Have you been injured in a car accident or workplace incident in the state of Florida? When someone is injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, you have some important decisions to make. Aside from receiving appropriate medical care immediately after the accident, you’ll need to decide if you want to hire a personal injury lawyer or handle your injury claim on your own.
Thanks to factors like advertising and some prevalent misconceptions (especially here in Florida), people often choose not to even speak with a personal injury lawyer in this situation. They put their faith in the insurance claim process and are often left with a payout that will barely cover their resulting injuries. Without the expert-level knowledge that an experienced attorney can provide, it may be difficult for an individual to determine what the true value of their personal injury claim is.
The Cliff Notes: Key Takeaways From This Post
We listed 9 reasons Florida personal injury lawyers with trial experience are better hires; however, here are the key bullet points if you are in a rush:
- The Insurance Research Council estimates that injured people get 3.5 times more money with a lawyer, while 71%-91% of settlements are with a lawyer.
- An experienced personal injury lawyer can provide expert advice and help prevent missing critical deadlines.
- Insurance carriers respect attorneys with strong trial experience and an established reputation.
- A skilled attorney can counteract defense tactics employed by insurance carriers.
- Personal injury lawyers understand what evidence is needed to prove a case, account for long-term implications of the injuries, help claim insurance coverage and accurately calculate the costs of damages.
- Experienced firms use contingency fee agreements to enable their clients to cover fees without having to pay upfront.
Some Stats Worth Reviewing Before You Decide
The Insurance Research Council estimated that, on average, injured people get 3.5 times more money, even after reducing the settlement by the contingency fee.
Notably, most of these statistics do not even take into account the fact that 71%-91% of all settlements are with a lawyer, which indicates that a lot of people who try to go at it alone end up with nothing.
9 Reasons Florida Personal Injury Lawyers With Trial Experience Are the Best
1. Get Helpful Guidance From a Legal Expert
An experienced personal injury lawyer will provide expert advice about everything from how to file a car insurance claim after an accident to recommended medical care for your pain. Ask anyone who has gone through the personal injury claim process in Florida and they’ll tell you how stressful it can be. You’ll be stepping into a situation that can be demanding, confusing and downright scary to maneuver when you’re inexperienced. The insurance company for the at-fault person will fight the claim if full compensation is sought, but at least you can have a true expert in the field to answer your questions.
2. Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You Avoid Missing Critical Deadlines
If you are choosing to pursue your personal injury claim on your own in Florida, you’ll likely receive a settlement offer quickly from the insurance carrier. Either that or they’ll deny their claim if any important deadlines are missed on your part (you’re going to have to act quickly if you’re pursuing a claim on your own).
If the adjuster can drag their feet long enough, you will already have harmed your case through inaction or you may feel like the initial settlement offer truly is the best they can do. The reality is often quite different, but that is almost never realized unless the case is taken to court. Insurance carriers employ their own team of attorneys for this very situation, so why wouldn’t you at least want to speak to an attorney in this situation.
Our personal injury attorneys are highly experienced in court and ready to go toe to toe with insurance carriers and their legal teams. Remember our initial consultation is free, so you are only doing yourself a serious disservice when you don’t take action following an accident in Florida.
3. Insurance Carriers Respect Personal Injury Attorneys With Strong Trial Experience
In the modern era, most insurance carriers have access to a database with details on practicing personal injury attorneys. Reputation plays a critical role in an attorney’s career and needs to be carefully cultivated. Herman & Wells has developed a prominent reputation in Pinellas, FL for successful verdicts against large insurance carriers with extensive legal teams of their own. Our reputation alone can be enough to increase the value of the settlement offered.
Keep in mind that there are many personal injury attorneys in Florida that don’t have strong trial experience (if any). They might have won you over with an advertisement about an impressive settlement they’ve gotten for a previous client, but do they ever talk about their experiences in court? Take the time to check out previous reviews from past clients and see if there is any mention of their trial experience. We can guarantee that the at-fault party’s insurance carrier in your case will review your attorney’s trial experience and background.
