Why Do I Need a Fort Wayne Car Accident Lawyer After a Car Accident?

July 1, 2025

If you have been hurt in a Fort Wayne car accident through no fault of your own, it is natural to wonder whether an attorney could help. Join us as we explain how you might benefit from legal assistance if you are asking yourself “Why do I need a Fort Wayne car accident lawyer after a car accident?”

Your Inexperience Could Put You at a Disadvantage

Though you are certainly entitled to handle your own Fort Wayne car accident case, your inexperience could put you at a disadvantage, particularly when it comes to the two core elements in personal injury litigation: negligence and damages.

Negligence is said to occur when sufficient care is not exercised to avoid inflicting harm, otherwise called damages. If a defendant’s negligence leads to a Fort Wayne car accident in which you sustain bodily damages, you could go after that defendant for financial damages.

Yet simply identifying every defendant can be challenging because of how many of them there could be. The list might include the driver who hit you, the owner of his or her vehicle, a company making use of that vehicle, and possibly other individuals, entities, and government bodies too, and they must all be pursued within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. The Statute is usually two years for Indiana car accidents, but it could be much shorter in cases against the government, with further restrictions that may apply, and anyone who fails to take action within that window could be forever barred from doing so.

Even if you somehow tracked down all of the liable parties, you may face stiff opposition from their insurance companies, who are likely to be your chief sources of economic recovery. A veteran insurance adjuster could exploit your unfamiliarity with the claims process to settle your case for less than it is worth, especially since you may have no idea what it is actually worth.

For instance, you have probably never assessed an injury in purely monetary terms before, so you may have no basis for determining if the proposed compensation for that injury is low. Moreover, your current injuries could constitute only a fraction of your total monetary costs, not to mention your non-monetary costs, which are often more enduring, and you may be forced to pay for the remainder on your own if you accept a seemingly “fair” offer from the adjuster.

Hiring a Fort Wayne Car Attorney Can Make a Difference

This is where hiring a Fort Wayne car accident attorney can make a difference. A seasoned lawyer will be better equipped to fend off the tricks and tactics frequently deployed to minimize car accident claims, which is a key reason why victims with attorneys obtain 3.5 times as much as victims without them.

Once retained, your lawyer will launch a comprehensive investigation into the causes of your Fort Wayne car accident and everyone responsible for it, then establish valid claims against each of them and potentially file a lawsuit as well in a court with the power to issue a binding judgment.

Next, your attorney will amass the materials to build your case, including both evidence of your losses, such as medical bills, caregiver testimonials, and employer documentation, and evidence of the defendants’ wrongdoing, such as:

• Police reports
• Tickets and dispositions
• Eyewitness statements
• Crash scene photos
• Streetlight, dash cam, and surveillance footage
• Black box data
• Phone records
• Driving histories
• Servicing logs
• Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

When confronted with compelling proof of your damages and the insured’s guilt, an adjuster may be convinced to tender a generous settlement rather than risk a worst verdict.

A Fierce Advocate in the Courtroom

Indeed, the majority of these kinds of cases are resolved during negotiations, though sometimes a trial is inescapable, at which point it will be critical to partner with a Fort Wayne car accident lawyer who can be a fierce advocate in the courtroom.

While plaintiffs who represent themselves in court lose about 96 percent of their cases, plaintiffs with professional representation are statistically favored to win. And if your attorney can manage to convey to a receptive jury everything that the Fort Wayne car accident took from you, you might be able to acquire the resources necessary to get your life back to normal.

Reach Out to Our Fort Wayne Car Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been fighting for injured Hoosiers for more than 25 years. If you are unsure of what to do or where to turn following a serious collision, reach out to our Fort Wayne car accident lawyers to discuss your legal options.

You can schedule a free consultation with a dedicated Fort Wayne car accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.