A car accident can happen at any moment on the road. Suddenly, you suffer an injury, are in pain, and can’t work. What should you do? Retaining a car accident attorney to review your case and represent you is wise. A car accident attorney is highly skilled in insurance negotiations and court trials and will maximize your compensation if another party injures you.
You can speak to a car accident attorney in your area today for free. Personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and don’t usually charge hourly fees. So, there’s no risk in speaking to a car accident attorney to learn if they can help maximize your compensation. A car accident attorney will review your case, check who is liable, and estimate your potential damages.
When Should You Hire A Car Accident Attorney?
Retaining a car accident lawyer to represent you in many situations is best. Having an attorney by your side will benefit your case in many ways if someone’s negligence injured you:
You Didn’t Cause The Car Accident
If another driver hits and injures you, calling a car accident attorney immediately is a must. You are probably entitled to compensation for your injuries, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
The other driver’s auto insurance will usually need to cover your expenses and damages. However, the insurance adjuster won’t take your word for it; your attorney is highly skilled in proving that another party caused a car accident with injuries. Personal injury attorneys are experienced in proving the four aspects of negligence when their client didn’t cause the accident:
- Another party had a duty of care to you. For example, a car driver must drive safely and not injure other motorists and pedestrians.
- The driver violated their duty of care: For example, the driver ran a red light and hit you in an intersection.
- You suffered injuries because of the breach: You broke your leg and wrist in the car accident.
- You have damages from the accident: You now have $25,000 in medical bills and $10,000 in lost income, and your car is totaled.
The Accident Injured You
You should have a car accident attorney if you have injuries caused by the other driver in an accident. Proving injuries and other damages related to the accident is essential to having a personal injury claim. You don’t have a case if you were in an accident caused by someone else but don’t have damages.
Ensure that you receive immediate medical attention after the crash. Doing so is critical to proving your injuries and related damages in a claim or lawsuit. The insurance company will question your injuries and may deny the claim if you delay medical care.
The Other Driver Was Drunk
Always have a car accident lawyer if a drunk driver injures you. An experienced attorney should be retained because these cases usually involve more evidence and potentially higher compensation. Insurance companies know that juries don’t like drunk drivers, so the adjuster may be more likely to offer a higher settlement.
Your attorney will know how to gather the necessary evidence to prove to the insurance company that their driver was drunk. Also, the employer can be liable if the driver was employed during the crash, which may affect your compensation. Employers have higher insurance limits so that you can obtain more money for your losses. With more money, rely on a car accident lawyer to negotiate the best settlement.
You Can’t Work
Many severe injuries, such as broken bones or head trauma, prevent the accident victim from working. Call an attorney immediately if you can’t work because of your accident injuries. A car accident lawyer can accurately estimate your lost current and future earnings based on your degree of injury.
Your auto accident lawyer may wait to negotiate your settlement until your full medical bills and lost earnings are understood. This may mean waiting for compensation, but your settlement will certainly be higher. You can, for example, have severe nerve damage from the crash that prevents you from working for much longer than you first thought.
The Insurance Company Made A Low Offer
The other driver’s insurance company may attempt to settle your claim quickly if their client caused the crash. The insurance adjuster may call on your cell phone within a day of the accident and offer a low settlement. For example, they may offer to ‘pay your medical bills’ so they can close the claim quickly (before you hire an auto accident lawyer).
Here’s the problem: You probably don’t know the full extent of your accident injuries yet. There can be severe, long-term damage that will cost hundreds of thousands. The insurance adjuster doesn’t care; they simply want to make a low offer to pay ‘medical bills’ to avoid paying too much. They will probably only pay your medical bills to a certain extent, and they may still owe you additional money for lost income and pain and suffering.
You should only accept an early settlement offer from the at-fault insurance company with at least consulting a personal injury attorney. Initial settlement offers usually need to be higher. Your attorney will accurately assess your claim’s true value.
Your Claim Was Denied
The at-fault insurance company may even deny your claim outright. The adjuster may argue that you caused the accident or have a preexisting condition. There are many reasons the insurance provider can deny your claim. If the other party caused the crash, you should immediately retain a car accident attorney.
You Have Catastrophic Injuries
There are car accident injuries when you should ALWAYS have an auto accident attorney representing you. These are catastrophic injuries, which are defined as those that are life-changing and affect your ability to work in the long term.
A catastrophic injury will have steep medical costs, pain and suffering, and lost income that can be permanent. Common catastrophic accident injuries that should have a personal injury attorney in your corner include:
- Multiple broken bones
- Crush injuries or amputated limbs
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Severe burns and scarring
- Loss of seeing or hearing
- Organ damage
The first year of care for a partial paralysis case can be hundreds of thousands or even millions. Then, you can incur hundreds of thousands in additional costs annually. A skilled car accident attorney must fight for you to ensure you receive the most compensation.
