Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer http://minneapolisinjuryattorneys.net Injured in Minneapolis? Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:27:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Should You Represent Yourself in a Personal Injury Claim? http://minneapolisinjuryattorneys.net/?p=5 http://minneapolisinjuryattorneys.net/?p=5#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:58:34 +0000 admin http://minneapolisinjuryattorneys.net/?p=5 Continue reading →]]> Should you represent yourself in a personal injury claim? The idea can be tempting; especially if you don’t want to pay your lawyer a third of your total settlement. It can be even more tempting if you have any familiarity with the law, or are an intelligent person and think you can research and understand enough law to represent yourself. There’s an adage among lawyers: “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” If even lawyers are reluctant to represent themselves, it’s a prospect that laymen should take under serious consideration before attempting it.

 

Represent Yourself Only in Small Cases

The only time it’s really advisable to represent yourself is in very small cases with a low monetary award. If you’re rear ended and the only damage to your car is $600, with no medical injuries, represent yourself. But if you have more than $1,000 in medical bills, you’re legally at the threshold to file a personal injury case, and should hire a lawyer.

 

Lawyers are Familiar with the Law

The best reason to hire a Minneapolis personal injury lawyer to represent you in a personal injury case is because lawyers are familiar with the law. Personal injury law can get really complicated; especially when you bring in a third party. Jurisdiction questions can arise, and opposing counsel may try to stop the proceedings with a dozen different legal tricks. If you don’t know the law, you could end up spending countless hours trying to keep up with these legal proceedings, and could then lose on a technicality before you even get to present your case.

Lawyers Have a Reputation

 

As much as it shouldn’t be, the legal field is, in part, about law. If you hire a good lawyer, chances are that the other lawyers in town know him. If he has a reputation for playing hardball and successfully litigating personal injury cases in trial, opposing counsel may be more likely to settle, or offer a better settlement. Even if opposing counsel doesn’t know your lawyer, they’ll still take him more seriously than they’d take you if you represented yourself. When you hire a lawyer, you’re not just getting his services; you’re getting his reputation.

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