vehicle itself. Also the injuries he sustained were due to having a small dog in the front seat, which was not strapped in with an animal seatbelt and he hurt himself attempting to save the dog during the accident. Furthermore, there were damages to the vehicle that could not be explained by the client. Simply when you speak to an insurance company they are not attempting to help you, they are looking for reasons to deny your claim. This gentleman felt that he had for over 30 years faithfully paid for full insurance on his vehicle and that regardless of the reasons behind why the accident occurred, they should pay for the damages. Simply stated he did not know how to speak to the insurance company in a way that would’ve got him the settlement that he deserved and had paid faithfully for years. I am making no opinion if he lied or not, but the information provided by the insurance company had conflicts that could not be explained away. These conflicts would’ve never had occurred if you come to a personal injury attorney and had them file the claim. It is extremely important that you do not attempt to deal with insurance companies themselves, they are they are to make money and they are certainly not there to help you. No matter how warm and fuzzy there TV commercials are, insurance companies are one of the most highly profitable businesses in the country, second only banks and pharmaceutical companies. There is a reason why they are so profitable, because they all have one thing in common when it comes to claims: deny, deny, deny. Almost all insurance companies will attempt to deny your claim or not provide you with sufficient amount of insurance to cover the damages. In this particular case there were no witnesses and no police reports, only the statements of the driver. Most people think that this would be the best situation possible, as there’s no one to give a conflicting story, they could be nothing further from the truth. The simple fact is that without any eyewitnesses other than the driver, insurance companies use investigators and obtain statements from the driver, who are professionals and ask leading questions and order to force you to give inappropriate answers. Not only does a personal injury attorney get you the most for your claim, they also keep you from making statements that can destroy your possibility of obtaining a settlement for both damage and physical injury. I felt very bad when I told him that we could not handle his case, but he sealed that deal himself by attempting to go to the insurance company directly and they closed the case before we had even gotten to it. People are under the mistaken belief that if they go to a insurance company, they’re going to get one third more than an attorney would’ve obtained for them. There could be nothing further from the truth. The simple fact is even after we get our one third, for the most part a personal injury attorney will get you more money than you could’ve possibly got yourself even after we take one third for our legal fees. Considering all the snow and ice that we’ve had, there are many accidents that have occurred this year and many of those people are attempting to settle these cases directly with the insurance company, this is a mistake. If you’ve been in a motor vehicle accident obtain the services of an experienced automobile accident personal injury attorney.
Joseph F. Botelho, Esq.

BOTELHO LAW GROUP
Attorneys At Law

901 Eastern Ave.
Unit 2
Fall River, MA 02723

Office:  888-269-0688

Email: jbotelho@botelholawgroup.com

https://www.botelholawgroup.com/

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