You probably know that you can represent yourself when pursuing personal injury damages. If you have a personal injury case, however, you might wonder whether to go it alone or hire a lawyer. Below are some of the circumstances in which hiring a lawyer is a smart decision.

Extensive Injuries

Extensive or serious injuries often trigger expensive losses. If your injuries are extreme, your pain and suffering will be extreme, you will lose a lot of income, and your treatment costs will be expensive. As such, you stand to lose a lot of money if something doesn't go right with your case. It makes sense, therefore, to use a lawyer and ensure everything goes according to plan. Examples of such injuries include damage to a critical organ, paralysis, limb amputation, or any injury that requires extensive hospitalization or treatment.

Liability Dispute

It also makes sense to hire a lawyer if there are serious issues with the liability of the defendant. Liability is the basis upon which the personal injury cases are built. You need to be able to prove, with reliable evidence, that the person you want to compensate for your damages is liable for the damages. After that, you can argue about the extent of your injuries or the value of damages. Therefore, you should not think about self-representation if you cannot even prove liability for the case.

Multiple Victims

If there are multiple victims to the same accident, then there is a good chance that all of you will be pursuing damages against the same defendant. This means the defendant's resources, such as insurance policy or personal assets, might not be enough to compensate all of you. As such, all the plaintiffs will be scrambling to maximize their share of the compensation money. It makes sense to hire a lawyer to help you fight for your fair share too.

Multiple Defendants

It's also good to hire a lawyer if there are multiple defendants in a case. In such cases, the defendants usually end up blaming each other and avoiding liability for the victim's injuries. If you are not careful, the case can drag on for a long time and you might not get your entire damages. 

Complicated Cases

Lastly, there are some injury cases that involve inherently complex legal issues. Examples are wrongful death claims, toxic exposure claims, and medical malpractice claims, among others. Such cases are best handled by lawyers who have the legal knowledge and experience to navigate them.

For more information, contact a law service like Jack W Hanemann, P.S.