Is It Worth Hiring a Lawyer for Property Damage Only?
People often associate lawsuits with physical injuries. While personal injury lawsuits are common, they are not the only reason a person might have to sue. In many cases, plaintiffs do not experience bodily harm but lose valuable property. Damaged or destroyed property is often very expensive to replace or irreplaceable.
There are a wide variety of cases where a plaintiff might claim property damage only. Common examples include car accident cases where the plaintiff lost their vehicle. Property damage cases might instead involve intentional acts of vandalism or premises liability issues. Considering the high costs of property damage, plaintiffs should hire lawyers to help them. Do not think your case is unimportant because you did not get hurt. Property is often valuable and important. The people responsible for damaging your property should be held accountable and made to cover the costs of repairs or replacements. A personal injury attorney can help you with numerous aspects of your case, making their services very worthwhile to plaintiffs in need of help.
Cases Involving Only Property Damage
You do not have to experience bodily harm or physical injuries to be an accident victim. Many accident victims are uninjured, but their property is severely damaged. An attorney can help accident victims get financial compensation to cover the costs of repairing or replacing any destroyed property.
Car accidents are unfortunately common, and drivers sometimes miraculously walk away with no injuries. Their vehicles, however, are not so fortunate. The cost to replace a totaled vehicle is extremely expensive. Many drivers spend years saving for a car and cannot afford to replace it after a sudden collision. A car accident lawyer can help accident victims file lawsuits to recover damages to pay for a new vehicle.
In other cases, plaintiffs experience intentional acts of vandalism against their property. Vandalism can be much more than unsightly graffiti. Vandalism might include the destruction of property. Sometimes, the vandalized property is highly valuable and important to the owner. For example, a vandal might break out all the windows in someone’s home. The cost to replace that many windows is likely very high, and an attorney can help you hold the vandals liable for their actions.
Still, you might lose valuable property in a disaster caused by another person’s negligence. For example, suppose the owner of your apartment building chose not to repair dangerous, faulty wiring, and an electrical fire destroyed all your belongings. In that case, you can sue the building owner for the value of your destroyed property.
Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer for Cases with Property Damage Only
Lawsuits are complicated, even for seasoned legal professionals. While plaintiffs are not required to hire legal representation and may represent themselves in court, an attorney can provide worthwhile assistance.
Just filing your case is an endeavor on its own. Your attorney can help you gather the necessary information and evidence to draft your complaint and file it with the correct court.
Your attorney can also help you collect the evidence you need to prove the defendant was negligent or intentionally destroyed your property. For example, a car accident lawyer in a rear-end collision case can help you track down security camera footage from nearby establishments showing that the defendant was driving the vehicle that hit you.
A lawyer should also have experience calculating damages. Destroyed property tends to fall under the category of economic damages as a definitive price or value is often assigned to property and personal belongings. Your lawyer can ensure the calculations are accurate and you do not miss out on any possible compensation.
Why Cases Involving Property Damage Only Are Significant
Depending on the value of the damaged or destroyed property, damages can be quite great. For example, vehicles, tools, equipment, or even your home might be seriously damaged. Hiring an attorney gets you one step closer to just compensation.
Property damage is often very significant and deeply impacts the lives of owners. For example, if vandals slash the tires on a tractor, the farmer who owns the tractor cannot use it to plow their fields, and they might lose work and income. Similarly, a person who loses their car in a car crash might have no way to get to work or school.
Your attorney can help keep the legal process of getting compensation as streamlined as possible. People who hire attorneys are often more likely to be awarded greater compensation faster than if they handled their case alone.