Auto Insurance Coverage Las Vegas - Injury Lawyer

A question I'm often asked is, "Do I need under-insured motorist coverage in Las Vegas?", and the answer I always give is, "Absolutely!". Especially in this economic time where we're finding now, more than ever, people on the roadways of Las Vegas have no auto insurance coverage, and as a result, if you're hit by someone without insurance, your only recourse is to use your under-insured motorist coverage. If you haven't spoken to your agent recently about what coverages you have, I strongly recommend you talk to your agent about obtaining at least $15,000 worth of under-insured motorist coverage per person. This will protect everyone in your vehicle in the event you're unfortunate enough to be involve in an accident with an under-insured driver.

One of the most important reasons to have under-insured motorist coverage is you'll rely on it to pay medical bills, which aren't covered by health insurance, that you incur as a result of injury sustained in an accident with an uninsured or under-insured motorist. Also, if you miss time from work under-insured motorist coverage can compensate you for that time you missed from work as a result of being insured. Also, compensation for pain and suffering: Without under-insured motorist coverage, if you're involved in an accident with someone who doesn't have liability insurance, you have no recourse whatsoever. I strongly recommend, if you haven't spoken to your agent recently about your auto coverages, first and foremost - make sure you have under-insured coverage on your policy. Also check the limits of that coverage. In this day in age, with the cost of medical expenses going up yearly, it's important to have a sufficient amount of under-insured coverage. This is an expense well worth it, and one that we strongly recommend you take a look at. Make the change sooner rather than later.

Many people ask me, "What information should I look for, what research should I do before I hire a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer?" Obviously, a referral from a trusted source is always the best way to go, but sometimes you don't have that luxury. What I recommend my clients do is do a Google search on a lawyer that you're thinking about meeting with first, just to see what you can find out (you might be surprised). There are good things on there, but there could be some bad things, and it's up to you, and you can ask the attorney about those thing. The other thing that I encourage people to do is, when they're meeting with a client, ask the attorney, "What is the extent of your involvement going to be on my case? What are you going to do personally?" At our firm, I don't do everything. I don't request the records from the hospital. I don't put the address on the letter and drop it in the mail box. But I do the important things. I deal with the insurance companies, and I talk to the adjusters. I answer all the legal questions. You want to make sure that you have somebody like that; somebody who's qualified to be handling the aspect of the case that they're handling. You don't want some high-school graduate who is 19 years old negotiating with an insurance company on your behalf, but unfortunately there are firms out there that do that.

The other thing that I encourage clients to ask their lawyer is, "How many lawsuits have you filed, and how many lawsuits does your firm file?" Insurance companies keep track of those things. If a personal injury attorney never files a lawsuit, the offers go lower and lower and lower, because the insurance company's not going to respect that law firm. You want an experienced litigator, who's done it before and can tell you what to expect, leading the charge.

One of the questions that I'm asked all the time is, "How can I afford a Las Vegas injury attorney?". Personal injury attorneys work a little differently than most attorneys. We charge a contingency fee basis as opposed to an hourly rate. If you've ever been to an attorney before, most attorneys charge you $300 - $500 per hour and make you give them a retainer up front and then draw against that retainer. And then when the retainer runs out they ask you to write them another check, and as you can imagine, many people can't afford to do that. Personal injury attorneys work a little differently. We work on what is called a contingency fee basis, and that means that our fee is contingent on getting money for our clients. If I spend 1000 hours on a client's case, but don't get that client any money, the client doesn't owe me anything for my time. We have a strong incentive to get the most money for every client, and we do that anyway, but, obviously, the more money we get for our clients, the higher our fee goes. It's a good situation for most of our clients because they can't afford to write that check up front, and they're generally very pleased with the outcome.

One of the things that I tell all my clients to be aware of are the so-called, "discount firms" that charge a discounted contingency fee. In Las Vegas the standard contingency fee is one-third (33.3%), but there are some firms that advertise less. One of the things you need to watch out for is hidden fees (or hidden charges). Typically those lawyers will charge you for things that other lawyers won't. They'll charge you for a percentage of the property damage that's recovered. Most reputable firms here in Las Vegas don't charge for property damage. They'll also take a percentage of the medical payments coverage that was obtained, and that's money that you would have gotten anyway (even without an attorney). The other thing I always tell me clients is, "If you're dealing with a discounted fee, you're usually going to get discounted service too." So be careful because you get what you pay for.