More often than not, regardless of whether you caused the accident or are its victim, if you do not seek a consultation with an accident lawyer as soon as possible after the accident you may well end up regretting your decision. The overriding reasons for saying this are two-fold:

• the insurance company you will be making your claim against are trying to minimise their losses; and

• you most probably don't know what you're entitled to.

Let's assume you are the victim of an unfortunate accident. Let's further assume that your insurance company has come through and has agreed to pay all your medical bills. Now, you may well be feeling that your insurance company are the good guys and you don't need a lawyer's advice. Wrong!

What's happened is nothing less than what the insurance company is obligated to do under the terms and conditions of your accident policy. Moreover, the insurance company is hoping to play on the fact that you feel somewhat indebted to their generosity.

That way, they hope, you'll not bring about a bigger claim for what you are rightly entitled to. In the long run that means that they don't have quiet as big an insurance claim loss and they can still make a profit from your policy.

In short, they are protecting their financial wellbeing at the cost of your entitlement rights. But, unless you have spoken to a personal injury lawyer you'll not know this and you'll feel that everything is fine.

So, the next time you are in an car accident or accident, ask yourself this question: 'Is my insurance company interested in protecting me and my rights, or are they more concerned with paying a dividend to their shareholders?'

On the other hand, a professional compensation lawyer is normally an ethical impartial third party who knows what your rights are. Aside from possibly being paid a fee, not from or by you, he's also likely to have another job to help a victim better than its' insurance company, (and, keep in mind, if any court proceedings occur, these fees are reclaimed from the opponent side).

So, why shouldn't they tell you the truth about what accident compensation you are entitled to? What's more, even if he does have a financial interest in your case, surely the better compensated you are, the better compensated he is?

As such, if anything, he has even more interest in making sure that you know exactly what your rights are and of making sure that you claim for those rights according to what you are entitled to.

Looked at it like this, it not too difficult to see who the interested party is and who the independent party is. Now ask yourself: 'Do you want to take advice from someone who is interested in minimising your claim, or someone who is interested in maximising it?'

Now let's look at it from the point of view of, you being the person at fault in the accident. You may well feel that you have nothing to fear, as your insurance company will pay for the damage done. You may even find that initially your insurance company agrees with this. But why...?

Unless you see an accident lawyer as soon as possible after the accident you'll never know. Why? Are you 100% sure that it was your fault...?

The insurance company has to be polite, you're their customer! However, once the claim is over and you're thrilled with their service, you're definitely going to renew your policy. But the extra couple of hundred they ask for will justify the accident? 'Sir/ma'am, you had an accident and your premium has increased!'

Knowing exactly what your rights or obligations are after an accident can be extremely tricky. In most cases it will depend on what happened to cause the accident in the first place.

As such, seeking the advice of a compensation lawyer as soon as you can following an personal injury is the only independent way you can really determine and know exactly what you are entitled to or what you may be liable for arising from the accident.