The aftermath of a car accident is overwhelming, scary, and confusing. If this is the first time you have been in an accident, you may not know what to do or how a car accident settlement works. Car accident settlements can be unpredictable. You need a car accident attorney to help you navigate the process and ensure you get the money you need to recover fully from your injuries.
If you or a family member suffered an injury in a car accident, call a car accident attorney in your area to ensure that your legal rights are protected. You do not need to attempt to settle your case on your own, negotiate with an insurance company on your behalf, or wonder if you are getting everything you deserve from a car accident attorney.
To learn more about how car accident settlements work, continue reading. To discuss your specific options following a car crash and injuries, seek a free case evaluation with a trusted car accident lawyer.
Car Accident Settlements Start With the Insurance Company
Insurance companies are usually on the hook for paying a settlement claim. It makes sense that settlement negotiations begin with insurance companies. After an accident, you may receive a call from an adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company. What you do next is critical for the success of your accident claim. Take the following steps to ensure that your communication with the opposing insurance company does not hurt your accident claim.
Never Speak to an Insurance Adjuster Without an Attorney
Never speak to an insurance adjuster without an attorney by your side. Insurance companies are for-profit businesses. The company’s focus is to make money, and insurance companies maintain the bottom line by avoiding paying injured people the money they need to recover from their injuries.
An accident attorney will protect your rights after an accident, including your right to compensation from the insurance company. Some studies show that if an accident victim hires an attorney, their chances of a successful outcome increase. Unrepresented injured people tend to fall for common tactics that the insurance company uses to minimize your story and the money it must pay you.
Never Accept the First Offer
The first settlement offer from an insurance company is typically not the best. A common tactic of insurance companies is to offer to settle with an injured person quickly and close their file. However, the first offer is not the best because it does not anticipate future harm. Your injuries may not be fully apparent when the insurance company comes calling. Taking the first offer may not receive enough money to cover future medical bills and lost wages. And once you accept a settlement offer, that is the end of your case.
Always Talk to an Attorney
You need a legal team working for you after an accident. If you suffered an injury in a car crash, make an appointment with a car accident attorney in your area to discuss your legal options. Accident attorneys act as a shield against insurance companies, defense lawyers, and sometimes even doctors that refuse to treat accident victims. If you suffered harm in an accident, call an attorney today.
What Should I Do After an Accident?
You should get medical attention and call an attorney immediately after an accident. You must ensure your physical well-being and protect your legal rights.Get medical attention immediately, even if you do not think you have suffered a severe injury. Your injuries may not be obvious without a medical exam, so see a doctor as soon as possible. You need the knowledge only a medical team can give you about your injuries. It can save your life and your case.
The more time that passes between when you are hurt and when you get treatment can be detrimental to your case. Every car accident plaintiff must prove that the accident caused their injuries. The best way is to get timely medical care for your injuries.
Once you are physically stable, call an attorney to advise you on your settlement options. Time is of the essence with car accident claims, so contact a car accident attorney immediately.
How Much Money Can I Expect From an Accident Claim?
There is no way to predict how much money you will receive from a car accident claim. However, several factors may increase the value of your car accident settlement. The following are some factors that may increase the value of your car accident settlement:
The Severity of Your Injuries
Typically, the more severe your injuries are, the more valuable your car accident claim. You must present proof that the car accident caused your injuries to prove that you are hurt. To prove your injuries, you should keep a full and accurate record of your medical bills.
Examples of common injuries that result from car accidents include:
- Loss of consortium/loss of companionship
- Mental and emotional trauma
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head injuries/concussions/ and Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Amputation
- Chronic pain
- Fractures
- Sprains and strains
- Paralysis
- Loss of function/ decreased range of motion
The Need for Long-Term Medical/Rehabilitative Care
The overall value of your car accident claim may be more significant if you need rehabilitative care after a car accident. You are entitled to recover for all your injuries after an accident.
You should never accept a settlement without anticipating the need for continuing long-term care like physical therapy. Your car accident attorney will work to ensure that you do not feel pressured to accept an inadequate settlement offer from the insurance company that will not cover your future and long-term medical needs.
