You were making big plans for the new year. With the Christmas gifts all paid for in cash for the first time in decades, you finally felt like you were making some headway on your finances. Given that you have eliminated all but two of the credit card balances that were weighing you down just five years ago, you had plans for a big summer vacation with the family. In fact, once you had your oldest daughter moved back into her dorm for the second semester, you and your husband planned to make the big announcement. When the spring semester was finished you were taking both your daughters and your wife on a two week vacation to an all inclusive resort. With reservations for spa days, kayaking, hiking, and surfing lessons, it was going to be the biggest vacation your family of four had ever taken.
All of those plans, of course, were made before the accident. Now, instead of looking forward to the upcoming vacation you are attempting to find an attorney to help wade your way through a whole inventory of problems.
You are fortunate that you survived the accident, but the large semi that drifted into your lane during the final hour of the return trip to campus forced you off the road. Much of what happened next is a blur, but the end result was a totaled car, a variety of injuries to everyone in the family and months of missed work and college classes.

Initially, it seemed as if the trucking company was going to be very helpful and generous, you soon realized, however, that they were simply trying to find a quick way out of the problem caused by their distracted driver. You are glad that you finally made the decision to find an attorney to represent your family’s interest, but you wish you would have made the decision much sooner.
Finding a Good Attorney Can be the Difference Between a Quick, Partial Settlement and a Thorough Investigation
In some cases, the reason that a large trucking company might want to reach a quick settlement is that they want to find the least expensive and damaging way out of a bad situation. Without taking the time to think through the details and ramifications of recovering from serious injuries, for instance, settlements can happen very quickly. Thorough investigations, however, can point out the past reckless history of a driver and you determine the future needs for your recovery. From lost credits in college classes to the cost of months of physical and occupational therapy sessions, the damages from an accident can be extensive. Without the help of an injury lawyer, however, you may not be able to correctly predict your future needs.
Personal injury claims and personal injury settlements can be complicated. Add in the stress of financial worries and the pain caused by injuries and the process can seem nearly impossible if you do not find an attorney who is well versed in personal injury lawsuits.
Did you know that 95% to 96% of personal injury cases are settled pretrial? One of the reasons that only 4% to 5% of the cases actually go to trial is that the responsible party is hoping for a quick settlement with little publicity. And while you do not need to publicly ruin someone’s reputation by going to court, many quick settlements result in an inaccurate prediction of future financial needs. For instance, the fact that your daughter may have to go to school for an extra semester and miss an opportunity to find a first year teaching job when she graduates in the winter instead of the summer can have ramifications that might be missed in a quick settlement.
Taking the time to find an attorney who may be able to help you predict a more thorough list of your future needs is essential to the recovery of many accidents. You may only be thinking of the missed opportunity for an upcoming vacation, but you need to be looking further down the road as well. Don’t let a distracted driver and a quick settlement rob you of your future plans, hopes, and dreams