After a motor vehicle accident, car accident victims may deal with severe injuries and medical bills on their own.
Auto insurance companies offer accident victims low-ball quick settlement offers that are a fraction of what they deserve.
Insurance providers look out for their bottom line to avoid legal consequences, and they don't have your best interests in mind.
The people they have to keep in mind are their shareholders.
Fortunately, an experienced personal injury lawyer's help can protect your rights to accident compensation and get you a fair settlement.
The article below will discuss why you should hire a personal injury attorney after a car accident.
A personal injury attorney can help you recover financially after a car accident, but what about your physical needs? Read our blog: How Chiropractic Care Can Help Your Personal Injury Claim.
Table Of Contents
- Do I Need A Personal Injury Attorney?
- What To Do After A Car Accident
- How Do I Know If I Have a Personal Injury Claim?
- Always Contact a Lawyer Soon After Your Crash
- Benefits of Hiring an Attorney After A Crash
- Get the Highest Quality Local Injury Attorney For Your Auto Accident Case
Do I Need A Personal Injury Attorney?
Everyone involved in an auto accident should speak to a personal injury attorney.
Unfortunately, even people involved in severe accidents don't think they need an attorney.
Many accident victims believe that they will quickly receive fair compensation because they can work with their insurance company.
Unfortunately, it's never that simple.
Accident lawyers know this and have extensive experience taking on large insurance companies that have a track record of seeking to minimize, delay, and even deny claims.
What To Do After A Car Accident
After being injured in a traffic accident, there are several steps you should take to hold the negligent party responsible:
- Call 911 – If you can, call 911 to report your accident. This call will alert the police and emergency medical personnel to the accident scene. A police report, accident reports, and medical records will be valuable when establishing fault and liability.
- Gather Evidence – Gathering additional evidence is easier than ever because of smartphones. Take accident scene photos of license plates, eyewitness information, vehicle damage, injuries, road conditions, intersections, and any other relevant evidence that could help your auto accident attorney establish who is the responsible party.
- Contact an Injury Lawyer – Your insurance adjuster will always seek to reduce their liabilities by offering accident victims lowball settlements. You should contact an experienced car accident attorney immediately so they can begin building your case.
How Do I Know If I Have a Personal Injury Claim?
Personal injury claims have three basic requirements:
- First, the person responsible for the accident needs to have acted negligently. Negligence means a person didn't uphold a standard of care to avoid causing physical injury to someone or damaging their property.
- Second, their negligence has to cause your injury. There needs to be a clear link between another party's negligence and your injuries. For example, if a negligent driver is texting and driving (distracted driving) and crashes into your car and you sustain minor injuries and a concussion, the driver's negligence led to your physical and/or emotional trauma.
- Finally, the injury caused harm. If your accident injury causes you to incur medical bills or miss work, those are two negative consequences caused by the injury. If the accident resulted from negligence, the negative consequences are compensatory damages.
Always Contact a Lawyer Soon After Your Crash
Accident victims have a lot to handle after a crash.
Because there is a lot to handle, crash victims must speak to an accident lawyer soon after their crash for many reasons.
- To Preserve Evidence: Evidence like weather conditions and tire marks on a road will naturally disappear over time. Other evidence may be cleaned up or even taken by the at-fault party, making it difficult for the accident victim to prove who is that at-fault driver. Evidence is most effective if it's gathered soon after a crash. Then, you and your attorney can collect it as quickly as possible.
- To Speak With Witnesses: Eyewitness testimony is crucial in personal injury claims. But over time, memories fade. Witnesses might not remember important details if you don't speak with them immediately. Eyewitness testimony is solid evidence as long as the witness remembers how the accident happened.
- To Meet The Statutes of Limitations: In most states, accident victims have a time limit of only two years from the date of an accident to file an insurance claim. Once the statute of limitations expires, you won't be able to receive any compensation at all. Two years sounds like a long time, but it's not. You and your lawyer will need to collect evidence, gather documentation, consult with experts, and more. That legal process takes time, so you need to speak to an experienced lawyer as soon as possible.
Benefits of Hiring an Attorney After A Crash
Unless you are a skilled negotiator with a deep knowledge of personal injury law, hiring an attorney will keep insurance adjusters from taking advantage of you, even after minor accidents.
The main benefits of hiring an experienced attorney are:
- Taking on the Insurance Company – There's a good chance the insurance companies will not play fair. An experienced car accident attorney will fight for you during this time. Your lawyer can defend you against the insurance company and ensure that they are not acting in bad faith.
- Filing Paperwork – Car accident claims and personal injury lawsuits involve piles of paperwork and forms. Everything has to be filled out and pointed out correctly to ensure your case proceeds accordingly, and you obtain a fair settlement. Improperly filed papers can add lengthy delays to your case and prevent you from receiving the money you need from the at-fault driver.
- Increasing Compensation – Accident victims who work with a lawyer receive more potential compensation than those who do not. Lawyers know how to build a case against the liable party to show the insurance company how much money they deserve for different types of damages. In addition, lawyers aren't afraid to stand up to the large insurance companies and will fight to make sure all of your medical costs and other damages are considered now and in the future.
- Risk-Free – Almost all experienced car accident lawyers work on a contingency basis. A contingency fee means you owe them nothing unless they win or settle your case. As a result, any injured accident victim can afford to seek justice after an accident.
- Thorough Investigation – Accident attorneys have extensive experience investigating car accidents. Your attorney can use accident reconstruction experts, forensic specialists, and experts to uncover all liable parties. They may discover negligent parties not listed in the police report, like the car manufacturer, the city responsible for maintaining the roads, or the bar that served a person who was drunk driving.
Get the Highest Quality Local Injury Attorney For Your Auto Accident Case
If you suffer injuries due to a car accident, you need an experienced personal injury law firm that will protect both your physical and financial recovery.
Our car accident doctors have built excellent relationships with the top personal injury lawyers in your area.
These attorneys deal exclusively with motor vehicle accident injuries and will work closely with you throughout your case, so you receive maximum compensation for injuries.
Our clients will have one-on-one attention from an advocate and have confidence knowing an entire legal team will back them.
This attention helps give our patients peace of mind knowing that they are getting the medical care they need and ensuring that their injury claim will cover their medical bills and property damage.
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References:
1.https://www.randspear.com/resources/
2.https://www.callrainwater.com/practice-areas/auto-accident/when-to-call-an-attorney/
4.https://carlsonmeissner.com/need-lawyer-after-auto-crash-florida/