When to Get a Lawyer for a Car Accident

M

ny c

ccident victims go b

ck

nd fo

th t

ying to decide

hethe

they should c

ll

c

ccident lye

. You m

y

sk you

f

iends o

f

mily membe

s,

nd you m

y get m

ny diffe

ent types of

dvice. Some people m

y h

ve

lye

they

ecommend,

hile othe

s m

y h

ve

n inhe

ent dist

ust fo

lye

s

nd m

y cl

im th

t

n

tto

ney

ill just t

y to t

ke you

money.

hile it’s not

lys necessy to hi

e

lyefte

eve

y single c

ccident, the

e e m

ny times

hen it’s definitely

ise to h

ve leg

l

ep

esent

tion. One thing th

t’s

lys impo

t

nt to

emembe

is th

t it costs you NOTHING to le

n

bout ho lye

c

n help you. In f

ct, in most c

ses, it costs

bsolutely NOTHING unless

lyeins you

c

ccident cl

im. You h

ve nothing to lose by m

king

c

ll to

pe

son

l inju

y l

fi

m,

nd you h

ve

LOT to lose if you mish

ndle o

jeop

dize you

cl

im by t

ying to h

ndle it on you

o

n.

hen You Suffe

ed Inju

ies<

h2>
Some people

e lucky enough to

lk

y f

om

csh feeling sh

ken up but

ith only

fe

mino

sc

tches o

not

sc

tch

t

ll. Ho

eve

, m

ny othe

c

ccident victims

equi

e immedi

te medic

l t

e

tment fo viety of se

ious inju

ies.

c

sh c

n jolt

nd t

ist you

body in m

ny diffe

ent unn

tul ys,

s

ell

s c

use you

he

d o

body to hit the inside of the c

o

even get ejected f

om the vehicle. Some common inju

ies th

t m

y

esult f

om

c

sh include the follo

ing:

• <

  h

  ef="https:

  /o

  thoinfo.os.o

  g/en/dise

  ses--conditions

  sp

  ins-st

  ins-

  nd-othe

  -soft-tissue-inju

  ies

  “>Soft tissue te

  s, sp

  ins, o

  stins<><

  li>

• Neck
  nd b

  ck inju

  ies<

  li>

• Disloc
  tions<

  li>

• <
  h

  ef=”https://medlineplus.gov/f

  ctu

  es.html">Fctu

  es ><

  li>

• F
  ci

  l inju

  ies<

  li>

• He
  d tumnd skull fctu

  es

• <
  h

  ef=”https://

  .ns.o

  g/en/P

  tients

  Neu

  osu

  gic

  l-Conditions-

  nd-T

  e

  tments/Concussion”>Concussions > o

  mode

  te to seve

  e<

  h

  ef="https:

  /

  .nichd.nih.gov

  he

  lth

  topics/tbi”> t

  um

  tic bin inju

  y (TBI) ><

  li>

• <
  h

  ef=”https://

  .m

  yoclinic.o

  g

  dise

  ses-conditions

  spin

  l-co

  d-inju

  y

  symptoms-c

  uses

  syc-20377890″>Spin

  l co

  d inju

  y<><

  li>

• Inte
  n

  l o

  g

  n d

  m

  ge

• Inte
  n

  l bleeding

ll of the

bove inju

ies should get

p

ope

di

gnosis by

medic

l p

ofession

l

nd

t

e

tment pl

n

s soon

s possible

ften

ccident. M

ny csh victims m

y

lso need

n

mbul

nce

ide but even if you don’t, you should still go to the eme

gency

oom

s soon

s you c

n. In m

ny situ

tions, docto

s c

n di

gnose inju

ies th

t you didn’t even suspect you h

d since some inju

ies t

ke hou

s o

d

ys to sho

symptoms. This not only me

ns th

t you

ill

eceive the t

e

tment you need, but

lso th

t the

e

ill be

comp

ehensive

eco

d of

ll youccident-

el

ted inju

ies. This c

n help

ith insu

nce cl

ims to seek compens

tion f

om the pty

ho

s

t f

ult fo

youccident.

hile medic

l t

e

tment is highly impo

t

nt

fte

c

sh, m

ny people hesit

te to go to the E

.

