One of the scariest situations a motorist can find themselves in is getting into a car accident. The aftermath of a car accident can be confusing and overwhelming. You just want justice and to be paid for your injuries and damage, but knowing what to do is a task itself.

After an accident, you need to call a car accident attorney to learn how to protect your rights.

Until you can do that, continue reading to learn more about how to file a car accident claim.

Typical Accident Claims Follow These Steps

Every accident claim is unique, and there is no way to predict the outcome. However, there are some steps that every person involved in an accident should complete. The steps to take after an accident include:

• Call 911 and complete an accident report.

Every time a person is in a car accident, they should call the police and make an accident report. The police officer that completes the accident report is the first person that will decide liability. The officer will assess the scene and determine which driver was at fault. However, the police officer is not the final word on liability, but insurance companies may rely on the officer’s firsthand experience with the accident scene to decide on liability.

• Call your insurance company.

When you are in an accident, you should file a claim with your insurance company. Most insurance policies require that you file a claim despite who caused the accident. If you fail to report a claim, the insurance company might void your policy. Your insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company will investigate the accident and decide about the fault. The at-fault driver is responsible for paying for the other driver’s and passenger’s injuries and property damage.

• If you do not like the outcome of the insurance company’s investigation, you will want to hire counsel.

Before accepting any settlement offer or liability from the insurance company, you need to speak to an attorney. Suppose you refuse to settle an accident claim with an insurance company or disagree with the outcome of an insurance investigation. In that case, you may need to file a lawsuit to get the compensation you need to recover from an accident. Call an attorney to protect your rights. Continue reading to learn more about how an attorney can help you file an accident claim.

Schedule an Initial Consultation With a Car Accident Attorney

The first step to properly filing an accident claim is to schedule an initial consultation with an accident attorney. To file a lawsuit, you will have to file a complaint. It requires that a complaint contain specific information to be adequate.

Your attorney will listen to your story during an initial consultation and glean the critical facts to include in the complaint they will file with the court. People without legal training may think that some facts are essential and may leave out facts that will prove their case.

That is why you should always have the proper legal representation in your lawsuit at the very beginning. It is crucial to have the facts together before meeting with your attorney.

There are steps you or your car accident attorney must complete to properly file an injury lawsuit. After you have your initial consultation, your attorney will begin working. An accident victim is at an advantage when they have an attorney because an experienced injury attorney knows the technical hurdles that a plaintiff must overcome when they file a lawsuit. Keep reading to learn how an accident attorney can help you ensure that a court does not dismiss your claim on a technicality.

Statute of Limitations

Unrepresented accident victims are vulnerable to a lot when they pursue their claims without an attorney. One of the first obstacles to overcome is ensuring that you file your claim within the appropriate time. Every state has a rule about how long someone has to file a lawsuit for various kinds of issues. The law is called a statute of limitations.

A statute of limitations is a legal deadline that an injury victim has to file a lawsuit. The amount of time that an accident victim has to sue for damages varies from state to state. In Missouri, if a person suffers an injury in an accident, they have four years from the day of the accident to file a lawsuit.

In addition to the statute of limitations, there are many other procedural rules that everyone that files a lawsuit must follow. Experienced Missouri accident lawyers know the law. They know the various procedural rules that will keep your case from being dismissed on a technicality. You need a professional on your side at the outset of a lawsuit to ensure that your claim is not dead on arrival.

Properly Serve the Correct Defendants

Another benefit of having an experienced attorney on your side is the correct parties will be named in the lawsuit. A common problem that unrepresented litigants face is that their claims are dismissed because they do not sue the appropriate parties.

Many inexperienced plaintiffs do not realize that they must get the legal name of the defendant correct on their complaint. For example, if you are suing a corporation, you cannot just name the colloquial name for the store. You must list the name that the business registered on the Secretary of State’s website.

In addition to listing the proper legal name, you must list the correct defendants on the complaint. An attorney can do some investigation to ensure that the right people and entities are named as defendants in a lawsuit.

Once your attorney has found the correct defendants, they must appropriately serve each defendant. There are laws on the service of process in each state. Your lawyer must follow the requirements for service of process to the letter, or a court may dismiss your case. A plaintiff must serve a summons on the driver and the insurance company along with any other named defendant. An experienced attorney can complete the service of process correctly.

