[Music] Welcome to the AutoAcctorneys podcast brought to you by the Auto Accident Attorneys Group where our motto is we take care of you. I am attorney Holly taking over for your regular host attorney Ali who is out of office this week. So, I have hopped on because I want to talk about a topic that I think is pretty important, which is, do I really need to hire an attorney? It is something that people talk about all the time, especially in the personal injury space, particularly because personal injury attorneys don't have the best reputation. oftentimes that's self-inflicted, but I would say by and large that is a picture painted by insurance companies to make sure that people don't hire an attorney so that they can lowball victims of auto accidents. But I'm here to talk about whether or not you really need an attorney, the myths surrounding hiring an attorney, some of the common misconceptions that people have, and then kind of walking you through the process of hiring an attorney, why I think you should hire an attorney, and just explaining how easy it really is. So, I want to start with some common myths and misconceptions. Number one is that attorneys are just money grubbing machines and all we want to do is take your money. That could not be further from the truth in the personal injury space. Why? We work on a contingency fee basis. That means unlike maybe a divorce attorney or a contracts attorney, criminal defense attorney who will take an hourly fee or a retainer, we only get paid if you win a settlement. Our fee comes out of a global settlement, i.e. a settlement that goes that is meant to pay out to the victim for their medical bills and an attorney if they hire one. So, if you don't win, we don't win. and we will we will win. Unless you don't have a case, we will win. But ultimately, you don't pay us anything. You do not pay a personal injury attorney out of pocket. And in fact, they pay you. They pay you a check at the end from your settlement and everyone goes home happy. At least that's the idea. But again, the idea that the attorney is there to take your money couldn't be further from the truth. And in fact, I think it's the only service where you are getting paid at the end of the day and you are not paying anything. You don't walk into a nail salon and ask them for your nails done in a track at the end. You know, you got to pay them. What is it like 50 bucks for a fancy manicure these days? You do not pay us. It's a pretty beautiful thing. Second myth is that you can handle it yourself. Now, this one is a little bit touch and go because you could potentially depending on what what the situation is, you could handle it yourself. Should you handle it yourself is a different question. Now, depending on the circumstance, if you are, you know, if you only had a property damage claim, well, attorneys can't make money off of a property damage claim because there is an inherent value in your property and we cannot maximize that value or we cannot get any value above that market value. So, we can't make money off of that. But if that's your circumstance, no, you do not need an attorney. An attorney is not going to take your case. But if you've been injured, it's worth a conversation. Why? Because insurance companies are made up of teams of adjusters and their own attorneys that are all working against you. They will make even seemingly minor cases complicated in a way that confuses you, makes you think you are not deserved, which you actually are deserved in terms of compensation. and making sure that they maximize their profits. They are not working for you. They are working against you. The only person that is working for you is an attorney who is on your side. So, myth number three, hiring an attorney is expensive and it's a hassle. Well, like I just said, attorneys work on a contingency fee basis and they don't get your money out of your pocket. They take money out of your settlement. Now, typically I would say they take a third of the settlement. So, 33% of whatever the final settlement is. There's a huge misconception here as well where people think, well, if I don't hire an attorney, then my settlement will be higher because I then don't have to share 33% of my global settlement. We'll get into the details of that in a bit, but there's no upfront costs. There's no out-ofpocket cost with hiring an attorney, at least at our firm. I can't speak for every firm on the planet, but for our firm there, you never pay out of pocket. If for whatever reason your case doesn't we don't see it through or your claim is denied and we can't get you a settlement, which is a rare case, but if it does happen, we eat any costs that were associated with building up your case because there are costs associated, but we are not going to charge you for it. So, no upfront fees, no out-of- pocket costs, and the process of hiring an attorney and working with an attorney is way simpler than you'd think. At least if you work with a good firm. If you work with a firm that communicates and is handling everything and is organized and responsible, it is a hasslefree process. All you have to do is focus on healing. Go to your doctor's appointments. The attorney handles everything else. Myth number four, my case is not serious enough to warrant hiring an attorney. Well, that's for us to decide, right? Make the call. Consultations are free. Conversations are free. Talk to an attorney and find out. Well, do I need an attorney? Like I said before, if you just have a property damage claim, then you don't need an attorney. You can handle that yourself. But at least it's helpful to speak with an attorney. One of the benefits, for example, at our firm on our website, we offer a template that is made for property damage claims. We've written it out. It's a plug-and-play situation for you. You just add the facts of your case. You submit it to the insurance company. Bada bing, bada boom, it's handled. So, these are resources that you can find if you have a conversation with your attorney or if you do some exploration on um different attorney websites. There's a ton of free templates out there. Those things you can do on your own. But if you are injured and missing work and your car has been totaled, it's at least worth having a conversation. Like I said before, consultations are free when you speak with an attorney. Even when you hire them, you're not paying out of pocket. But like you can call an attorney or submit a form online and they will speak with you for free about your case. It is worth having that conversation because you don't know. You don't know what you don't know. And they will help you navigate that situation. let you know. Do they recommend hiring attorney? Probably. Again, should you? That's or it's up to you to decide whether or not ultimately you call the shots. But