The easiest way for you to handle the various insurance companies trying to contact you after a car accident is to ask them to speak with your lawyer — if you have retained one, that is. Once a lawyer is retained, he or she can take over all communication with the insurance companies, saving the victim a lot of stress and hassle. However, some accident victims do not have the ability to focus on retaining a personal injury lawyer in Durham during their recovery phase of an injury.

When a victim notifies his or her insurance company about an accident, the insurance company opens an accident benefits claim and assigns a bodily injury adjuster to manage it. They will then send out some benefits forms for completion. It is usually recommended that a personal injury lawyer reviews these forms. The information on them, which includes a description of how the accident happened, will continue throughout the legal claim. A lawyer will help ensure nothing is volunteered that could later prejudice the claim.

A victim may also hear early on from an adjuster for the third party, and if injuries and losses reach a certain threshold, there is then the ability to sue the third parties. Again, it is in a victim's best interest that the description of the accident and injuries come from a personal injury lawyer.

In some situations, an insurance company may reach out to propose a settlement. If a personal injury lawyer has not been retained, it will definitely be time to pick up the phone and call one, as it can be quite tricky to negotiate the settlement of a claim with a savvy insurance company.