Does Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer Make A Difference?

The personal injury process is complex, but if your injuries are obvious and it’s clear who is at fault, do you really need a lawyer to get an award? Does it really make a difference to have a lawyer by your side in an injury case? The answer is a resounding yes, and we explain why in today’s blog.

The Difference An Injury Lawyer Makes

To help our readers understand just how big of a difference having a lawyer by your side can make during your personal injury case, we’re going to look at some data from Martindale-Nolo Research’s 2017 study on personal injury claims. Let’s start by jumping into arguably the most important factor, which is winning an award.

According to that study, individuals who retained a lawyer to help fight their personal injury case ended up receiving an award in 91 percent of cases. Those who decided to pursue their case without a lawyer were successful at earning compensation 51 percent of the time. So while it’s certainly possible to win an award without a lawyer, your likelihood of earning compensation jumps to more than 90 percent if you retain a lawyer.

Now, let’s look at payout amount. Those who hired a lawyer had an average award amount of roughly $77,600. Those without an attorney had an average payout of $17,600. While some of that may be due to more serious injuries being handled by an attorney, the difference in payout is monumental. Even when you consider that a lawyer’s fee is roughly ⅓ of your total award, you’re still taking home about three times as much on average after you pay your lawyer than if you decide to pursue compensation on your own. Not only do you earn more, but someone else does all the heavy lifting for you – it’s really a no brainer.

Next, let’s look at case length. Those without a lawyer were able to wrap up their cases in an average of seven months, whereas those with a lawyer took just over 15 months to finish their case on average. Oftentimes this goes hand-in-hand with higher compensation, because you need to be able to say no to low offers and put together a strong case to get yourself the compensation you deserve. It may take twice as long, but considering what’s on the line and how much more a lawyer can get you, it will be worth it. Don’t try to rush to resolve your case without a lawyer, because odds are you’ll leave a lot of money on the table.

And finally, let’s analyze satisfaction rates. Claimants either said they were satisfied or neutral about the result of their case 64 percent of the time when they had a lawyer assisting with their case. Without a lawyer, claimants responded that they were dissatisfied with how their case played out 55 percent of the time. Moreover, only 17 percent of claimants who pursued compensation without a lawyer said they were satisfied with the outcome of their case. In other words, more than four out of five individuals who tried to collect injury compensation without the help of their lawyer were not satisfied with how their case played out.

At the end of the day, it’s clear the difference a competent legal team can make. If you want our team to go to work for you and help you achieve a favorable outcome that you’re satisfied with, pick up the phone and give Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm a call today at (952) 230-2700.