You wish you would have listened to the advice your friends and family gave you.
When your oldest daughter was the victim of a car accident during the last week of her first year in college, you were grateful that she appeared to be uninjured. You were disappointed that the can had been totaled, but you were grateful for her apparent health. Although the police officer on the scene encouraged her to get in the ambulance and go to the hospital to make sure that she was alright, your daughter insisted that she was fine. This is also what she told you when she made the phone call home from the scene of the accident that was caused by a careless driver who ran a red light.
You trusted her judgement and even when you had a close friend explain that he still thought your daughter should go in for a routine check up, your daughter explained that she was fine. Six months after the accident, however, when her stiff neck simply did not go away it became apparent that all was not well. By this time you had already received the settlement for the totaled car, but your daughter had signed papers indicating that her health was fine.
Now as you struggle to get coverage for the physical therapy and chiropractic bills that she is incurring you find yourself in need of a lawyer to see if there is anyway to restructure the now six month old car accident settlement. After long appointments and discussions you really wish that you would have listened to your friends at the time and had encouraged your daughter to talk about personal injury settlements right after the accident occurred. Your current lawyer insists that he will be able to get your daughter the financial help that she needs, but he has also explained that the process could take awhile.
Finding a Car Accident Settlement Attorney Can Help You Find Faster Recovery
Do you know when to call a law firm? For many families, the relief over no major injuries after a car accident is enough to erase any thought of needing an attorney. In reality, however, most accident victims would benefit from getting advice from a personal injury lawyer. Knowing, for instance, that the pain and suffering from an accident does not always present immediately can help a victim realize the need for future medical attention and rehabilitation.
Consider some of these facts and figures about car accident settlements and situations that are caused by the carelessness of others:

• 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants lost their lives in traffic crashes in the year 2013, and an additional 2.05 million passenger vehicle occupants were injured that same year.
• 4,668 people died in motorcycle crashes in the year 2013. This number is down 6.4% from 4,986 in 2012, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report., but the lives lost are still significant.
• 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving during any daylight moment in America. Everyone of these distracted drivers puts themselves, as well as others on the road at risk.
• Participating in visual-manual subtasks like reaching for a phone, or dialing or texting, or any other activity associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increases the risk of getting into a crash by three times.
• The average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before his or her first arrest.
• Statutes of limitations, laws that set time limits on how long a victim has to file a civil lawsuit, vary from state to state. These limitations also effect personal injury lawsuit. In the state of Tennessee, for instance, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases and wrongful death cases is one year.
• Only 4% to 5% of percent of the personal injury cases in the U.S. ever go to trial.
• 95% to 96% of personal injury cases, including car accident settlements, are settled before ever going to trial.

Sometimes friends offer good advice. If you have a friend who is telling you to seek legal advice after a car accident, it might be in your best interest to listen.