DIY Legal Help: Do you Really Need a Lawyer?

November 3rd, 2011. By AbiK

LawyersandSettlements.com receives a lot of inquiries asking whether or not it’s really necessary to obtain a lawyer if you’re trying to file a lawsuit. Pleading Ignorance is responding to all those questions and the answer is…yes, and no. But there’s a very simple and basic “litmus test” you can try to help you figure out what—or who—you need..

One way to help determine whether you’d benefit from having a lawyer is to consider how much is in it for you. Now, that might sound a bit opportunistic, and to some degree it is—but it’s also the reality of most personal injury lawsuits: someone’s been injured, someone caused the injury, and damages will be due. The question everyone wants the answer to is “how much?”

While you won’t be able to gauge exactly how much you might receive in damages—nor will anyone else until your case unfolds–you probably will have an estimate of what your out-of-pocket expenses have been for things like medical care, physical therapy, car repairs, lost wages…things like that. Once you add those up so you have a rough estimate (keeping in mind it will most likely not include everything you might be able seek damages for in an actual lawsuit), your next step is to visit your state’s Small Claims Court information center to find out what the maximum damages your state allows are—that’s the maximum you’d be allowed to recover in Small Claims Court.

If your expenses, as a result of the harm or injury done to you or your property, exceed your state’s maximum allowed damages in Small Claims Court, chances are you’ll need to consider a formal civil lawsuit, which in most instances will require a lawyer. Formal civil lawsuits need to follow civil procedure (i.e., “Rules of Civil Procedure”), and that process tends to be a bit (ok, a lot) more complicated for most folks. So if you’re seeking to recover damages that exceed what you’d potentially recover from Small Claims Court, an attorney can help you navigate the process and the filing of all the necessary forms and paperwork.

The following is a list of links for each state’s Small Claims Court information:

• Alabama Small Claims   
• Alaska Small Claims
• Arizona Small Claims
• Arkansas Small Claims
• California Small Claims
• Colorado Small Claims
• Connecticut Small Claims
• Delaware Small Claims
• District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)  Small Claims
• Florida Small Claims
• Georgia Small Claims
• Hawaii Small Claims
• Idaho Small Claims
• Illinois Small Claims
• Indiana Small Claims
• Iowa Small Claims
• Kansas Small Claims
• Kentucky Small Claims
• Louisiana Small Claims
• Maine Small Claims
• Maryland Small Claims
• Massachusetts Small Claims
• Michigan Small Claims
• Minnesota Small Claims
• Mississippi Small Claims
• Missouri Small Claims
• Montana Small Claims
• Nebraska Small Claims
• Nevada (Las Vegas) Small Claims
• New Hampshire Small Claims
• New Jersey Small Claims
• New York Small Claims
• North Carolina Small Claims
• North Dakota Small Claims
• Ohio Small Claims
• Oklahoma Small Claims
• Oregon Small Claims
• Pennsylvania Small Claims
• Rhode Island Small Claims
• South Carolina Small Claims
• South Dakota Small Claims
• Tennessee Small Claims
• Texas Small Claims
• Utah Small Claims
• Vermont Small Claims
• Virginia Small Claims
• Washington Small Claims
• West Virginia Small Claims
• Wisconsin Small Claims
• Wyoming Small Claims

If after reviewing the expenses associated with your injury you conclude that the damages you’re seeking would be more than what your state Small Claims Court allows, you can submit a complaint for an attorney to review here.

For additional state legal news and information, visit our State Law Pages.

Tags: Attorney, Civil Lawsuit, Damages, Formal Civil Court, Lawsuit, Lawyer, Personal Injury, Small Claims Court

This was posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues, lawsuits, Lawyers . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.