One minute you could be driving down the road, enjoying the bright sunny day, then instantly, your life changes. Car accidents are extremely unpredictable and can happen at any moment. Injuries can be life-altering and require extensive surgeries and physical therapy to overcome or manage. Unfortunately, most severe accidents can have a major financial burden on victims. Not only are they left with stacking medical bills to cover the various surgeries, therapies, and appointments, but quite often injured drivers are unable to return to work.
Instead of having the luxury of returning back to a typical day at the office, you are now forced to deal with excruciating pain and lasting injuries that severally alter the quality of your life. What makes this entire situation all the more difficult to deal with, is that you have done nothing wrong to cause it. The only thing you are guilty of is being on the road at the same time as a reckless and negligent driver.
Car Accident Attorney Can Help You Protect Your Legal Rights
Being involved in a car accident can have an unimaginable impact on your quality of life. Dealing with stacking medical costs, numerous doctor appointments, and being forced out of work all take a toll on a person, especially while they are trying to take it easy and recover. If you are ever involved in a car accident caused by a negligent driver, it is important that you contact a car accident attorney as soon as possible.
Car accident attorneys work alongside clients who are injured in car accidents to make sure their legal rights are protected. Quite often, insurance companies for at-fault drivers rush to injury victims with quick settlement offers. The amounts offered are almost insulting to injury victims, as it’s usually not even enough to pay a fraction of their medical expenses. Regardless, some victims do sign off for the quick settlements as they feel they need money immediately to maintain their financial responsibility.
Unfortunately, accepting any form of settlement from the insurance company can have a major impact on a victim’s rights to file a claim against the driver at a later time. Certain injuries may require years of surgeries and therapies, which comes at an extraordinary cost. It is crucial for accident victims to hire attorneys to deal with the other driver’s insurance company. An experienced attorney from Needaninjuryattorney.com can handle your claim, contact the other insurance company, gather evidence, and present a strong case that gets you the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.
What Should A Car Accident Victim Do
If you are ever involved in a car accident, it is important that you get immediate medical attention. Even if you do not feel like anything is wrong, it is crucial to receive a medical examination to make sure there are no hidden complications. Being involved in a car accident causes a rush of adrenaline, which often blocks victims’ ability to feel certain injuries. Request a full body scan, multiple x-rays, and other images to check all areas of your body. Extensive screening can uncover unseen problems and keep track of complications should they arise at a later time.
Contact the police from the scene of the accident. It is important to involve law enforcement as soon as possible. An officer will arrive at the scene and generate a report detailing the time, location, and cause of the accident. Additionally, having the police at the scene of the accident can greatly assist you in cases where the negligent driver was drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident. It is important that you request a copy of the accident report from the officer directly. If you have to request it at a later time, it can take several weeks to receive a copy.
Finally, if you are physically able to do so, gather as much evidence as you can from the scene of the accident. Take several photographs of all vehicles involved. Take close-up photos, as well as full panoramic views. Collect the other driver’s name, contact information, and insurance information. It may help you to write down the license plate number, or take a photograph of it. Take note of the make and model of the vehicle as well.
Write down the names and contact information for all and any witnesses at the scene. If needed, your attorney can contact these individuals at a later time to request statements or testify on your behalf in court. If any parts flew off the vehicle, gather them and take them with you. Sometimes these parts contain details that are imperative to proving your case.
Never admit fault for anything. Do not talk about the accident with the other driver and do not admit that you are the cause of the accident to the police or anyone else at the scene. Anything you say can be used against you when filing your case. Admitting any type of fault for the accident can have a devastating impact on your ability to recover compensation at a later time. Do not contact the other driver’s insurance company or provide them with any statements regarding the accident. Instead, hire a car accident attorney from Needaninjuryattorney.com who can contact them on your behalf.
Determine Who Is At Fault For The Car Accident
When filing a legal claim against another driver, it is imperative to prove the four elements of fault in order to have a successful lawsuit. A claimant must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages throughout the duration of their claim in order to recover compensation.
Duty: While out on the road, all drivers are expected to provide a duty of care to others on the roadway. What this generally references is the act of driving with regard to others around you. Drivers are required to be considerate and caring for others sharing the roadway.
Breach: While out on the roadway, it is imperative for drivers to maintain their duty of care. If a driver is negligent, they are considered to be in breach of their duty to provide care. Proving a driver breached their duty of care is done by analyzing what the average driver would do when presented with the same set of circumstances that caused the accident. Proving a driver is in breach of their duty can be quite difficult, which is why it is recommended to hire a car accident attorney to help.
