Personal Injury Attorney Las Vegas - Coverage Court

One of the biggest decisions people make in making a personal injury claim in Las Vegas is what attorney to hire to help them through the process. Advice I could give people who are considering hiring a personal injury attorney is, first and foremost, if you go to meet with an attorney regarding a personal injury claim, and during that initial meeting you never speak to an attorney, but rather an assistant or a paralegal; that's probably a very good indication that you're not in the right place. An attorney handling personal injury cases should always meet with their client. This is for several reasons: 1- The client and the attorney need to build a report from the beginning. 2- For an attorney to be able to properly represent a client, he needs to know that client, know what that client is going through, how their injuries have impacted their life, and in order to help them he needs that information. Also, a client needs to know that an attorney is invested in handling the claim themselves. If an attorney's not at that initial meeting, there's a good chance that an attorney may never look at that file, or very seldom look at that file.

Beyond that, it's very important that an attorney specialize in handling personal injury cases. There was a time, long ago, where most attorneys were general practitioners, and handled all types of claims. Since that time the law has become very complicated, and that is inclusive of personal injury work. Make sure you meet with an attorney when you first show up at your appointment, and also, that you are meeting with somebody that specializes in handling personal injury cases, so that you're assured the opportunity for the best representation.

I'm often asked, "If I make a claim with the insurance company, or if I hire an attorney to do so, does that mean, automatically, that I'm going to have to go to court?". The short answer to that question is "no". Much of what we do as Las Vegas court attorneys is help those injured as a result of someone else's fault deal with the insurance company for the at-fault party. Insurance companies are billion-dollar companies that have many people that work for them whose sole job is either to deny claims or pay less that someone's entitled to as a result of being injured by the insured. Part of what we do is help the insurance company to appreciate the gravity of our client's injuries, appreciate the impact those injuries have had on our client's life, and convince the insurance company that it's actually in their best interest as a business to be fair now, as opposed to incurring court costs and being forced to be fair by a judge or a jury down the road.

In a typical personal injury practice, probably less that 2 in 10 cases that start out as claims actually end up in the litigation room or the court process. Just because you hire a lawyer, and just because you make a claim against an insurance company for injuries or other damages you've incurred, certainly does not mean that you'll end up in the court system. It can't be guaranteed that you won't, but most of the time cases as successfully resolved without the need for litigation.

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.