Immediately! If you have been injured in Illinois or Missouri, you should hire a lawyer right away. I am a St. Louis MIssouri accident injury attorney and I serve injured individuals and their loved ones across the entire state of Missouri and the bottom half of the State of Illinois. I know how insurance companies work – I know how they try to victimize injured people.
For this reason, is crucial that you hire an attorney immediately. It is true, sometimes your case won’t warrant an attorney. But if you speak with a reputable injury lawyer, he or she will tell you that. It is more important to protect yourself, through an attorney, and let the rest of that stuff sort itself out. For example, immediately following an automobile accident, you will be shaken and upset. This is exactly when the insurance adjuster will call you and try to “help”. They want you to slip up in your recorded statement, they want you to say you aren’t hurt. Oftentimes, you won’t know how injured you are until the next day or even the next week.
An injury attorney will protect your rights while the insurance company is trying to save money. An accident injury lawyer may hire an investigator to immediately photograph the scene, the vehicles, the injuries and to take statements of any witnesses. This can be vital evidence in your case because sometimes the cars are destroyed, witnesses forget and weather can alter the accident scene. I advise people to, following a car accident, call the police and be honest, allow the EMT to treat you for your injuries and be honest and then immediately retain counsel so that you can focus on getting better and your attorney can focus on getting what you deserve for your suffered harms and losses.