When Should You Get an Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyer for a Car Accident?

October 16, 2025

Collisions aren’t rare in a city the size of Indianapolis, though compensation may be available when somebody else is at fault for your car accident. Moreover, you can increase the amount you obtain by partnering with the sorts of skilled legal practitioners you’d find at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998. Nevertheless, you may be reluctant to make such a significant decision at this moment, so exactly when should you get an Indianapolis car accident lawyer for a car accident? Let Hensley explain the importance of securing prompt assistance after a crash.

An Unnecessary Delay Could Hinder Your Case

The short answer is that you should begin searching for an attorney as soon as you can because an unnecessary delay could hinder your case in a number of ways, especially with regard to the Statute of Limitations, which is the period in which legal action can be initiated following an injury.

The Statute is two years for most car accidents in Indiana, and you could be forever barred from being fully compensated if you don’t pursue everyone who harmed you before this window closes, yet simply identifying every single defendant can be challenging. Potential candidates might include the driver who hit you, the owner of his or her vehicle (if separate from the driver), the business making use of the vehicle (if separate from the owner), and possibly a host of other individuals and entities as well, often simultaneously.

Assuming you do somehow manage to track down all of the defendants, you may still encounter stiff resistance from their insurance companies, who are likely to be your primary sources of financial recovery. This may be your first serious car accident, but you can bet it won’t be the first for a veteran insurance adjuster, who may exploit your relative unfamiliarity with the claims process to resolve your claim for less than it’s worth – and the truth is you may not really know what it’s worth.

Even if you have been injured before, you probably haven’t calculated injuries monetarily before, so you may have no idea whether an offer for yours is fair or too low, and your current injuries may only constitute a small fraction of your total losses anyway. Some injuries may not be readily apparent, while major complications could develop over time, to say nothing of the non-economic damages that may be no less detrimental or enduring despite not coming with a price tag attached. And if you accept an offer that merely reflects your short-term costs, you could be stuck with the remainder when the long-term term costs finally emerge, an unfortunate outcome that a knowledgeable Indianapolis car accident lawyer can help you avoid.

How an Indianapolis Car Accident Attorney Can Make a Difference

Just as it won’t be the first accident for the insurers, neither will it be the first for a seasoned Indianapolis car accident attorney, who will be much better equipped to fend off the tricks and tactics that are frequently deployed against novice claimants. Your lawyer will also be better equipped to assess the actual value of your case and will take pains to equal or exceed that figure, a key reason why injured victims receive 3.5 times more on average with attorneys than they do without them.

A meticulous lawyer can unearth the root causes of your accident and each of the defendants who contributed to it, establish valid claims and/or file suit against them, and amass the evidentiary materials required to construct a rock-solid case.

When confronted with irrefutable proof of both the extent of your losses and the depth of the defendants’ misconduct, a sensible insurance carrier may agree to a generous settlement rather than risk a worse verdict at trial. However, a tenacious litigator will become indispensable if your case ends up in a venue like the Marion County Superior Court, where about 96 percent of plaintiffs who represent themselves lose but plaintiffs with professional representation are favored to win.

Hopefully you now see the advantages that an Indianapolis car accident attorney can bring to the table, though you won’t be able to start enjoying these advantages until you retain one.

Reach Out to Our Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been advocating tirelessly for hardworking Hoosiers for over a quarter century and would be eager to get justice for you and your family when you need it most. If you are struggling to get back to normal after a catastrophic car accident in the Indianapolis area, reach out to our Indianapolis car accident lawyers to explore your legal options.

You can schedule a free consultation with an accomplished Indianapolis car accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.