Why Would We Need to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney in Nevada?
Understanding When to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Las Vegas, NV
Personal injury cases can span many different disciplines, including auto accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, dog bites, construction accidents, and many other types of claims. When someone is involved in an accident, many times the first question asked to family members is why would we need to hire a personal injury lawyer in Nevada?
Most people already handle minor claims with insurance companies, credit card companies, or utility billing statements. People think that they can save money and time by handling a claim directly with the insurance carrier. But our personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas, NV knows that is a big mistake.
Victims and their families who attempt to settle a case by themselves are almost guaranteeing themselves to get less compensation than they would if they hired a lawyer and paid the customary contingency fee at the conclusion of the case. Sometimes a victim trying to handle his or her own case may even get no money by failing to comply with unfair procedural hurdles under the law.
This is why it is imperative to retain an experienced personal injury attorney such as ours at Michael Hua Injury Law to protect your rights after any type of personal injury accident in Las Vegas, Nevada. We offer FREE consultations to explain your rights and advise how we can help you.
Top Reasons Why You Need to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney in Nevada
There are many different reasons why you need to hire a personal injury attorney in Las Vegas, NV. This list could possibly be endless. But the most important reasons are the ones that really should persuade you to retain counsel by highlighting the fact that handling a case yourself will not be a fair fight like you may think it is. The top five reasons include the following:
1. Insurance Adjusters Get a Lot of Practical Experience
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are almost 1.9 million motor vehicle accidents resulting in personal injuries that are reported to the police each year. Nearly all of these claims are reviewed and handled by an insurance adjuster. This gives them valuable experience in handling claims.
If this is the first time you are handling a personal injury claim by trying to settle it for yourself, the adjuster on the other end of the telephone has likely already handled thousands of claims at this point in his or her career. This practical experience makes it very difficult for a non-lawyer to fight back against.
2. Insurance Companies Train Their Adjusters With Lawyers
You may think that handling a personal injury claim with an insurance adjuster is a fair fight because you are both non-lawyers. While it is true that the insurance adjuster is not a lawyer, insurance companies specifically train their adjusters at seminars and national programs that are taught by some of the top defense lawyers in the country.
Oftentimes there are other lawyers at the programs learning how to build their experience and hone their skill sitting side-by-side with insurance adjusters. This means that insurance adjusters are literally learning the same material at the same types of educational programs as lawyers, being trained on theory, tactics, and the law which you have not been.
If you believe working with an insurance adjuster is going to be a fair fight, think again.
3. Insurance Adjusters are Often Supported by a Silent Lawyer
Not only are insurance adjusters well-trained, but they are often supported by a defense lawyer who you will never realize is working on your claim. Indeed, most insurance companies have a floating defense lawyer that will review your claim, damages, and liability, and then issue a report or assessment to the insurance adjuster.
So not only are you working against a well-trained insurance adjuster but you are also outnumbered and overpowered by working against the adjuster and a defense lawyer who you do not even realize is there.
4. Complexity of Cases and Their Respective Values
The field of personal injury spans many different types of cases, ranging from auto accidents to slip and falls, to medical malpractice or construction accidents. The applicable laws are very unique to each type of case.
This is why insurance companies have departments handling different types of cases. Adjusters specialize in generally one type of claim and then handle hundreds if not thousands of claims each year.
This helps an adjuster quickly issue spot, properly value a case, and overall know-how to defeat your claim. Trying to handle your first personal injury claim against a seasoned adjuster is guaranteeing you get less compensation than you deserve.
5. Your Injuries and Disability
If all of these factors were not difficult enough to fight back against, realize that handling your own personal injury claim in Nevada usually means that you are still suffering from the accident. You may still be in a cast or on pain medications. You may have had surgery or still need surgery. Sometimes victims are still on bed rest or have been out of work for months.
Trying to handle a personal injury claim while affected by emotional or physical pain will simply make it near impossible to properly advocate for yourself.
And insurance adjusters know this. They will often try to be difficult and prolong your case in a war of attrition. There will come a point when you may be desperate to settle your claim to pay the bills or to end the annoyance of the adjuster, and that is when the insurance companies win. Do not let that happen.
Hire an experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney who can handle the insurance company and defense lawyer while you focus on healing and your family.
The Type of Personal Injury Case Can Make Your Claim More Difficult to Handle Alone
The first and most important point is that all personal injury cases have both procedural and substantive hurdles set by law. Whether it is complying with the statute of limitations (time limit on filing a claim), satisfying your burden of proof, or properly pleading a cause of action, even the slightest of mistakes can result in complete denial or dismissal of your case.
Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers know this and take particular satisfaction in aggressively attacking and “testing” a self-represented litigant’s ability—even in a very strong type of case. This is why it is imperative to protect your rights by having a personal injury attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada on your side.
But in addition to the basic procedural and substantive requirements of all cases, certain types of personal injury cases also have different types of rules, requirements, and standards that must be satisfied in order to successfully recover compensation. Some of these specialized cases and their requirements include the following:
Motor Vehicle Accidents in Nevada
Do you know the difference between a no-fault and at-fault car insurance state? Do you know which one Nevada is? Do you know whether you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and how to exhaust the coverage to get to this coverage? These can be very complex issues and insurance is a semester-long class in law school—not something that can be quickly picked up.
Knowing how to submit a proper and timely claim can make a huge difference in whether you are ultimately able to recover compensation. Even if you think that you can mimic a complaint that you found online, most car accident cases are won or lost at examinations before trial (EUOs) or depositions. Knowing the right questions to ask the defendant to establish liability, as well as knowing when to object or not answer probing questions from a defense lawyer, can really make or break your case.
Having a Las Vegas motor vehicle accident attorney to help your claim can ensure that you satisfy all required procedural and pleading requirements while maximizing the compensation that you may be entitled to under the law.
Medical Malpractice Claims in Nevada
Perhaps you were injured by a medical provider’s mistake and you want to try to handle the claim yourself. This may sound reasonable, but it often is not. First, medical malpractice claims are one of the most hotly contested types of personal injury cases. Physicians do not like to admit they are wrong—and often never will, even if you settle or a jury comes back with a verdict against them. This makes it incredibly difficult for a self-represented litigant to handle a medical malpractice claim.
Second, the burden of proof and requirements in a medical malpractice case is significantly more involved. This is because medical malpractice is a type of negligence that results from a deviation of the standard of care. This deviation must be a departure from what a reasonably prudent physician with similar skill, training, and experience would have done in similar circumstances.
As a result, this requires a plaintiff to obtain expert testimony in order to prove the standard of care and the department. That is both incredibly expensive and difficult to do.
This is why having a medical malpractice lawyer like ours at Michael Hua Injury Law is imperative to protecting your rights under Nevada law.
Slip and Fall Cases in Las Vegas
One of the trickier types of personal injury cases that are very common is slip and fall accidents. These types of cases are more difficult for a self-represented litigant to handle because they often require expert testimony from an engineer or land surveyor. This type of expert is very expensive, but also needs some type of guidance as to where the accident exactly occurred and what applicable laws in that jurisdiction (such as the town, city, municipality, or county).
But in addition to these inquiries as to the defect, a slip and fall case also requires a plaintiff to assess ownership, control, maintenance, and other requirements regarding the upkeep of the premises. Many large commercial stores and businesses have multiple layers of liability, including a property owner, tenant, maintenance team, and outside servicer. All of these individuals could be potentially liable, yet the only visible party is often just the store—which is sometimes a chain and not headquartered in Nevada.
This can be a liability nightmare for a self-represented litigant to handle which is why you need to hire a personal injury attorney in Nevada for your premises liability case.
If These Reasons Were Not Enough to Ask Michael Hua Injury Lawyer for Help, the Normal Costs of Litigation Without a Lawyer Should Be
Everyone knows that litigation is expensive. Court filing fees, expert fees, medical record costs, and other copying expenses are all significant costs. Conducting depositions with a stenographer could also be very cost-prohibitive for most people who have just been injured and are facing high medical bills with significant lost wages.
While many people may ask why we need to hire a personal injury attorney in Nevada, the main points are that it will not save you money because you will likely get less money than you deserve under the law due to an experienced and well-trained insurance adjuster, there are procedural and substantive hurdles in every case that are difficult to navigate, and many upfront costs of litigation could financially inhibit a person from being able to collect compensation.
But at Michael Hua Injury Law, we offer:
FREE consultations and case evaluations
If we accept your case, we will conduct a full and thorough investigation into your case, including hiring experts that we pay for upfront
We cover the upfront costs and disbursements of litigation so you do not have to, including filing fees, medical record fees, court costs, expert expenses, deposition bills, and other expenses related to your lawsuit. We only get these costs reimbursed if we recover compensation for you in a settlement or court award
We accept cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only get paid a percentage of what we recover for you and only after we recover it for you. This means we have a no-win, no-fee guarantee.
That means there are no upfront costs or financial risks to hiring Michael Hua Injury Law in your Nevada personal injury accident. Learn more about how we can help you by dialing (702) 659-5977 for your FREE case evaluation.
GET YOUR FREE CASE EVALUATION TODAY
We will get back to you as soon as we can and remember, no fee until we win.