re: Attorney question re: accident

As an insurance adjuster with 17 years experience, I see these threads all the time and the same logic applies across the board for well meaning and ethical people who have sustained a loss.

Assuming motivation is ethical, you shouldn't "need" legal representation early in a claim unless compensability is in question. You should discuss with the carrier(s) and get the details, coverage and process involved and proceed accordingly.

Many people seem unable to understand what insurance is and how it works and what the policy and/or law provides. If after discussing with the carriers you do not understand or disagree, an attorney may offer benefit or ease your mind. However, understand up front you will eventually pay for their service. The value of this is up to you. Without being able to review the claim file, no one will be able to determine whether attorney representation will be a financial net gain or loss for you. Both occur in abundance.

An attorney will generally not speed up the process unless you are unfortunate enough to get a burned-out, overworked or just incompetent adjuster. However, for every bad adjuster there is an equally bad attorney.

One of the biggest impact on a claim with honest motivation is the selection of service providers, most importantly, medical. Insurance adjusters know which ones are legit and unbiased. They also know who is claimant oriented and who to use to counter. Attorneys know who is who as well.

A claims ultimate settlement value will generally have a range of compensation based on all the factors associated with that particular claim, policy and applicable law. How big that range is and where that particular claim falls in the range depends on the factors of each case.

The ultimate question is whether an attorney will achieve settlement high enough in the range to offset their costs.