I think it's imperative to at least have the conversation. Now, why does it help to have an attorney? Ultimately, one of the things that I think is huge, I hate dealing with paperwork. If I could have somebody come to my house, check my mail, deal with everything, organize everything, pay my bills, have the phone calls, make my appointment, all of that is handled by your attorney. It is like having a personal assistant. And I personally think that's incredibly valuable. Again, your only job is healing, showing up to your appointments, taking care of yourself, and letting the attorney do everything else. We handle the paperwork. We handle the red tape, the negotiations, the phone calls. You don't have to touch any of that. Like I said, it's like having a personal assistant that you don't even have to pay for because ultimately it just comes out of your settlement that they are actually working day and night to maximize, which brings me to the next point. We maximize your settlement because we identify all possible sources of compensation. So, obviously, you're going to have your medical bills. If you were in a rear-end collision and you needed to go to the chiropractor, the medical bills speak for themselves. If you were in a catastrophic accident where you lost a limb, there are way more factors involved in that kind of injury where you're obviously going to miss work. Your life has changed in ways that you can't even imagine. Little minute details that you might not think about. Can you wash your hair on a day-to-day basis? Does somebody do you require help bringing groceries in? These things are things that we've dealt with day in and day out for years that we think about. And while it might affect you and while it might cross your mind, it might not be something that you think to bring up to the insurance company that you think can maximize your compensation at the end that you you obviously if you go to court, you're going to want an attorney to represent you, but you're not even going to think about how you present that story to the jury because you know what the insurance company's doing? They are working against you. They have their own team of attorneys to paint a different picture. So when you hire an attorney, they are on your side to make sure that the whole story is told to let the insurance company know, hey, just because their medical bills were x amount, you're not considering all the other ways that this accident has affected this person's life. And when you think about compensation, and I think this is something that gets a bad rap, is high settlement amounts where people say, "Oh, well, they didn't their medical bills were x amount. What do they need a million dollar settlement for? Well, if you've changed their life in unimaginable ways and they will never be the same person again, what is that worth to you? If I told you now that you are going to get an auto accident and you might lose a loved one, what is that worth to you? I think you would say there's not enough money in the world to make up for that. But what we do is try. So having an attorney on your side, that's what they're there to do is to maximize the compensation that you are ultimately deserved. That brings me to my next point. We protect you from being lowballed by the insurance company. The insurance company, like I said, is there to make sure you get paid out the lowest amount possible because it means more profits for them. It makes sense. It's a business. We don't have it's not rocket science, right? The less you get, the more money is in their pocket. The same way for us, the more you get, the more money in our pocket because of the percentage we take out of your fee. But at the end of the day, we're making sure you get paid more. Not just more than us, but more than you would even be offered if you hadn't hired an attorney. On top of that, we have a network of people that we are familiar with. We understand not that we direct medical treatment because we cannot do that. And if any attorney does do that, that is unethical and not what they're supposed to be doing. But we have dealt with all sorts of cases, all sorts of injuries. And while we're not medically trained, we understand, hey, this collision, this type of collision typically results in this type of injury. Our recommendation would be to consider, hey, maybe you should go see a doctor who can then refer you to this doctor, that doctor, whatever they recommend. You might not otherwise think of those things. We are here. We are on your team to make sure that you consider your options to make sure that your healing is ultimately the number one focus. Obviously, our job is to make sure you get paid maximum amount of compensation for your injuries, but at the end of the day, all that matters is you're healing from those injuries. So, we are here to make sure that you are provided with the best care possible and to kind of help you navigate that. Again, without directing you in any way, but to help you navigate that world that maybe you are otherwise unfamiliar with. For a lot of our clients, they've never been to a chiropractor. They've never been to a physical therapist. They don't even know what an orthopedist is. We're here to help you navigate that world so that you can get the best medical treatment possible to again try to get you back to where you were before the accident. And all of that is at no cost to you. That is all part of our job. So that fee that you're getting at the end, I think people don't consider all the work that the attorney is doing for you. that that's all encompassed in that feat that we take at the end is making sure that you're treated right, you're healing well, everything's being dealt with for you, and you're getting all that you deserve. Finally, we deal with all the negotiations. We deal with getting your medical bills paid. We deal with making sure the insurance company isn't lowballing you and making sure that at the end of the day, you take home the lion's share of the settlement. meaning you take the highest percentage. You're going to be working with a team of people, right? You've got your attorneys, you've got your medical providers, you've got yourself. That's the team. You are team captain and you take home the biggest amount of the settlement share and we work to make sure that everybody else is dealt with. You don't have to worry about your medical bills being paid. We deal with that. We negotiate. We negotiate with the settlement company, I mean the insurance company, and make sure that you get everything paid without having to have a headache over it and you get your settlement check at the end of the day. I want to also talk about what it's like to actually hire an attorney. I personally have had to hire not personal injury attorneys, but other types of attorneys