Not every car accident is the same. Some accidents are small and straightforward to handle. Yet, other car accidents can be complicated, with a lot of hurdles and complex issues. It makes sense to get a professional lawyer involved to represent you in such accidents, and even minor ones too. Read on to learn how lawyers can help in such situations.
The Role of Personal Injury Lawyers
Car accidents are typically handled by personal injury lawyers. The main role of a personal injury lawyer is to get you compensation for the injuries you sustained, cover your current and future medical expenses that resulted because of the crash, and help you receive money for the damage sustained to your property. This compensation is needed for a variety of payments that you need to make. Being in a car crash can leave you injured, either temporarily or permanently. It can leave you unable to work, resulting in lost wages and burdening you with medical bills. Without compensation, you will find it very difficult, if even possible, to pay for all of this out of pocket. As with any legal case, there is a procedure to follow after a car accident. A lawyer can do almost all the work for you to get the compensation you deserve. Don’t put off hiring a lawyer so that they have enough time to work during the timeframe the local laws allow.
Filing a Police Report
The most important thing to do after a car accident is to check if you or any passengers with you have been injured. Even if there is no visible injury, you need to seek medical help because it’s common for injuries to show up days after an accident. Police will probably arrive shortly afterward and help you.
It’s usually when you have sustained serious injuries that a lawyer will handle your case. They start the procedure by filing a police report. If you don’t have a lawyer yet, you should contact one before making any statements other than giving your contact and insurance information. It wouldn’t be unusual to make a false statement right after a car accident since you could be in a state of confusion or shock. That’s why it’s not advised to make statements because insurance companies can use your words against you to avoid paying you the compensation you deserve.
Investigate All Contributing Factors
The cause of an accident may sometimes be obvious, but even a straightforward accident can have other contributing factors. An experienced lawyer will investigate all factors that may have contributed to the accident. These could be anything from driver distraction and road construction to faulty vehicles and drunk driving.
Filing a Claim
After that, a claim is made to the insurance company. Personal injury laws may vary by state so if the accident took place in Dallas, for example, you will need to get familiar with Texas’ state laws. Keep in mind that insurance companies have their own lawyers, so finding the right experts to represent you is crucial to receiving maximum compensation. Insurance companies can undermine the entire incident and if you represent yourself, and you will likely only walk away with a small amount of compensation, or even have your claim denied. In other words, you would be at their mercy, which is why lots of individuals who don’t hire a lawyer fail in getting fair compensation.
Most states have a no-fault policy. This means that you can receive medical attention and treat your injuries immediately after your accident without having to wait for a court to see whose fault the accident was. According to the terms of your insurance policy, you have a certain timeframe to report the accident, or else you lose the opportunity to file a claim.
Filing a Lawsuit
If an insurance company doesn’t sufficiently compensate you, it could turn into a lawsuit. This could result in either an out-of-court settlement or an in-court ruling. Filing a lawsuit is different from making a claim to an insurance agency. In all cases, a lawyer negotiates a settlement for you. This settlement will include all expenses directly related to the accident, as well as possible future medical expenses that you may need. There is a statute of limitations on lawsuits as there is on claims. The clock starts ticking once the incident happens, so you need to lawyer up right after your accident.
Dealing with the Hospital
The last thing you need is a hospital administrator nagging you to pay medical bills. The lawyer you hired can have the authority to deal with them while you focus on your recuperation.
There is never a good time to be in an accident. That said, the statistics show that any of us are likely to get into an accident at any time, and it may not even be our fault. If you’ve been in one, don’t hesitate to hire a lawyer. They can do much more for you than you can do on your own.
