Legal Question in Personal Injury in New Jersey
Car Accident
My question is: ''Do I need my own Lawyer''.
I 1998, I was involved in an auto accident. A car rearended me. The passanger in that car is sueing the driver and me (for stopping short). My insurance company is defending me (and itself). They say I do not need another lawyer. They say, they are not laible for anything, much less the $2 mil(!!!) I am being sued for.
I live in NJ now. The accident occured in New York.
Do I need my own lawyer?
Thank you.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re:
I agree with both of my colleagues, but I wanted to add a point. It always amuses me when someone asks a lawyer whether he/she needs a lawyer. A fair answer can rarely be given. If the lawyer answers "no", and something goes wrong, then the lawyer is blamed and accused of bad advice. If the lawyer says "yes", and everything falls in place easily, the person often believes that the only reason the lawyer said "yes" was to earn money. In my opinion, anyone who asks the question needs a lawyer. The reason - If the person asking knew what to do, he/she would have already done it. When you have a medical problem, you go to a doctor. Do you ever do your own brain surgery? When you have a legal problem, at the very least, seek the advice of an attorney!
Re: Car Accident
If you happen to have two million in insurance coverage, then you are OK. However, if you only have, say, $20,000, you should get a lawyer immediately. At the very least, your attorney can help pursuade the insurance company to settle the case now, WITHIN the policy limits.
Good luck.
Re: Car Accident
Your insurance company's attorney is charged with competently representing you. However, there are occasions where a case is worth more that your policy limits and plaintiff's counsel sends a letter demanding the policy or going for excess. In that case, a personal attorney could be beneficial to protect your interests.