In the unfortunate event that you were in a car accident and were not at fault, you should consider hiring a lawyer to protect your rights. Just because you did not cause the automobile accident does not mean everything will work out in your favor. Even as the faultless party, you need to legitimately prove that you were not at fault.
While you are by no means required to obtain a lawyer when filing a lawsuit against a negligent driver, your injuries and damages can take a physical and emotional toll. Hiring an experienced car accident lawyer can relieve some of that stress.
By contacting the legal team at Helping the Hurt, we will connect you with an experienced lawyer at the top of their field so that you can focus on healing.
Table Of Contents
What Do I Need to Do to Get Compensation?
If you were in an auto accident and want to receive fair compensation, it is best to hire an experienced car accident lawyer. The negligent party should be held liable for damages.
There are 4 types of damages that you could be compensated for in the unlikely event of a motor vehicle accident; compensatory, nominal, and punitive.
- Economic Damages- These types of damages consist of anything with a paper trail, such as receipts, bills, and any other pertinent documentation related to your car accident injury. This applies to both a minor injury or a severe injury.
Economic damages will make up the bulk of your car accident settlement. Examples are property damage, medical expenses, and loss of income. Property damage refers to the vehicle damage and personal property inside the vehicle and includes all repair bills or a total replacement. Medical expenses refer to any health-related bills. Also included are the victims' lost earnings because of medical appointments, the inability to work because of an injury, prospective lost earnings capacity, and future medical costs.
Personal injury attorneys have connections with the best accident doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapy specialists. You can be compensated for emergency medical care, surgical procedures, physical therapy, follow-up medical care, chiropractic appointments, and in-home nursing care. If you are permanently disabled due to the accident, you could have your home modified to accommodate your disability.
It's always best to keep detailed medical records of everything related to the accident. Lost wages cover missed time off of work and loss of employee benefits like PTO.
- Non-Economic Damages- These types of damages are called "pain and suffering" and are not as tangible as economic damages. Examples of pain and suffering are emotional trauma, humiliation, damage to your reputation, worsening of existing conditions, loss of enjoyment doing activities you once loved, and loss of consortium.
Consortium refers to the relationship between a married couple. If the accident caused your physical intimacy to suffer, you could be compensated for that.
- Nominal Damages- These types of damages are awarded to injury victims who did not suffer physical harm. The plaintiff (the victim) is legally in the right but did not suffer substantial injuries.
Another example is a plaintiff who did, in fact, suffer physical harm but neglected to submit detailed medical records for their case. They would be only awarded nominal damages.
- Punitive Damages- These damages are made to punish the defendant if they were vindictive or fraudulent in some way, discouraging them from ever engaging in that type of behavior again. In this case, the judge is trying to make an example of the defendant. Punitive damages are not accessible for every case.
The legal process of recovering damages can be complicated. When you hire an experienced car accident attorney, they will fight for your rights to compensation. Your attorney will have the legal experience to make detailed records of all damages you are entitled to claim so that you can focus on your recovery.
What To Do When You Get In a Car Accident
There are some important measures auto accident victims need to take if they want to file a claim against the at-fault driver or insurance company.
The way the injured party handles their accident can affect if you receive adequate compensation in your case. The more information you gather, the better. If your accident injuries are not too severe, try to follow these actions:
- Call the Police- It is vital for your personal injury claim and property damage claim that you obtain a police report. The officer is trained to evaluate the accident scene by documenting vehicle positions, skid marks, traffic signs and lights, weather conditions, etc.
- Take Photographs of the Accident Scene- It's important to collect any roadway evidence. Take cell phone photos of all vehicles involved in the accident, any damages, any traffic signs, the road conditions, the weather at the time of the accident, any injuries you or the at fault party sustained, and the license and insurance information of the responsible party.
- Talk to Anyone Who Witnessed the Wreck- Ask if you can record witness statements with your cell phone if a police officer is not there to take their information.
- Avoid Any Roadside Arguments- Keep a calm head and do not label someone as the liable party. Arguments can only make a bad situation worse. Not to mention, you are in danger of being on the side of the road outside of your car, and you or the other party may be injured.
- Request Medical Attention- You should pursue immediate medical care following an accident, even if you do not feel you have a major injury. Some musculoskeletal injuries, such as whiplash, may take days or weeks to emerge after a crash. If you are planning on using an accident injury attorney, they will need medical documentation. Seeing a doctor weeks or months down the road can make your injuries look like they were sustained after the accident and make your auto accident claim look less credible.
- Call an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer- You will have to deal with the stress of recovering, so hire a reputable accident lawyer to take care of all the complicated paperwork. Having a lawyer on your side can help increase your overall settlement. The attorneys at Helping the Hurt are highly skilled and know how to fight for your rights so that you receive maximum compensation during this difficult time.
- Let Your Auto Accident Lawyer Deal With the Insurance Companies- The insurance adjuster will reach out to you and want a full account of the accident for the insurance claim. It is best to have your auto accident attorney talk for you. They know how to deal with the insurance provider and what information is necessary for the insurance representatives.
What To Do in the Weeks Following a Car Accident
You were unfortunately in a car accident, and you followed all of the steps above. Weeks have passed. What should you actively be doing to stay on top of things?
It is crucial to stay on top of all of your doctor's appointments. Missing any ongoing scheduled appointments or dropping out of medical visits altogether will be recorded on the paperwork for the insurance provider. This not only hinders your physical recovery but could ultimately be used against you by the defendant (negligent party).