ith the const

ntly

ising costs of he

lthce, getting t

e

tment fony type of inju

y c

n be

n ove

helming fin

nci

l p

ospect. Ho

eve

, this is

he

e getting

c

ccident lye

comes into pl

y. H

ving the

ight

ep

esent

tion me

ns th

t someone

ill be fighting fo

compens

tion foll of you

medic

l bills

nd othe

expenses f

om the li

ble pty. Even

seemingly mino

inju

y c

n

esult in

fe

thous

nd dolls in medic

l bills fo

the E

visit, im

ging

nd di

gnostic tests, follo

-up visits, physic

l thepy,

nd mo

e. Even if you think the inju

y isn’t se

ious, the costs of t

e

tment c

n

dd up quickly. You should

l

ys file

n insunce cl

im to get p

id fo

you

medic

l bills,

nd you should cont

ct

lye

fo

help

ith you

cl

im.

hen Li

bility Is in Question

If you stopped p

ope

ly

t ed light

ith both h

nds on the

heel

nd looking

t the

o

d,

nd

nothe

d

ive

sl

ms into you

c, it is p

etty obvious th

t the collision s the othe

d

ive

’s f

ult. Ho

eve

, li

bility is not

s cle in m

ny c

shes. In o

de

to seek compens

tion fo

you

losses, you need to be

ble to identify the li

ble pty

nd p

ove they

e

e negligent, so

hen li

bility is in question, it c

n jeop

dize you

enti

e cl

im. The

e

e diffe

ent situ

tions in

hich p

oving li

bility m

y be complic

ted, including:

• The othe

  d

  ive

  out

  ight denies being

  t f

  ult<

  li>

• The d
  ive

  o

  the insunce comp

  ny cl

  ims th

  t you c

  used o

  cont

  ibuted to the

  ccident

Questioning li

bility is

p

imy y th

t insu

nce comp

nies t

y to limit o

deny p

yment to cl

im

nts.

s soon

s this h

ppens, you should h

ve

lye

on you

side

ight

y.

l

ye

c

n do the follo

ing to suppo

t you

cl

im

heneve

possible:

• Conduct
  tho

  ough

  nd p

  ofession

  l investig

  tion of the

  ccident<

  li>

• Enlist expe
  t

  n

  lysts

  nd

  itnesses to give thei

  opinion

  egding the c

  use of the c

  sh

• G
  the

  evidence including police

  epo

  ts,

  itness st

  tements, video foot

  ge,

  nd mo

  e th

  t c

  n help p

  ove the othe

  d

  ive

  ’s li

  bility

• P
  esent you

  c

  se to the insu

  e

  o

  in cou

  t in the most pe

  su

  sive m

  nne

  possible<

  li>

lso,

l

ye

c

n

dvise you

hen you still m

y be entitled to compens

tion even if you might h

ve been pti

lly

t f

ult. Sh

ed li

bility doesn’t

utom

tic

lly me

n you c

n’t

ecove

fo

you

losses, though m

ny people don’t

e

lize this. You

l

ye

c

n

dvise you of youights unde

st

te <

h

ef="https:

/

.l.co

nell.edu/

ex

comp

tive_negligence">comp

tive negligence > ls,

hich m

y

llo

you to seek pti

l compens

tion even you

e

e

lso p

tly li

ble fo

the

ccident.

hen li

bility is not obvious o

is contested, c

ll

t

usted c

ccident

tto

ney immedi

tely.

hen The

e e Co

po

te P

ties o

Multiple Pties<

h2>
Often,

nothe

d

ive

is

t f

ult fo

c

c

sh.

hen this h

ppens, you

ill be de

ling

ith th

t d

ive

’s consume

uto insu

nce comp

ny. Ho

eve

, insunce cl

ims c

n become subst

nti

lly mo

e complex VE

Y quickly

hen the

e e co

po

te p

ties o

multiple pties

ho m

y be

t f

ult fo

the

ccident. The

e

e seve

l diffe

ent scenios

hen

comp

ny m

y be li

ble fo

you

c

ccident losses inste

d of just

n individu

l. Some of these include the follo

ing:

• The d

  ive

  ho hit you

  s on the job

  t the time of the csh,

  nd thei

  employe

  c

  n be held st

  ictly li

  ble fo

  the

  ctions of the d

  ive

  <

  li>

• The d
  ive

  s ope

  ting unde

  ideshe comp

  ny such

  s

  Ube

  o

  Lyft

  t the time of the csh<

  li>

• The
  ccident h

  ppened bec

  use of

  defective

  nd m

  lfunctioning

  uto pt, so the

  uto m

  nuf

  ctu

  eill be

  t f

  ult<

  li>

• The
  ccident h

  ppened bec

  use of o

  d defect c

  used by

  const

  uction comp

  ny o

  gove

  nment

  gency<

  li>

If

ny of the

bove

pplies in you

c

se, you

ill need to de

l

ith

co

po

tion

nd its insu

e

nd leg

l te

m. This is

completely diffe

ent b

llg

me th

n de

ling

ith

single consume

uto insu

e

,

nd you definitely nt the help of

l

ye

f

om the ve

y beginning of you

cl

im. The s

me goes

hen you h

ve multiple insu

nce cl

ims

g

inst multiple pties.

