Atlanta Injury Lawyers BlogDoes He Who Represents Himself in Court Have a Fool for a Client?
Yes, he was a convicted felon and yes he had committed numerous crimes throughout Atlanta, however, the College Park citizen who represented himself in Cobb County this week was in for a rude awakening. According to the AJC and the Cobb County District Attorney’s office, the convicted felon who represented himself at the trial received the maximum sentence of life without parole plus 75 years after he was found guilty of carjacking two Cobb County car salesmen while on test drives in 2015.
Many people feel that they can go it alone, and not hire an attorney when they’re involved in a number of different types of legal disputes. However, many types of claims and many types of law are more complicated than they appear to a lay person. The old adage: “he who represents himself has a fool for a client” may not be appropriate for every single situation, but many times it really is true.
Occasionally, we get calls from people who question whether they need a lawyer to handle their case. Obviously, my profession is the practice of law (I’m a lawyer) so I’m admittedly biased as an attorney. However, study after study shows that someone who has a valuable personal injury or medical malpractice claim fares much better if they hire a lawyer rather than trying to handle the case themselves. This takes into account the lawyers’ fees, the expenses of the case and the overall amount of money that the client puts in their pocket after all attorneys’ fees and expenses are paid. A good, experienced lawyer can help do many things that potential clients may not be aware of. For instance, we frequently are able to find insurance to cover an incident when at first blush it appears the tortfeasor (the person who was negligent and injured another person) may be uninsured or under-insured. This is a first critical step that adds a tremendous amount of value to the case, sometimes increasing the value exponentially. We also, as a matter of course, are able to accurately value the case based on past experience, similar verdicts, similar cases that settle and a whole host of other factors that are put into the equation to properly value your case.
This type of analysis is what you pay for when you hire a lawyer to handle any of the types of cases that we handle on a regular basis such as: wrongful death, medical malpractice, dental malpractice, dental nerve injury, pharmacy errors, trucking accidents, Georgia car accidents, DUI accidents, dog bites, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, nursing home abuse, bicycle injuries, workplace injuries, premises liability, mesothelioma asbestos exposure, slip and fall accidents, herniated discs from falls, airport personal injury, dental implant injuries, wisdom tooth extraction injuries, product liability litigation, bus accidents, brain injuries, birth injuries, root canal injuries and many other types of claims that don’t fall into an easy category.
If you have been injured by malpractice or by the negligence of someone else and would like to discuss whether you have a case and whether you would benefit from a lawyer representing you, feel fee to contact me directly on (404) 923-7497. We are here to help.
