When to hire a car accident lawyer, and when people handle it alone

It is not all or nothing#

Hiring a lawyer is not the only choice, and it does not have to be made on day one. Some people handle the property damage themselves and talk to a lawyer only about the injury claim. Others call a lawyer for a single consultation to understand their deadline and their state's fault rule, then decide.

What a lawyer adds is mostly three things: time and know-how to gather evidence, leverage in negotiation because the insurer knows a lawsuit is possible, and the ability to file that lawsuit before the deadline. The more of those your claim needs, the more people tend to hire one. Our guide to the claim process shows where each of these comes in.

Situations where people commonly hire a lawyer#

You were injured

Injury claims are where most of the money and most of the disputes are. The insurer will look at whether the crash caused the injury, whether the treatment was needed and what the injury is worth in pain and lost income. Medical liens, health plan repayment rights and Medicare can all claim part of a settlement. A lawyer who handles injury claims deals with these questions every day.

The longer the treatment or the more lasting the injury, the more common it is to hire someone.

Fault is disputed

If the other driver's insurer says you were partly to blame, your state's fault rule decides what that costs you. In most states your damages are cut by your share of fault, and in many you recover nothing once your share reaches 50% or 51%. A few states still use contributory negligenceContributory negligence. An older rule, still used in a few places, under which any fault of your own can bar you from recovering anything. Glossary, where almost any fault of your own can bar the claim. Our fault-rule explainer shows the rule for each state.

A commercial, rideshare or government vehicle was involved

Crashes with trucks, delivery vans, company cars and rideshare drivers can involve more than one insurer and an employer's liability. Trucking companies must also follow federal safety rules, and the records that prove a violation may not be kept forever.

Government vehicles bring their own rules. Many states limit what you can recover through sovereign immunitySovereign immunity. The rule that governments cannot be sued unless a law allows it. Tort claims acts allow some claims, with limits. Glossary laws and require a notice of claimNotice of claim. A written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months. Glossary within months. In Texas the written notice is due within 6 months, and a city charter can require less. A claim against a federal agency, such as a mail truck, must be presented in writing within 2 years under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Someone died

A wrongful death claim is brought by family members or the estate under a separate state statute, with its own deadline and its own list of who may sue. Families often have probate questions at the same time. Our guide to wrongful death explains how these claims work.

The insurer delays, denies or lowballs

An insurer that will not return calls, keeps asking for the same records, denies the claim or offers an amount you cannot evaluate is a common reason people seek a second opinion. A lawyer can tell you whether the offer reflects the evidence and the at-fault driver's policy limits, and whether the delay could be a claim-handling violation in your state.

The deadline is close

Insurance talks do not stop the statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary. If the claim has not settled and the deadline is weeks away, the claim may need a lawsuit filed to survive. Filing a lawsuit is technical, and a lawyer brought in days before the deadline has little time to investigate, so time matters.

Claims many people handle alone#

A crash with no injuries, clear fault and a cooperative insurer is the classic do-it-yourself claim. You send the police report, photos and repair estimates, and you negotiate the repair cost or, if the car is a total loss, its value. A lawyer's percentage could take a large share of a small recovery, and many lawyers decline property-only cases.

Other claims people often handle themselves:

• a claim on their own collision coverage, where the main questions are the deductible and the repair shop;
• a minor injury that healed quickly, with modest bills fully documented;
• a small claim that fits within their state's small claims court limit.

Even then, some people pay for a single consultation to check their deadline and the release before signing it. The guide to handling a claim without a lawyer covers the do-it-yourself route, and the choosing a lawyer hub covers the other side.

Free consultations: what to expect#

Many injury lawyers advertise a free first consultation, usually by phone or in person. Ask before booking whether there is any charge. The meeting is not a commitment on either side.

Expect questions about how the crash happened, your injuries and treatment, the insurers involved, what you have already said or signed, and your deadline. Expect the lawyer to explain how they would be paid, usually through a contingency feeContingency fee. A lawyer's fee paid as a share of what you recover. If there is no recovery, there is usually no fee. Glossary, and what the case costs might be. Our guide to contingency fees explains how the percentage and costs work. A lawyer may decline the case; that is common and says nothing about whether your claim is valid.

Under the professional rules, such as Florida's Rule 4-1.18, a lawyer generally may not use or reveal what you say in a consultation even if you do not hire them. That is why it helps to be complete. Our list of questions to ask a lawyer helps you use the time well.

Timing: when to call, and the deadlines that matter#

There is no rule about how soon to call a lawyer, but early contact has practical advantages:

1. Evidence. Video from nearby businesses is often recorded over, vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and witnesses move.
2. Statements. The other driver's insurer may ask for a recorded statement in the first days. You generally do not have to give one to that insurer.
3. Deadlines. The filing deadline for an adult's injury claim is 2 years in Texas, 2 years in California and 1 year in Tennessee. Government notice deadlines are much shorter.
4. Settlement timing. A claim is usually valued once treatment ends or the injury is stable, so an early call does not mean an early settlement.

You can look up your state's deadlines with the deadline tools. If you do sign with a lawyer, some states give you a short window to change your mind: in Florida, a client can cancel a personal injury contingency fee contract within 3 business days without owing a fee.