Timely Answer Any Counterclaims

Per the rules of civil procedure, once a defendant is served correctly in an accident case, they have a certain amount of time to file an answer. In their response, a defendant can admit or deny allegations set out in the complaint, file a motion that will resolve the case, or file a counterclaim.

A counterclaim is like a complaint filed by the defendant. It changes the plaintiff’s position from plaintiff to counter-plaintiff. The counter-plaintiff must answer the defendant’s counterclaim within the time allowed by law. You need an attorney to keep the timeline for responses straight and to ensure that your case will not slip through the cracks or a court dismisses it on a technicality.

Overcoming Motions to Dismiss

In most states, the rules of civil procedure allow a defendant to file a motion to dismiss instead of filing an answer to an accident victim’s lawsuit. The plaintiff must answer a motion to dismiss at a time set by law.

A motion to dismiss may contain a legal argument to support the defendant’s position that the claim is without merit and that the court should dismiss it. Answering a legal argument can be challenging. If a person does not have any experience responding to legal questions and advocating for themselves on paper, they may need assistance.

An injury attorney has experience answering these kinds of motions and can help you successfully argue against the defenses that the other party presented in their arguments.

What Happens After My Attorney Files My Claim?

After your attorney files your complaint, an attorney’s assistance is still required. If the defendant doesn’t settle the case, it may be necessary to file a lawsuit. After your lawyer files a lawsuit, there is much more work to do before the case is over. If you do not have experience in the legal system, you may not know your rights and obligations while a lawsuit is pending. Some examples of the work that goes on between filing a lawsuit and settling the claim include:

Discovery

Discovery is an investigation phase of a lawsuit. During discovery, the law requires both parties to disclose all relevant information that can help prove the facts of the case or disprove allegations made in a complaint, motion, or another pleading. It is essential to ask the right questions and answer questions appropriately.

Discovery can help get more information from a party. However, there are rules about what can be requested by either party.

An inexperienced person may not know how to craft productive questions within the rules of civil procedure. An experienced accident attorney knows how to look at the facts of the case and ask questions that will help prove the allegations in the complaint.

Expert Witnesses

Often expert witness testimony can help prove an accident victim’s damages. In this context, expert witnesses are usually medical doctors called upon to give an opinion about the severity of the victim’s injuries. Expert witnesses must also follow the rules of civil procedure. Either party must file some documents with the court in some states if they intend to use an expert witness and have them testify at trial.

Depositions

A deposition allows both sides of a lawsuit to ask potential witnesses questions in a formal setting. Although there is no judge present in the room during a deposition, the witnesses are under oath and subject to perjury laws. Deposition testimony is as good as live witness testimony in a courtroom.

An unrepresented accident victim is vulnerable when giving testimony at a deposition and while questioning witnesses during a deposition. Again, there are rules that both sides must follow, and there are specific questions that parties cannot ask witnesses.

If you are involved in a deposition, you need an attorney to represent you. Attorneys know the rules of court, including the rules that they must follow in a deposition. Use an attorney to maximize your chances of success on your accident claim. Contact an accident attorney as soon as possible if you have been in an accident.

What Happens if I Cannot Afford a Car Accident Attorney?

One of the hurdles that an accident victim must traverse is the notion that they cannot afford an attorney after they have suffered an injury in an accident that was not their fault.

Many accident attorneys work on a contingency basis for accident victims. A contingency agreement is a payment structure where an attorney and a client agree to suspend payment for legal services until after the accident claim concludes. In many cases, the attorney will advertise that the firm “doesn’t get paid unless you do.” This means that an accident victim does not pay for legal fees unless there is a settlement recovered at the end of the case.

The attorney and the client must agree in writing to a contingency plan. Clients must understand the terms of the agreement before a lawyer can complete any legal work. During your initial consultation, you must speak with your attorney and ensure that you get answers to your questions about a contingency fee agreement.

Typical payment arrangements for contingency agreements give the attorney 30 percent of the final settlement amount plus any litigation costs that the attorney and law firm paid upfront. For example, if your case settles for $90,000, the attorney’s fee will be $30,000 plus any litigation costs that the attorney paid throughout the trial. Litigation costs are fees that are incidental to pursuing the lawsuit. Litigation costs may include filing fees, expert witness fees, copying costs, and postage.

Contact an Attorney

If you have suffered an injury in an accident that was not your fault, call an attorney to help you file your accident claim. Contact an experienced car accident attorney who can protect your rights and interests as you pursue justice.