1. You can hire a lawyer for a traffic accident, but you don’t necessarily need to hire a lawyer to handle it. The parties can make their own choices. If a traffic accident occurs, you must report it to the police and bear civil liability according to the liability determination letter issued by the police. If a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be borne.
2. Legal basis: Article 179 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.
Whoever infringes upon others and causes personal damage shall be compensated for the reasonable expenses of treatment and rehabilitation such as medical expenses, nursing expenses, transportation expenses, nutrition expenses, hospitalization meal subsidies, etc., as well as the loss of income due to missed work. If disability is caused, the cost of assistive devices and disability compensation shall also be paid; if death is caused, funeral expenses and death compensation shall also be paid.
2. What is the process for handling traffic accidents?
1. Accept reports. After receiving reports from the parties or other persons, the public security and traffic management departments shall file a case according to their jurisdiction;
2. On-site treatment. After accepting the case, the public security and traffic management department immediately sends personnel to the scene to rescue injured people and property, survey the scene, and collect evidence;
3. Determining responsibility. On the basis of ascertaining the facts of the traffic accident, the public security and traffic management department shall determine the liability of the parties involved in the traffic accident based on the causal relationship and role between the illegal behavior of the parties to the accident and the traffic accident.
4. Rewards and punishments. The public security and traffic management department shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, impose warnings, fines, suspensions, revocation of driver's licenses or detention on those responsible for the accident;
5. Damage compensation mediation. Compensation for personal casualties and economic losses caused by traffic accidents shall be divided into corresponding compensation proportions according to relevant regulations and compensation standards, and the public security and traffic management department shall convene both parties for mediation. Both parties agree to reach an agreement, and the accident mediator prepares and issues a damage compensation mediation letter;
6. File a lawsuit in court. If both parties fail to mediate within the statutory period, the public security and traffic management department will terminate the mediation and issue a mediation conclusion, and both parties will file a civil lawsuit in court.