4. Experienced Trial Lawyers Know How To Counteract the Worst Defense Tactics
Most insurance carriers employ their own highly skilled attorneys to undermine or combat serious injury claims. These insurance defense attorneys employ a variety of tactics designed to undermine the validity of the case in court. Such as:
- Blaming pre-existing conditions
- Claiming there was not enough damage to the car to cause your injury
- Claiming delays or gaps in treatment mean you had healed.
Our firm was built around advocating for our clients in court, so we have extensive experience with these tactics. Knowing how to handle each one before it becomes a problem makes a huge difference in the settlement or verdict value.
5. A Personal Injury Lawyer Knows Exactly What Evidence You Need to Prove Your Case
There are some things that most people think are incredibly important but in reality, are not.
For example, who got the ticket? What did the driver say to the police officer? These are very compelling, but neither is allowed to be used at trial.
Relying too much on non-evidence is a foolish move that a seasoned attorney would never do. And because we know what will be used, we know what to put our efforts into, such as a security video by a local business or an interview with a non-officer witness.
This list goes on and on.
6. Experienced Trial Attorneys Will Account For the Long Term Impact of Your Injuries
After doing this for 20 years, talking to countless treating physicians, taking countless depositions of doctors and experts, we know that what is a small cut, tear or strain now will lead to more problems as someone gets older.
Knowing how to present this to both the adjuster and if they refuse to accept responsibility, to the jury is incredibly important.
7. Get Access to the Insurance Coverage Needed For Your Recovery
If you live in Florida, then personal injury protection (PIP), bodily injury (BI), and uninsured or underinsured (UM) coverage will play a critical role in your personal injury case. Each has its own purpose and limitations. A seasoned personal injury attorney will seek to understand what the at-fault party had on their car insurance policy immediately. The answers will significantly impact the value of your claim.
Here’s a quick video from Cliff Wells that provides more context about UM coverage:
8. Personal Injury Lawyers Can Accurately Calculate the Cost of Resulting Damages
A severe accident will result in medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages. However, there are many factors that will impact the true cost of the resulting damages you could be facing. Was it a car accident or a tractor trailer accident? Did you get injured in a work-related injury or did you slip and fall while on commercial property? During your initial consultation, a personal injury lawyer with extensive trial experience can quickly break down what the value of your claim is likely going to be based on these types of factors. If you call Herman & Wells, you’ll be connected with a qualified personal injury attorney like Lauren Pozna who can show you what your injury claim is really worth.
9. Experienced PI Law Firms Use Contingency Fee Agreements
A lot of people don’t end up taking action after an accident, because they’re worried that they wouldn’t be able to afford to hire a personal injury lawyer in Florida. Despite the amount of advertising from law firms using terms like “request a free case review”, this is a prevalent misconception amongst many Floridians. That’s why our law firm invests the time and resources into educating our clients and the public about how we operate.
The reason you actually can afford to hire us is that law firms like Herman & Wells use contingency fee agreements with our clients. What this means is that our clients don’t ever receive an invoice from us. The agreement stipulates that our firm will be awarded a percentage of the final settlement or verdict in your case. This is what we will use to cover any accrued fees from pursuing your case, so you’re only going to receive a check from us at the end of this process. If we aren’t successful in advocating your claim, you won’t owe us anything either.
Here’s another video from Cliff Wells that sheds light on this:
If you have been injured in an accident in Florida, there are some very important reasons to consider hiring a personal injury lawyer with extensive trial experience. Herman & Wells is a law firm with three important differentiators you should keep in mind:
- Our personal injury lawyers are highly accessible.
- We’re committed to providing clear feedback and guidance, even if we can’t take on your case.
- Our legal team has extensive trial experience.
Remember that if you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in Florida, you owe it to yourself to take action and that includes talking to a qualified personal injury lawyer. Calling Herman & Wells is a move that you won’t regret. Use our online forms to let us know you’d like to be contacted or call us directly at (727) 821-3195.