Your attorney will provide you with regular updates on your case. Feel free to send them an email to check in every so often, but if there is any pertinent information about your case that you need to know, they will reach out to you.
How Long Do I Have To File an Auto Accident Claim?
Each state has different statutes of limitations laws for personal injury lawsuits. While most states have adopted a two-year time limit to file a claim, sooner is always better. Any time lapse between the accident and filing can only hurt the credibility of your case.
See your state's statute of limitations for personal injury claims and property damage claims in the table below.
Won't My Auto Insurance Company Handle My Costs?
Even if you have both health insurance and automobile insurance, it's in your best interest to hire an accident injury attorney. Most of the time, your insurance or the negligent party's insurance will handle the accident-related costs.
Keep in mind that insurance companies are for-profit and have a bottom line. They are only going to pay out the lowest number they are legally allowed to offer you. If you do not have any skilled negotiators on your side, you may not know how to fight to receive a fair settlement.
Our legal team knows all of the tricks aggressive auto insurance companies use on accident victims.
Our team of adept car accident lawyers will fight for your rights to compensation. We work on a contingency basis, meaning we only get paid when you get paid.
Here are a few examples of how an insurance company employee may try to keep you from receiving maximum compensation:
- Pretend that they do not have to finance medical bills.
- Dispute the severity of your injuries or state that the crash did not cause the injuries.
- Outright reject your automobile insurance claim, potentially claiming no accident at all, but a deliberate act. They may not tell you the exact reason why you were denied. When you try to contact them, they ignore your calls.
- Falsely claim you paid less for insurance coverage.
- Use "surveillance" to discover evidence against you. Their adjusters could spy on you and monitor your social media accounts. They could also look way back into your medical records.
- Try to charge you with "subrogation," which is when the insurance provider returns after a settlement and claims you have to pay them back.
- Fake that they are genuinely concerned for your well-being to get you to accept a lowball settlement.
- Undercut your medical bills. Depending on the severity of your injuries, such as a prolonged hospital stay, an ambulance ride, ongoing doctor visits, surgeries, physical therapy, or chiropractic appointments, the insurance adjuster could forget to include a few of the bills on your claim. It is very important to keep accurate records, and having a personal injury lawyer can keep that from happening.
- They may try to record you admitting partial fault for the accident. Insurance adjusters can cleverly word their questions in a way that could confuse you. All calls are recorded when speaking with a licensed insurance agent, so do yourself a favor and hire a personal injury law firm to handle all of the communication for you.
- They could try to convince you that you do not need to take your case to trial. Going to court will cost them more money, so of course, they will try to talk you out of it.
These are only a few of the deceptions that insurance agents have tried on injury victims.
Contact Helping the Hurt so we can connect you with a team of lawyers who specialize in accident lawsuits.
Our personal injury attorneys will fight for you so you can receive maximum compensation for your injuries.
How Much Should I Expect from a Car Accident Settlement?
Each case is unique, and many factors make up what you will be compensated for. The amount of money that you receive after being in an accident is highly dependent on the type of injury, the severity of damages, and how long it takes to recover.
If you were involved in a minor accident and suffered injuries such as a broken bone or whiplash, then you should be able to get compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and therapy in a reasonable time frame. However, if you have more permanent or long-term injuries like spinal cord damage or traumatic brain injuries, it may take the attorneys and insurance companies a longer period of time to settle.
You'll also receive more accident compensation if the responsible party is found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Here are some of the factors that the insurance company and personal injury attorneys will consider when determining compensation for injuries:
- Lost Wages: This is the lost time from work during your recovery. This could be for a small amount of time but could possibly extend for years.
- Reduced Earning Capability: If your injury affected your capability to do your job on a short-term or long-term basis.
- Future Anticipated Medical Expenses: Many injuries arise after the accident. This also includes rehabilitation that needs to continue after the settlement.
- Pain and Suffering: This can sometimes be difficult to prove because there are no bills or receipts to determine the monetary amount of pain, suffering, and emotional distress that occurred after the accident. This is why you want to hire an experienced car accident injury attorney.
The two types of pain and suffering are physical pain and suffering and mental pain and suffering. Physical pain and suffering refers to the accident victims' pain, usually from a severe injury. Mental pain and suffering is a consequence of the physical injuries and the trauma associated with the car accident, often affecting the victim's quality of life. This can include anxiety, fear, severe stress, anger, loss of enjoyment of life, or mental anguish.
- Punitive Damages: If your attorney shows that the at-fault driver was behaving maliciously or recklessly.
Contact the Experienced Car Accident Injury Attorneys at Helping the Hurt Today
It is always wise to hire an experienced attorney after a car accident. If you want your case handled properly, contact Helping the Hurt. Let our attorneys take care of the complicated legal process of filing an accident report.
The accident law firms we refer out to have extensive experience with personal injury lawsuits. We use a top team of lawyers to help you receive the adequate compensation you deserve for your car accident injury case.
All of the experienced attorneys we refer to work on a contingency fee basis, which means you will not owe any out-of-pocket costs for legal help until a fair settlement for your losses can be arranged.
Our knowledgeable attorneys offer free initial consultation to accident victims to help clients better understand the claims process and to give them a better chance at obtaining optimal financial recovery.
Contact our personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation.