Accidents happen everyday.
No particular reason in a lot of cases, they just happen to people.
The accidents cause injuries which generate accident claims as people want to "be made whole" to use the legal jargon.
In other words, get back to where they were before the accident occurred.
There are situations when being "made whole" simply won't work.
When an accident causes the loss of a limb, or death, its impossible to put the person back in the same situation they were in before the accident.
That's where lawyers come in big time, and the legal theory of compensation begins to work its magic.
Many people see the million dollar judgments over simple things like spilling coffee in one's lap, and dream of the day when they can be so "lucky.
" Surely there is an accident just waiting to find me and make me rich.
Unfortunately, there are a number of attorneys who glorify these cases such that America has become the single most litigious society in the world.
What is it about an accident that brings out the worst in so many of us? Accident claims revolve around someone's negligence.
Sometimes that negligence can be on the part of the victim themselves as could be noted in the famous hot coffee case surrounding McDonalds.
Compensatory damages try to recover monetary, physical, and emotional damage.
They differ from punitive damages which are a punishment to the guilty party for allowing the injury to occur in the first place.
Here's a quick tutorial on how to decide whether you need to hire an attorney for your accident claim case or not

1. There is significant injury or death
2. There is a question of who is at fault for the accident and it has not been established conclusively
3. The insurance company of the person who caused the accident (in your estimation) is making things difficult
4. There was a law broken, or someone was cited.
   
5. There were multiple people involved in the accident
6. Medical malpractice accident claims will always require an attorney.
   They are too complex.
   
7. Toxic exposure suits will require an attorney as well for their complexity.
   

Most injury or accident attorneys work on a "no fee" basis.
They get paid only upon successful conclusion of the case.
These contingency arrangements sound good at the start of the process, but these lawyers claim what seems like a big portion of the award for their efforts at the end of the case.
Accidents happen.
Knowing what to do to protect yourself and your family is the best defense.
Sometimes that defense will require an accident claims attorney to join your team as well.