A person who has been struggling to work out an injury settlement claim with an insurance company may start thinking about consulting with a Beaver Dam, Wisconsin personal injury attorney. If more than a year has passed since the accident, this individual may wonder if it’s too late. Actually, getting a lawyer involved can be done at any time during the process, with two exceptions.
Settlement Acceptance Blocks Further Legal Action
A lawyer cannot help a person who has accepted a settlement offer from an insurance company and now is second-guessing that decision. If an agreement has been signed, the negotiations are over. Even a verbal agreement over the phone may be considered binding in court, particularly if the claimant told the adjuster that recording the conversation was ok.
Statute of Limitations
If the state’s Statute of Limitations has expired, a lawyer cannot help. This is the amount of time, by law, that a person is allowed to file a lawsuit in an injury case. For most cases in Wisconsin, that Statute of Limitations is three years. If the insurance company has refused to pay the claim and no lawyer has been willing to take the case so far, the person may still be searching for an attorney after two years has gone by.
Important Considerations
It’s usually advisable to hire a Beaver Dam, Wisconsin personal injury attorney soon after an accident takes place that causes serious physical harm. However, the person can still hire a lawyer for a long time afterward if the insurance company’s response is unsatisfactory. Many people feel intimidated by these large corporations, so they want to be cooperative.
In addition, they may worry about legal fees for hiring a lawyer. However, injury attorneys with an organization like QBS Law S.C. only accept fees after the client receives the settlement or court award, a process known as contingency. The attorney accepts a percentage that the client has agreed on before signing the contract.
For more updates, follow us on Facebook.
