You should hire a car accident attorney as soon as possible. At the outset, we can speak to insurance adjusters, make sure you are getting the right medical treatment, and handle medical bills. We know what we are doing because our attorneys and staff almost exclusively handle car accident cases. That means we know the insurance companies and the insurance adjusters. And they know and respect us. In fact, many insurance adjusters have advised their family members and friends to hire us when they’ve been injured in a car crash because they know and trust us.

Hiring a car accident attorney does not cost you anything up front. Instead, car accident attorneys are paid a percentage of your settlement funds when the claim is paid. This type of fee arrangement is called a contingency fee - the attorney fee is contingent on your attorney obtaining a recovery for you. You owe your attorney nothing if your attorney cannot obtain a settlement for you.

The first thing you should do after a car accident is to call 911 and report the accident and obtain emergency medical treatment, if necessary. Never agree not to call the police. Insurance companies typically determine fault solely on the police report. If the police are not called to investigate then the other party to the accident might lie about what happened. Provide the hospital with both your auto insurer and policy number information and your health insurance information if you go to the emergency room after the accident. Medical coverage through your auto insurance is primary and health insurance is secondary. In other words if you don’t have medical coverage through your auto insurance or you don’t have enough coverage, your health insurance will pick up the remaining charges. Please note that the other driver’s insurance company will not pay for your medical bills until you reach a final settlement.

Do not speak to an auto insurance adjuster. Instead, call an attorney to handle all communications with the insurance company representatives. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions to illicit answers that can be used against you later. They twist your words in a way that can hurt your case. Don’t take chances, call an attorney.

The strength of an injury case is driven by three main factors: liability, causation and damages. Liability addresses who is at fault. Causation is whether the accident caused an injury. And lastly, damages is how much you can recover. These are not all of the factors. The type and amount of insurance coverage available, the nature of injuries and treatment, the availability of medical insurance, and other factors also impact the value of a claim. However, these three factors are the most impactful.

Law enforcement officers investigate auto accidents and issue reports. The investigating officer will interview witnesses and inspect the accident scene to determine who was at fault for the accident. The officer typically issues a traffic citation to the person who was at fault for causing the accident. The officer will make a reference to the law that was broken in the accident report. Insurance carriers will almost always defer to the officer’s assessment of liability when determining who was at fault. Sometimes the officer is wrong and sometimes more than one person is at fault. That’s why it’s a good idea to contact an attorney if you think the other driver was at fault and the officer got it wrong.

Usually it’s apparent that a crash caused an injury when the collision totals the vehicles and the occupants are taken immediately to the emergency room. The issue isn’t as clear when the impact is lower. Some people can be injured in minor impacts but it will be much harder to convince a jury of the injury. Additionally, some people had injuries and accidents prior to the crash and it is difficult to determine what injuries were pre-existing and what injuries were caused by the crash.

A person injured in a crash that was not their fault is entitled to recover economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are damages that you can calculate by adding them up, including property damage, lost wages and medical bills. Non-economic damages include intangible damages commonly referred to as pain and suffering. Non-economic damages can be significant and include compensation for scarring, disfigurement, permanent injury, emotional stress, and loss of enjoyment of life. The foregoing is a brief description of a few factors that are important in evaluating a car accident but is not intended to substitute for individual legal advice. If you want to learn more about evaluating your car accident claim, please call us and we’d be happy to discuss your claim with you.

A statute of limitation is a law that sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit. The deadline is extended if a person is injured when a child. Call us to find out the deadline for your case.

The time it takes to settle a car accident case depends on how long a client treats. When a person settles a case they cannot reopen it if they have more medical treatment at a later date. A settlement is final. That’s why we wait until a client’s doctor releases a client from care before we settle a client’s case.