Lost Income
If your injuries keep you out of work, you may be entitled to recover for lost income damages. In addition to your current income loss, you can also recover for future lost income. You should never settle a case without anticipating damages for future lost income.
In addition to the money you lost for work, you may also seek damages for lost earning capacity. Lost earning capacity means that you can recover from the difference between the salary you earned before the accident and your current salary if you cannot return to the same industry you were in before the accident happened.
Insurance Policy Limits
Every insurance policy has a monetary limit the company will pay if one of its insureds gets into an accident. Usually, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will not pay more than the stated policy limits. However, your attorney can determine whether other parties share liability for your crash, which can result in additional coverage available to you.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Damages for the loss of enjoyment of life refer to intangible damages caused by the car accident that caused you to lose interest in things you enjoyed before the car accident. Loss of enjoyment of life may present itself as a symptom of depression. To ensure you get compensation for your intangible losses, you must have an experienced car accident attorney on your side. Contact a car accident attorney in your area to help you recover damages for loss of enjoyment of life.
Property Damage
You are entitled to recover your property damages. If your vehicle sustains damage in a car crash, you have the right to file a property damage claim with the at-fault driver’s car insurance policy. A car accident attorney can help you adequately allege property damages after a car accident.
The Attorney That You Hire
The attorney that you hire may significantly affect how your case ends. You must find and hire a car accident attorney with experience recovering compensation for injuries like yours. Some car accident cases get complicated quickly, and you will need a legal team that has seen cases like yours to ensure you get the maximum compensation for your injuries. You should research car accident attorneys in your area, and do not be afraid to look around for the best fit before committing to one attorney over another.
How Long Does It Take for a Car Accident Claim to Settle?
There is no way to predict how long it will take for a car accident claim to settle. If you attempt to settle your case without an attorney, you may be up for a fight from the insurance company. While insurance companies may move quickly to settle your case, a quick offer from an insurance company is usually not the best and will not cover your damages.
If you cannot settle with the insurance company, your car accident attorney will file a lawsuit. Many factors determine how long it takes for a lawsuit to resolve. If your case does not settle with the insurance company, you must go through the pretrial preparation process. Your car accident attorney will help you as you continue negotiating through the pretrial process. If your case does not settle during the pretrial process, it will proceed to trial.
A car accident trial may seem daunting, but if you have the right attorney in your corner, you can rest assured that they are protecting your legal interests and that you will have a professional working to get you the best outcome for your case.
Several factors can delay the resolution of a car accident trial. First, the case must go on the court’s calendar. Most dockets are full across the country, so you may not get a chance to have your case heard for several months or even years. Next, you will need all your witnesses available to testify. There may be scheduling issues, especially if several expert witnesses are coming to testify on your behalf.
Again, there is no way to know how long it will take to settle a case, but if you have questions along the way, you can ask your car accident attorney for answers. If you have a legal team working with you on your case, there is no need to search for your own answers on the internet and risk getting bad information.
What Can I Expect if I File a Car Accident Lawsuit?
After you file a lawsuit, you will continue attempting to settle your case. Several pretrial steps must happen before you see the inside of a courtroom. After you get good service on all potential defendants, you will participate in discovery. Discovery is the fact-finding stage of a case where both sides work to learn more about what happened to cause the accident. Your lawyer must follow many rules during the discovery process.
During the discovery process, you may have to appear at a deposition. A deposition is a formal testimony given by witnesses outside of a courtroom. Typically, there is no judge in the room while you are giving your deposition, but the penalties of perjury still apply. Your car accident attorney will help you prepare for a deposition so that the experience can work to help you have a successful outcome. You can also depose other witnesses as you and your car accident attorney prepare for trial.
What Happens if the Other Driver Does Not Have Car Insurance?
Car Accident Attorney, Phillip J. Barkett
There are some circumstances where the at-fault driver does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance to cover your damages. If that happens, you may need to file a claim against your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage policy.
Depending on the state, you may have been required to or had the option of retaining uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage when you got your car insurance policy. Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the other driver does not have car insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the other driver does not have enough insurance to cover your injuries.
In either event, a personal injury lawyer in your area can help you file a claim with your insurance company so that you can access the money you need to recover from your injuries fully. Your attorney should explore every option for possible compensation for your injuries and losses.