If you were hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be eligible for compensation to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. But getting that compensation on your own can be difficult, as insurance companies are notoriously stingy when writing settlement checks. Because of that, many people hire lawyers to help them with their injury claims, but they may not know when they’re supposed to call.
Simply put, the best time to call a lawyer after an accident is right away! The sooner you contact a lawyer, the better your chances are of getting compensation. Of course, your first phone call after a serious injury should always be to 911 to get emergency medical attention for yourself and anyone else injured. But after that, it’s never “too early” to call a lawyer. On the flip side, if enough time passes, it can certainly become too late.
Why Do You Need to Call a Lawyer Right Away?
Calling a lawyer as soon as you’re able to after an accident or injury is important for 5 reasons:
- It gives your lawyer an advantage against the insurance company—Insurers start working on reducing or denying claims as soon as they hear about accidents and injuries. That’s why they have huge teams of adjusters and report big profits every year. If you wait too long to call a lawyer, the insurance company may already have its case against you ready to go, and that can put you at a disadvantage.
- It means more evidence may be available—There’s nothing more important in a personal injury claim than cold, hard evidence that another party was at fault. But evidence can quickly and easily disappear. Video files can be deleted or overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to track down, and crash scenes can be cleared away. The sooner you call, the more evidence may be available.
- It decreases the amount of time you’ll wait for a check—Personal injury claims can take several weeks to months to settle. And because you need money right now, it makes sense to call a lawyer ASAP, so you can get the process started right away.
- It eliminates your risk of the statute of limitations expiring—Waiting around to call a lawyer for a few months as you “play things by ear” typically only hurts your chances of getting compensation and delays your possible payment. But if you wait too long, your claim becomes null and void. That’s because Oklahoma’s statute of limitations is just two years after an accident or injury, and if a claim isn’t filed in that time, it’s ineligible to proceed.
- It makes you less likely to be taken advantage of by the insurance company—Insurance companies know that injured victims are often in shock and in pain after their accidents. They also know they’re frequently in dire need of settlement checks. They take advantage of that by offering lowball settlements or even getting victims to admit fault by pretending to be their friends. Having a lawyer take over your claim right away protects you from these tactics.
Accident Happened Weeks or Months Ago? We’re Still Here to Help!
Calling a lawyer right away is something that all injury victims should do, but we know it’s not always possible or feasible. In addition, we know that many victims are hesitant to call a lawyer for anything, especially if they’ve never needed one before. Just know that as long as the statute of limitations for your injury claim hasn’t expired, we can still help you!
Don’t worry if it has been weeks or months since your accident or injury occurred. All injury claims are different, and it may still be possible to get full compensation. At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, we handle cases whether they occurred the same day or months before. Our Oklahoma personal injury lawyers work hard for our clients, and we know how to uncover valuable evidence for our clients no matter how long it has been since their accidents happened.
Contact us today for a free consultation. You owe us nothing up front, and you’ll never see a bill from us unless we win your claim.
