The statute of limitations sets the absolute latest date you could file a car accident lawsuit. But that doesn’t mean you should wait until then to take action. In most cases, it pays to hire an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible after your crash. Here’s why. A Lawyer Can Protect Your Rights From the Get-Go Once you hire a car accident lawyer, you can rest easy knowing your rights are protected. The lawyer can immediately act as your representative dealing with insurance companies who may owe you money for your losses. You can stop worrying about fielding calls from insurance adjusters while the lawyer ensures you receive fair treatment from your auto insurance carrier and investigates potential claims under the at-fault party’s liability policy. A car accident lawyer can also represent your interests in responding to requests from official investigators. And the lawyer can negotiate on your behalf with hospital billing departments to buy you time to pay medical debt until you’ve received money from a settlement or court award. In addition, a car accident attorney can immediately begin guiding you through this challenging time of your life. Lawyers frequently act as advisors who help clients like you make big life and financial decisions that could affect their rights. Having helped many people overcome challenges similar to yours, a lawyer can step into the role of the trusted ally and advocate who has your back and watches out for your interests so that you can have the time and space you need to heal and rebuild. A Lawyer Can Investigate Your Car Accident While Evidence is Fresh Once hired, a lawyer can begin investigating your car accident to determine how it happened and who should bear financial responsibility to you. The sooner an attorney can start locating and collecting evidence, the better. Critical information like traffic camera footage or the at-fault driver’s cell phone data can get deleted if not preserved as soon as possible. And witnesses’ recollections of the crash can begin to fade or become distorted as time passes. Quick action by a car accident attorney can make the difference between having an average case and a bulletproof one. It can secure essential evidence proving the liability of a party who might otherwise have gone overlooked. But an attorney can’t begin building your case until you take the critical step of reaching out and hiring them. A Lawyer Can Evaluate Your Current and Future Damages You don’t need to wait until you’re deep in a financial hole after a car accident to hire a lawyer to pull you out. Skilled car accident attorneys can immediately begin calculating your damages and taking steps to get you money not just for past expenses but also for your future needs. As the victim of a car accident, you may have the right to receive compensation from liable parties for a broad range of physical, emotional, and financial harm you’ve suffered. Someone at fault for your accident or an insurance company could owe you payment for your: Medical expenses related to treating your injuries and any future health complications Costs for repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle or other property Other expenses like hiring help with transportation and childcare while you heal Lost income and job benefits from missing work Lost future earning capacity or opportunities due to a temporary or permanent disability Physical pain from your car accident injury or medical treatments Emotional difficulties caused by the accident or your injuries Diminished quality and enjoyment of life You might also have the legal right to seek an award of punitive damages if an at-fault party’s malicious or extremely reckless actions caused your crash. A car accident lawyer evaluates the details of your case to identify every penny of compensatory damages you could claim, ensuring your claim leaves no losses unaddressed. A Lawyer Can Select and Execute an Effective Legal Strategy A car accident attorney’s primary mission is to get you as much money as possible as efficiently as possible. The more strategic options the attorney has, the better your chances of a favorable outcome. And in general, hiring an attorney early after your accident preserves the greatest number of options. After assessing your case, an experienced car accident lawyer might, for example: Send a written demand to the at-fault party summarizing your claim and requesting payment for your losses; Submit insurance claims under policies covering your losses and coordinate with the insurer to keep payment on track; or File a lawsuit against an at-fault party or insurance company demanding damages for your injuries. These are just a few examples illustrating the menu of options a lawyer might select from in choosing how to get you paid as much as possible, as soon as possible. Waiting to retain a lawyer, however, it may make those options less practical or flexible. A Lawyer Can Begin Negotiating and Litigating for You Immediately The parties who may have liability for your damages in a car accident won’t wait until the statute of limitations deadline to begin trying to limit their financial exposure to you. Hiring a lawyer as soon as possible protects you from their maneuvers. Settlement Offers For example, at-fault parties and insurance companies sometimes offer quick cash settlements to unrepresented crash victims. These offers almost always fall far short of what victims deserve as compensation. Liable parties make them in hopes victims will agree before consulting an attorney, thereby sacrificing valuable rights for a fraction of what a lawyer could get them. Retaining an attorney protects you from lowball settlement offers, and the aggressive tactics defense lawyers and insurance companies sometimes employ in presenting them. As discussed, a lawyer can calculate the value of your current and future damages, ensuring you know what your claim is worth before deciding whether to accept or reject an offer. A lawyer can also negotiate with insurers and at-fault parties to get you the best deal possible. Litigation Steps At-fault parties and insurers also sometimes go to court to try and protect themselves from your anticipated claim. For example, they may file for bankruptcy protection or even sue you, claiming you caused the crash. Hiring a car accident lawyer immediately after your accident can deter liable parties from attempting those legal maneuvers. And it ensures that if they try to use the courts to avoid paying you what they owe, you’ll have a qualified legal professional in your corner fighting to get you paid.