Causation: Once a claimant proves that the driver breached their duty to provide care, the next step is to prove that the breach itself is what caused the accident to occur. Injured victims must prove that the negligent driver was the cause of their injuries and the damage to their property.
Damages: Finally, car accident victims are required to prove that the accident, caused by the negligent driver’s breach to their duty of care resulted in financial, physical, or emotional damages. Damages are the recoverable aspect of a claim.
Recoverable Damages In A Car Accident
Individuals who are injured in car accidents may be entitled to recover financial compensation for damages they sustained. There is no way to pre-determine the number of damages a party will receive. Each state has its own guidelines for calculating the final amount. There are generally several areas that are recoverable financially through a claim. Some of these include:
- Medical bills for all treatments related to the injuries from the accident
- Lost wages from being out of work to care for injuries
- Lost earnings for individuals forced out of work long-term or permanently
- Loss of companionship for spouses who are suffering
- Pain and suffering, which includes emotional and physical
- Mental anguish
- Loss of life quality
Some courts allow punitive damage awards in addition to compensation awards. Punitive damages are awards given to injured victims as a form of punishment toward at-fault drivers. Generally, punitive damages do not require any proof of loss. Instead, they are awarded up to a certain amount depending on the severity of injuries and the level of negligence by the driver.
Understanding Car Insurance
When a person is injured in a car accident that was not their fault, most recoverable damages are capped by the amount of car insurance coverage the at-fault driver has. Each state has a set minimum amount of coverage, which is often $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two people, and $20,000 to cover property damage.
Individuals are required to purchase car insurance in the United States to cover damages caused by accidents. Each policy has its own set of guidelines; however, policies generally detail which portion is used for car repairs or replacements, medical expenses, and liability for other motorists involved or passengers. There are generally three coverage areas for auto insurance. These include:
Bodily Injury Liability Insurance: This form of insurance is used to cover medical expenses for passengers and drivers in their vehicles. This coverage extends to the driver and passengers in other vehicles involved in the accident, depending on who the at-fault driver is.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Insurance: This insurance covers medical expenses for a driver’s injuries if the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage is maxed out. This type of insurance is often recommended but not required. This is a form of personal insurance that protects drivers when they are involved with others who have limited or no coverage.
Property Damage Liability Insurance: This insurance is utilized to replace vehicles or other property damaged when a driver causes an accident.
Determining what insurance is going to cover your accident can be difficult. If you are involved in a car accident with another driver who has limited or no insurance, you will need to go after your own insurance to recover damages. Even if you pay your insurance company, they are still wary of paying out the maximum amount of compensation to anyone. Having an aggressive attorney from Needaninjuryattorney.com fight for your rights to obtain the maximum amount of compensation is imperative. Call us today to schedule a free consultation with a skilled car accident attorney.
A Car Accident Attorney Can Help You
There are several factors that come into play when determining the cause of a car accident. Some of the most common include:
Distracted Drivers: Accidents involving distracted drivers typically occur when drivers take their hands of their wheels, text, are distracted by their stereos, or they are reaching for items in the back seat. Taking their eyes off the road for even a split second can have dire consequences.
DUI Drivers: Car accidents commonly occur when drivers are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Each state has its own legal limit. If alcohol is suspected as the cause of an accident, the police will request sobriety tests to be performed on the driver.
Product Liability: This type of claim is filed against a parts manufacturer or a retailer when an accident is caused by a defective or malfunctioning auto part. Some of the most common product liability cases include brake failures, acceleration jams, and vehicle fires.
Driving Conditions: Poorly maintained roadways and unsafe road conditions are another leading cause of car accidents in the United States. Severe weather can cause havoc on the roadways. Poor weather is especially dangerous during the night time when drivers are already at a disadvantage for seeing.
In order to file a successful claim for compensation, an injured party must be able to prove what caused the car accident to occur in the first place. It is imperative for injured parties to hire adequate legal representation to help them file claims for compensation due to a car accident. This process is often complicated and overwhelming, which can be even more difficult to handle when trying to balance filing the claim with recovering from your injuries.
One of our experienced car accident attorneys at Needaninjuryattorney.com can help you proceed through every step of the claims process. Our attorneys will help you obtain copies of police reports, contact witnesses and insurance companies, and notify your own insurance company of the car accident.
Furthermore, our attorneys at Needaninjuryattorney.com can help you recover the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to. Call us today to schedule your free consultation.