Can you represent yourself in negotiations with an insurance company to resolve your personal injury claim? Of course you can, and there are times when it makes sense for you to do so. There are also times when it might be unwise to represent yourself. And since most personal injury lawyers will charge you a contingency fee (meaning your lawyer is only compensated if and when you settle or win your case), the cost is less of a deterrent to hiring a lawyer than in other kinds of cases where the lawyer often requires a substantial advance fee deposit.

What if my injuries aren’t serious?
If you have no physical injury or only minor physical injuries from the accident, it is probably unnecessary to be represented. The at-fault driver’s insurer will generally be happy to pay small medical bills and some payment for your pain, and while a personal injury lawyer might be able to get you a little bit more, it would not likely be enough to make it worth cutting your recovery by a third to pay your lawyer. It is rarely worth hiring a lawyer to represent you to recover the cost or repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle, since the value of your vehicle can usually be negotiated within a pretty narrow range, and in most circumstances, even a great lawyer can not make enough of a difference in the settlement to make it worth the expense.

Caution: Don’t rush to the conclusion that your injuries are minor. It is quite common that accident-related injuries do not show up right away, particular soft-tissue neck and back injuries. It is not at all unusual that someone with significant injuries declines medical attention at the scene of an accident, only to find themselves in severe pain hours or even days later. This is one reason that insurance adjusters will often try to rush you to do a recorded interview and even settle your case right away. They love to get you on tape a day after the accident saying you feel fine, knowing that your soft tissue symptoms might show up the next day. They also know that $1,000 or $1,500 might sound like a lot of money to you if you don’t think you’re hurt, and they are often quite willing to buy you off in a hurry before your symptoms show up. Then when you find out you need months of chiropractic care and maybe have to take some time off work, and you ask for help, they will be waiving that release you signed when you thought you were fine and took their check.

What if the amount of insurance coverage available is small in relation to the value of my claim?
You also might want to handle your case yourself if your injuries are serious enough that they clearly exceed the limits of the available insurance. If, for example, the at-fault driver is a young person with only minimum liability coverage of $25,000, and you have spent three days in the hospital, chances are the other party’s insurer will offer you the limits of their policy. If it’s obvious that you will be offered the limits of the policy and there is no more recovery available to you, you might be wise not to share it with a lawyer.

First Caution: However, an insurance adjuster, in the absence of an actual lawsuit, is not necessarily required to disclose to you the limits of the negligent driver’s insurance policy. And, the other driver’s insurance policy is not necessarily the only way for you to recover damages. Many automobile insurance policies have an Underinsured Motorist (UIM) component that would enable you to recover additional damages from your own insurer as if your insurer were standing in the shoes of the negligent driver.

Second Caution: There are other potential sources of recovery over and above the negligent driver’s and your auto insurance policies. For example, many homeowners carry an “umbrella” liability insurance policy that provides a million dollars or more of coverage over and above their auto liability insurance policy. Further, it is possible that if you were to investigate the circumstances of the accident, other potentially liable parties would be revealed. If the negligent driver were running an errand for his employer at the time of the accident, for example, the employer might be liable. If the driver were on her way home from a work-related party at which she was served alcohol, either the company or the server or both could be liable for your injuries if their negligence contributed to the accident.

Can I just consult with a lawyer about my case without paying a percentage of my recovery?
Some injury lawyers will review or consult with you about your case on an hourly fee rather than a contingent fee basis. This is almost always a good idea, if only to assure yourself that you are not agreeing to something that grossly undercompensates you for your out-of-pocket losses as well as your pain and suffering. There may be components of loss that a lawyer can help you identify that just wouldn’t occur to you. Maybe your spouse is entitled to damages as a result of time lost from work to care for you or transport you to your appointments. Perhaps your children are entitled to compensation for the interruption in their relationship with you. Even if your lawyer confirms that your settlement is fair and in your best interests, your fee will be money well spent, since you will be able to finalize your settlement with confidence and without fear that you will regret it later.

If the insurance company has already made me an offer and I decide to hire an attorney, will I have to pay a fee on the whole recovery?
While an attorney may have a standard contingent fee percentage, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the fee is non-negotiable. Every case is different, and there is no rule that requires you to agree to the lawyer’s standard contract. Depending on the lawyer’s opinion of the value of your claim and the amount of an offer the insurance company has made to you before you meet with your lawyer, your lawyer may consider accepting either a lower contingent fee, or even a tiered fee, wherein the lawyer’s fee is based on a percentage which is applied only to the settlement or judgment in excess of the offer the insurer has already made to you.

Can a personal injury lawyer actually get me a larger recovery?
Even though most injury cases settle without the filing of a lawsuit, the possibility of costly and risky litigation is an undercurrent in any negotiation of this sort. Even though both parties are usually hoping to resolve the case outside of court, both parties consider the risks of litigation when assessing the value of the claim. On your side, you are probably thinking that if you take your case to court, you will have to hire a lawyer and share your recovery with that lawyer. On the insurance company side, they know that juries (and even judges and arbitrators) are unpredictable, and the cost of bringing a case to trial can be enormous. But until you are represented by an attorney, you aren’t much of a litigation threat. And in that sense, the mere appearance of a credible attorney on your behalf can increase the “value” of your claim.

But beyond that, an experienced personal injury lawyer will know what to look for in your case and will know how to most effectively present it to an adjuster to maximize the appeal of your case. In my law office, for example, we take the time to thoroughly interview and get to know our clients over the course of their recovery so that we understand and communicate to the claims adjuster not just how much the injury has cost you in medical expenses, physical pain, and time lost from work, but also how much it has cost you in time lost from life. This helps an adjuster to recognize that there is real loss, however difficult it may be to calculate in dollars, in your missing a season of snowboarding or not being able to throw a softball with your daughter for two summers in a row, or not being able to fully enjoy intimacy with your spouse because of physical limitations.

When the time comes to present a settlement demand to the insurance company, a good personal injury lawyer will be presenting not just a letter but a package that includes a carefully written narrative about you and the effect that your accident has had on you, medical records and bills, and often photographs or video or other exhibits, well-organized and neatly presented in a way that not only effectively tells your story but tells that insurance company adjuster that you have a competent professional on your side.