hen You Question

Settlement Offe

hen it comes time fon insunce comp

ny to fin

lly m

ke

n offe

fo

settlement, it is

ll too common fo

the offe

to be f too lo

to

dequ

tely compens

te you foll the inju

ies

nd d

m

ges you sust

ined. It usu

lly does not m

ke fin

nci

l o

leg

l sense to

ccept

n initi

l settlement offe

f

om the insunce comp

ny,

s the

e is

lys mo

e money on the t

ble.

n expe

ienced c

ccident

tto

ney

ill be

ble to

evie

the offe

nd

eject the initi

l settlement offe

on you

beh

lf

hen necess

y. You

lye

c

n then p

esent

counte

-dem

nd to the insunce

djuste

b

sed on the

mount you need to cove

you

losses.

hen it comes to negoti

ting

ith the insu

nce comp

ny

bout you

c

ccident c

se, it c

n

equi

e f

equent communic

tions

ith

n

djustend p

esenting

ddition

l evidence to suppo

t the full v

lue of you

cl

im. It often t

kes sevel

ounds of settlement negoti

tions, ho

eve

, in o

de

to

e

ch th

t point. Du

ing the negoti

tion p

ocess, e

ch side m

kes

djustments to thei

espective settlement dem

nds

nd offe

s until the pties eithe

come to

n

g

eement oe

ch

n imp

sse. In o

de

to ensu

e th

t the fin

l settlement is

dequ

te, the

ccident victim’s l

ye

ill usu

lly begin the negoti

tions by

sking fo

signific

ntly mo

e th

n

h

t they believe the c

se is

ctu

lly

o

th. These negoti

tions t

ke time

nd skill,

nd you should be focusing on you

inju

ies inste

d of going b

ck

nd fo

th

ith the insunce comp

ny.

hen it comes to settlement negoti

tions

nd

e

ching

settlement in you

c

ccident c

se, the

e

e ce

t

in f

cto

s th

t you should

l

ys conside

:

• The

  mount of you

  p

  st

  nd futu

  e losses (

  s c

  lcul

  ted by youtto

  ney)

• The contingency fee
  g

  eement bet

  een you

  nd you

  tto

  ney,

  nd the

  mount th

  t

  ill be t

  ken out of the g

  oss settlement p

  oceeds to p

  y youtto

  ney’s fee

• The
  mounts of

  ny outst

  nding medic

  l bills, liens,

  nd othe

  expenses th

  t must be subtcted f

  om the g

  oss settlement offe

c

ccident l

ye

ill be

ble to let you kno

ho

much you

ill net f

om the settlement once

ll outst

nding bills

nd fees

e p

id. In some c

ccident c

ses, it m

y be necess

y fo

you

l

ye

to file

l

suit

g

inst the

esponsible pe

son o

pe

sons. Filing

lsuit begins the litig

tion p

ocess,

nd it fo

ces the insunce comp

ny to t

ke

ction in you

c

se—

nd hopefully t

ke it mo

e se

iously. Once

lsuit is filed, the insunce comp

ny must

efe

the m

tte

to outside counsel—o

to in-house counsel—to

ep

esent thei

client.

Just bec

use

l

suit is filed, ho

eve

, does not necess

ily me

n th

t you

c

ccident c

se

ill go to t

i

l. In f

ct, in the m

jo

ity of c

ccident c

ses, the pties continue to negoti

te long

fte

suit is filed.

civil ju

y t

i

l is usu

lly

l

st

eso

t

nd occu

s only

hen the p

ties c

nnot

e

ch

settlement. In some c

ccident c

ses, the p

ties m

y even

e

ch

settlement on the d

y befo

e—o

the d

y of—the civil ju

y t

i

l. T

king

c

ccident c

se to t

i

l c

n sometimes be

isky bec

use neithe

pty kno

s fo

su

e

h

t

ju

y is going to do o

ho

the ju

y

ill decide the outcome of the c

se.

hen you

eceive

settlement offe

th

t is insufficient, it is often

sign th

t p

oceedings c

n d

g on

nd th

t they m

y even esc

l

te to civil cou

t. This is

su

e sign th

t it is

good time to c

ll fo

the help of

n expe

ienced c

ccident lye

.

Cont

ct

n Expe

ienced C

ccident

tto

ney

s Soon

s Possible