Originally Posted by fprintf
All these suggestions for lawyers are forgetting one thing. Lawyers want to be paid and unless you have someone in the family who will answer your questions for free, most will give you just enough time to determine if there is any money in it for them.
In one of my accidents I talked directly to the insurance company. They were quite fair and they made everything right and allowed for a provision for future, related medical claims. We forget that in most cases the person we are dealing with is an insurance adjuster, not a lawyer. Their main goal is to stop fraud and overcharging by accident repair shops. The insurance lawyers won't get involved until there is a high likelihood of a significant claim - and if that is the case (say over $20,000) then the advice for a lawyer is well founded. Otherwise, as others have said, it is premature to call one.
Where do folks come up with this stuff?
An insurance adjuster's JOB is to take as long as possible to pay out as little money as possible (hopefully nothing at all), on claims.
Bob