prior to law school, even as an attorney, and it was a very intimidating process. Just initiating contact felt like a huge burden for me. Well, one of the really cool things about personal injury attorneys is we are consumerf facing, especially this firm. We are a standalone building. We are at the corner of Johnson Fair and Roswell Road in East Cobb, Marietta, Georgia. You can walk into our office and we've got a staff that will help you immediately take care of whatever you need. Come get some merch, get a water. We're very accessible, unlike, you know, a big corporate firm that is in a high-rise. You don't know what suite they're in. You don't know if you need an appointment before you walk in. There's probably security and codes you got to get past. None of that here. And that's a lot of personal injury attorneys. You can see our advertisements, our billboards. Obviously, Google's your best friend. Google any type of attorney. You can re see their reviews. Reach out. Make a phone call. Submit a website form. If you're in the area in East Cobb, pop into our office. It is so easy. All you have to do is initiate contact and we take it from there. We do this all day, every day. We know exactly the questions to ask. We will ask you about your accident, get some information from you and get the ball rolling. If you want to hire us, you can even just call us to have a conversation and we will guide that convers. We will navigate you through that conversation. and you don't feel like you need to pick up the phone and have an entire script of this is what I need to say to my attorney or to an attorney. I've thought about that myself. I'm like, what do I say? Well, I've got this situation. Auto accidents are pretty simple. Hey, I was in a car accident. I was in an auto accident. We'll take it from there. Super easy. I've mentioned this before. Consultations are free. I'm almost 100% certain, I think, that all personal injury attorneys do free consultations. That's the unique thing about this space. We do not take your money. Contrary to popular belief, we do not take your money. Consultations are free. It is worth the the free conversation. You will get something out of the conversation. You will get some information. You will get some education. You will get some knowledge. And you will never be pressured. Now, if a firm contacts you, contrary to popular belief, people call personal injury attorneys ambulance chasers. That is the farthest thing from the truth because it is both illegal and unethical and we could lose our bar licenses if we do that. Do people do that? They exist. And if a law firm or an attorney ever contacts you, that is a red flag. You should report them and you should not work with them. You have to be the one to initiate contact. Once you do, then we'll take it from there. But we are never allowed to contact you. So, we're just waiting. We're just waiting. You contact us. We have the free conversation. Take what you need from it. And if you want to move forward, fantastic. We'll we'll move forward. We'll sign a an agreement and take it from there. But like I said, it's at the very least information gathering. We'll explain your rights in simple terms. our firm in particular, we have tons of resources on our social media, on our website, giving you as much information for free as we possibly can so that you understand kind of what your rights are, what the steps are, but getting to have that one-on-one conversation with an attorney is invaluable. And if you can do it for free, why wouldn't you? It doesn't cost It's There's no pressure. There's no commitment. It's a no-brainer. um to reach us. You can call us, you can DM us, you can submit a web form, you can pop into our office. If you make contact and we get you in our system and you opt in, we can text. We try to make it as simple as possible for you because ultimately at the end of the day, we want to make this a hassle-free process so that you can focus on healing your injuries. And one of the things I hear often from clients who haven't worked with a personal injury attorney before is, "I wish I had done this sooner." Because they either they've worked with a crappy attorney before or they've just never gone through the process before. They realize like, "Oh, this is so easy. This was a seamless process. It removed all of the headaches that I thought I would have otherwise had." When you get into an auto accident, and I've been in auto accidents myself, it feels like your world is turned upside down, especially obviously if it's catastrophic, but even a minor car accident, a fender bender where you're like, "Do I even need to call the cops?" You should always call the cops. It's just like such a pain in the ass. And on top of this, now you're like, "Oh man, now I got to deal with the insurance company. I'm like, if I go to the doctor, what do I do?" That's what attorneys are here for. We're here to take that headache away. use an attorney, please. I'm begging you for your sake, not we will survive. Even if if listener, if you don't come to us, we will survive, but for your benefit, have a conversation with an attorney. Figure out what your rights are. Figure out what your options are. Cost nothing. So anyway, I will get off my high horse. I just want to remind everybody that while you can go it your own way a lot of the time, not every time, but a lot of the time, you can go it your own way. Should you? That's the real question. Ask yourself that. If you want to get your nails done, you could paint it yourself, but should you? Is that left hand really doing the Oh, I guess it depends on what what hand you use dominantly. Should you cut your own hair? You might, and it might look fantastic. And look, if you're a fantastic negotiator and you think you can outsmart the insurance company, by all means, go for it. But I think by and large, you will benefit from at least speaking with an attorney who may even give you information where they're like, "Hey, look, it's fine if you don't want to work with me, but at least consider X, Y, and Z. Obviously, we can't give advice because if we're not your attorney, we're not allowed to do that, but it will get some information out of them. Use that education to empower yourself and to gain insight into this world because once you do, you'll be like, "Oh, the veil is removed. This is this is great. Everyone should have an attorney. Why not? That's what we're here for." All right, everybody. Thank you so much for letting me take over for attorney Ali this week. He will be back next week and you won't have to see my face again. But I appreciate all the love and support. Please like, subscribe, follow, share this with a friend who has has weird thoughts about attorneys. You know which friend I'm talking about. And we'll see you next time. Take care.