Hit-And-Run Driver
Imagine being hit hard in a car accident, and the other driver flees. This is a hit-and-run crash, and you should have a car accident lawyer in your corner. A car accident attorney will work with the police to identify who the driver is. Your attorney may also help file a claim with your policy’s uninsured driver coverage.
There Are Questions About the Fault
Most people will claim that they didn’t cause a car accident. They will blame the other person. Sometimes, the liable person can even blame you for an accident you didn’t cause. You should hire a car accident lawyer if you have questions about who caused the accident.
A car accident attorney can determine how the accident happened by studying the evidence. They will use the evidence to prove to the insurance company that another party injured you. Typical car accident evidence the personal injury attorney will use may include:
- Crash scene evidence, including vehicle damage, debris, and tire marks
- Any photos and videos you took at the crash scene
- Any available surveillance video from nearby traffic or security cameras
- Cell phone records or vehicle black box data
- Police statements and reports
- Expert testimony, such as accident reconstruction specialists
- Eyewitness testimony
You Are Permanently Disabled
A permanent disability means your life is changed for the worse forever. You probably cannot work to support yourself and may be forced to live on disability payments to pay your bills. You shouldn’t have to depend on disability payments from the government alone to support you.
A car accident attorney will fight for the most compensation if you have been permanently disabled from a car accident because of someone’s negligence. You can be owed a high compensation if you had a long work life before you, especially if you were in a high-paying occupation.
Your auto accident attorney may consult with economists and vocational experts to calculate your lost potential income from the crash.
You Lost A Loved One In An Accident
Did your loved one die in the car accident that another person caused? Then, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit to obtain damages. You should have an experienced car accident attorney handle your wrongful death claim. These cases, like auto accidents, can be complex and involve high compensation. You can be entitled to these damages in a wrongful death lawsuit:
- The deceased’s pain and suffering
- Your mental and emotional anguish
- Burial and funeral expenses
- Lost income
- Lost inheritance
- Loss of services, care, and support
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of benefits, such as health insurance
A wrongful death attorney will determine if someone’s negligence caused your loved one’s death. The liable insurance company, such as a driver’s auto insurance company, may prefer to settle the death claim instead of going to court.
Want To Maximize Your Car Accident Compensation?
Of course, every injury victim wants to maximize their auto accident settlement. There are several proven ways to obtain the most money for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering:
Get Crash Evidence
If you can do so safely, perform some initial accident investigation after the crash before the vehicles are moved. Actions to take that may help your claim after the crash are:
- Take photos and videos of all damaged vehicles, including multiple close-ups and distant angles. You want to provide clear visual evidence of the original positions after the crash. Your attorney and their hired experts can use the videos and photos to show who likely caused the crash.
- Take pictures of skid marks, stop signs, traffic lights, and anything else of note where the accident happened.
- Obtain the contact information of eyewitnesses. Your attorney will try, but eyewitnesses might disappear quickly after an accident.
- Was there any vegetation blocking someone’s line of sight? Take photos of that, too.
Taking these actions will ensure that accident evidence is preserved. Once the police clear the scene and open the road, critical evidence can be missed. If you’re too injured to take pictures, call a friend or relative to do it.
Get Immediate Medical Care
Delaying medical care after a severe accident is the most common reason insurance companies reject valid claims. The insurance company will want convincing proof that you are hurt and the accident caused your injuries. The only way to prove your injuries is to seek immediate medical assistance.
Most of us don’t want to spend hours in the ER, but you should for your health and future legal claim. The treating physician will note that a car accident caused your injuries. It is vital evidence to prove your damages. Delaying medical care may cause the insurance company to reduce your settlement or reject the claim completely.
Call A Car Accident Attorney
A car accident attorney should always be consulted after a severe accident with injuries. Your initial belief about your injuries can be wrong. You can be hurt much worse than you thought in the minutes after the crash. It’s always better to have a car accident lawyer working on your case from the beginning instead of waiting until a lowball offer or insurance denial.
Contact A Car Accident Attorney For A Free Consultation Today
It’s always worth contacting a personal injury lawyer after a severe auto accident. In a lawsuit, you can be compensated if another person’s negligence caused your injuries. You don’t pay for the initial legal consultation, and there are no out-of-pocket legal expenses. Your auto accident lawyer is paid from your settlement or jury award, so there’s no risk. Contact an auto accident attorney today to learn if you have a case.
James Wayne Holliday
James Wayne Holliday has been practicing law since 1995. He has been named as a “Best Attorney” Lifetime Charter Member in Florida, an honor awarded to less than one percent of the nation’s lawyers.
Mr. Holliday has earned a reputation as a relentless trial lawyer because of his outstanding work ethic and thorough preparation of his cases for trial.
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