Do I Need a Lawyer to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

ESTABLISHED TACOMA LAW FIRM EXPLAINS YOUR OPTIONS

It is not necessary to retain a lawyer to file your personal injury lawsuit. You should base your decision to involve an attorney on a reasonable assessment of the pros and cons. Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC is a highly reputable personal injury law firm that has served Washington since 1959. We deliver value to our clients that far outweighs the fees we collect. But before you retain any attorney, you have to be satisfied that the benefits exceed the costs. We offer these points for your consideration.

ARE YOU HEALTHY ENOUGH TO TAKE ON ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES?

If you’re planning to sue for personal injuries, you’re probably not at your best. You may not even be able to work at your present job. Is this really the time to take on more work, especially tasks that involve a steep learning curve with expensive consequences when you make mistakes?

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT COURT PROCEDURE?

Civil court has intricate rules and strict deadlines. Violate a rule and you either have to refile (paying additional fees) or you lose your rights regarding issues in the case. Errors do more than add to your expenses; they undermine your case. You might lose the opportunity to enter crucial evidence. When opposing counsel sees your case start to unravel, they become uninterested in negotiating a settlement.

HAVE YOU EVER NEGOTIATED A BIG DEAL BEFORE?

For the insurance companies against whom you file your claim, business considerations drive settlement talks and litigation. While you are right to view your lawsuit as a fight for justice, you must also appreciate opposing counsel’s point of view, and be willing to think in terms of closing a business deal. If you’ve never closed a six-figure deal before in a business setting, you almost certainly are getting in over your head.

CAN YOU FINANCE YOUR LAWSUIT?

Lawsuits are expensive. In addition to filing fees, consider a simple deposition of a witness under oath. To obtain a record, you need a court stenographer, a highly skilled professional with a commensurate hourly fee. And if your witness is an expert in medicine, accident reconstruction, etc., you must pay the expert’s hourly fee as well. If defense counsel senses that these expenses present a hardship, you can expect them to drag out discovery and drive up your costs to wear you down. Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC advances all costs of litigation, so you pay nothing until you obtain damages through a settlement or verdict.

DO YOU KNOW THE TRUE VALUE OF YOUR CLAIM?

Certain damages, such as current medical expenses, are easy to calculate. But what about projecting costs into the future? What about the value of your pain and suffering? Can you estimate a fair level of compensation, or will you mistakenly leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table? An experienced personal injury attorney at Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC knows the potential value of injuries based on trends in settlements and jury verdicts, and can advise you on whether to settle or fight in court.

Retain a reputable, experienced Tacoma personal injury attorney

Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC delivers benefits that far outweigh the costs to you in time, money and stress. Get a free case evaluation by an experienced injury attorney. Call us at 253-383-5388 or contact our Tacoma office online today.