Attention: If you have been involved in this type of accident in California, contact California personal injury attorney Michael H. Silvers. 30 years experience in personal injury. visit website.

If you get in an accident and want to make a claim, one of the first things you have to decide is whether to use a lawyer or make a claim yourself.

For many reasons, if you are hurt in an accident, you should get a lawyer's help rather than try to do it yourself. Here are some of the main ones.

• You need someone on your side who is experienced in dealing with insurance companies. Insurance companies have many people working for them. Often, they will try to avoid or delay paying valid claims, or offer unfairly tow settlements. Accident victims need someone to assert their rights to get what they are legally entitled to receive.  A personal injury lawyer, who knows how insurance companies work, is the best person to do this.
  
• You will likely receive more money, For most accident victims, this is the main reason to use a lawyer. Studies - even those by insurance companies - show that accident victims who use a lawyer receive more money than those who do not, even after deducting all costs.
  
• Your lawyer can help you on related matters. For example, your lawyer can recommend doctors and car repair facilities.
  
• You pay a fee only if you win. One of the main benefits of using a lawyer for personal injury claims is the contingency fee. A contingency fee is a fee that is paid only if you win. It is typically paid from the recovery. Contingency fees let any accident victim who has a good case get legal help, even if they could not otherwise afford to hire a lawyer.

If you needed surgery, you would not operate on yourself. The same rule is true in law - if you are in an accident, you need a professional's help. A lawyer makes recovering damages easier, you'll have a much better chance of recovering money, and you'll likely receive more money.