An accident with another vehicle can be complicated and leave you feeling unsure of what to do next. First, you’ll likely focus on getting medical treatment, repairing physical damages to your property, and figuring out what insurance will cover what you’ve been through. From there, you might be debating whether or not you need to hire an attorney.
Depending on what happened, you might not need one. Of course, it can give you peace of mind knowing you have the support of a car accident lawyer or another kind of personal injury lawyer after a collision that harmed you, but it could be an extra step that you didn’t need to take depending on the severity of your crash and damages.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you might not need an attorney after your accident.
Reasons You May Not Need a Lawyer
You might think that as lawyers, we’re going to say you always need an attorney after an accident. But that’s not necessarily true. There are some situations where a personal injury attorney might not benefit you—and that’s okay! We understand that you probably don’t want to hire legal help if you don’t have to, which is why we’re here to tell you scenarios where you don’t need our help.
Here are some of the times when you don’t need to hire an attorney after an accident:
- The damages cost less than $1,000 and didn’t need to be reported to the police
- The damages were another amount you weren’t concerned about even though you filed a police report
- You didn’t get seriously, or even minorly, hurt
- You aren’t interested in financial compensation and just want to move on
- Your insurance covered it, or the other party’s insurance covered it
- You’ve been through this before and know how to go through the claim process on your own
- You were the person at fault
Even though these are all valid reasons why you might not need the help of a personal injury lawyer, that doesn’t mean you have to decide right away that you’re not filing a claim. You have time to decide, or you can hire an attorney later if you’re having trouble with your insurance company or the other party’s insurance.
To clarify the last point in that list, if you were the person at fault, you won’t want to hire a personal injury lawyer. However, you might need the help of a criminal attorney to defend you, which is a different story.
At the end of the day, it’s your decision if you want to hire an attorney or not. But in case you change your mind, knowing the time limit you have to take legal action and potentially hire a lawyer could help.
For a legal consultation, call 612-349-2729
Minnesota Statutes of Limitations
At first, you might not be interested in hiring an attorney after an accident. Truthfully, you might not have to. But it’s still important to know how long you have to take legal action if you decide down the line that you want to take this to court. In that case, you’ll want to know the statute of limitations for personal injury so you know if a lawyer will even be able to help you with your claim.
In Minnesota, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury claim against the negligent party. If the two years have passed, an attorney won’t be able to help you. That’s why it’s important to really think about whether or not you want to take legal action—because if you wait too long to hire a lawyer, it might be too late.
Even if you’re not planning to hire a lawyer or take legal action from your accident, you still might want to talk to an attorney just as confirmation. At Madia Newville, we understand that this might be a confusing time and why you might feel like hiring a lawyer makes it all the more complicated.
If you don’t need to hire an attorney, then don’t. But our firm is here if you change your mind.
Granting Peace of Mind
Now you understand when you might not need an attorney on your side, but what if you still want one? That’s okay too! It’s never a bad idea to be prepared and get as much support as you feel you need. The law can be complicated, and you might not know if your situation warrants a legal claim, which is where hiring a personal injury lawyer could help.
If you think you want to take legal action against the negligent party who caused your accident, or you’re having trouble with insurance companies, and you just want some extra legal protection, then our lawyers can help you. Even if you don’t technically need an attorney, it could still give you peace of mind to hire one.
At Madia Newville we have experience representing victims of accidents. We’ll be there to help you with our knowledge of the law, and we won’t push you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing.
After an accident is a confusing time—you’re unsure if you’re hurt, what damages you suffered, and if you want to take legal action. The good news is you don’t always need a lawyer, but when you do, our personal injury lawyers are here for you.
At Madia Newville, we’re dedicated to fighting for our clients, making them feel comfortable, and getting them the justice they deserve. Reach out to our office today so we can get started working for you on your potential claim.
Call 612-349-2729 or complete a Case Evaluation form