Hi, I'm Griff Tonkin and I'm a partner at the Arthofer & Tonkin Law Offices. We’re exclusively a personal injury litigation firm.
Today, I want to talk to you about the risks of resolving your own personal injury case without the benefit of having an experienced attorney on your side.
It’s always surprising to me when people try to act as their own lawyer. You wouldn’t serve as your own doctor—you wouldn’t try to remove your own appendix. If you had a tooth that needed to be extracted, you wouldn’t do it yourself; you’d go to a skilled dentist to minimize the risk and pain involved.
But sometimes, people try to handle their own personal injury matters. They attempt to settle directly with the insurance company for the driver who caused the accident. This is every bit as bad an idea as performing your own surgery or doing your own root canal. Simply don’t do it.
I’m an attorney—but even I hire other attorneys when I need help outside of my own area of practice. I have my own wills and trusts attorney, my own business attorney. I don’t handle those things myself—and you shouldn’t handle your own injury case if you’re not an attorney.
The risk is that insurance companies have every advantage. They have money, time, and experience, and they often try to use those advantages to rush you into a quick settlement.
Over the years, I’ve unfortunately consulted with many people who settled their case directly with an insurance company, signed a release, and later realized they made a mistake. They were dramatically undercompensated, still faced extensive medical treatment, and were left with mounting bills—but they had already signed away their rights.
It always pains me to tell those people that there’s nothing more I can do once the release is signed.
There’s no risk to you in consulting with a qualified personal injury attorney. At Arthofer & Tonkin Law Offices, our consultations are always free.
Don’t represent yourself—it’s a mistake. Get a good personal injury attorney, even if it’s not our firm.
And if you’d like someone to talk to about your case, call us today—our consultations are free.
