Hiring a Lawyer, By The Numbers

The Truth About Hiring An Attorney For Your Personal Injury Accident Claim

Your insurance adjuster is keeping a BIG secret from you. After a car accident you insurance adjuster will never tell you that the insurance industry's own research has proven that people who are represented by a personal injury attorney end up with settlements that are almost three and one-half times more than people who try to settle with the insurance company on their own.

In 2004, the Insurance Research Council, a research organization created and funded by the insurance industry, did a comprehensive study comparing the value of settlements people received for the same injury when they were represented by an attorney versus when they did not have a lawyer.

The Insurance Research Council determined that people who were represented by an attorney received almost three and one-half times more, even after the attorney's fees were paid.

For example, if the insurance company was willing to pay someone who is not represented by an attorney $7,000, then a person with the exact same injury who is represented by an attorney would have received almost $25,000.

Hiring a Lawyer, By The Numbers

That is an extra $18,000 in the pocket of the injured person, after attorney's fees were paid. Why? Because with an attorney, the same case that settled for $7,000 would instead settle for $35,000 and, after attorney's fees of one-third of the settlement, the injured person would have received $25,000 in their pocket.

In 1995, Allstate produced a training manual for its claim adjustors [Allstate Insurance Co., Unrepresented Segment Training Manual, 15-30, July 1995]. This document stressed the importance of convincing claimants to represent themselves and not retain an attorney. Why? Allstate explained its position with a number of telling statistics: With settlements under $15,000 injured claimants represented by an attorney averaged $7,450 in a total settlement. Those who represented themselves to Allstate averaged only $3,464.

So again, it is important to remember that this is the insurance company's own research that shows that people that have hired an attorney to represent them receive more money than those that do not have an attorney. Why will your insurance adjuster NEVER share this fact? Because if you knew this, you would hire a lawyer and the insurance company would end up paying you a lot more for your injuries.