What to Know When You are in a Car Accident |
Posted: May 10, 2019 |
Getting involved in a car accident can be an extremely confusing and painful experience. This is especially the case when you sustain serious bodily injuries. You will not only have to seek treatment but also compensation for the injuries and loss of earning resulting from the injuries. The latter process can be overwhelming because you have to deal with doctors, police, the other driver, lawyers, witnesses, and insurance companies. You make a mistake in any step of the process and you risk either getting inadequate compensation for your injuries or no compensation at all. This article provides you with all the information that you need to know about personal injury suit. Among the areas that it looks at include whether you have a case that is worth pursuing, factors that determine how much money you get as compensation, the type of evidence you need to gather when suing the faulty party, and the importance of using an attorney in your case. Suing the at-fault driver
You have had an accident and sustained injuries. You have a right to compensation for the lost earnings, pain and cost of treatment for the injuries. So you simply sue the at-fault driver or file for claims with their insurer and get the compensation that you demand! Sounds simple. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that. When you decide to bring a case against the at-fault driver, it will most likely be a negligence case. In such case you need to provide proof of all the elements of negligence - duty of care, breach of duty of care, proximate cause, and damages.
Regarding road use, drivers show their duty of care by driving safely so that they do not cause unnecessary harm to other road users, including fellow drivers. When they drive carelessly, they breach this duty of care. Thus, the first evidence you need to show is that the at-fault driver breached their duty of care to you by acting recklessly and, therefore, causing an accident. Acts that can constitute breach of duty of care include reckless driving, speeding, calling or chatting on phone while driving, and driving while drunk. You can get evidence of these acts from police report of the accident. Evidence of violation of traffic law such as police ticket to the liable party is particularly a strong one against the at-fault driver. In addition to police report, other evidence of breach of duty on the part of the at-fault driver include photographs, videos, and witness statements of events leading to the accident and the resulting damages and injuries. It is, therefore, important that you collect contact information of those who witnessed the accident, take photographs of the accident scene and the damaged vehicles, and secure video evidence from surveillance cameras as part of your evidence.
Apart from proving that the actions of the at-fault driver constituted a breach of duty of care to you, you need to also prove that their actions and the resulting accident that they caused were the proximate cause of your injuries. It is for this reason that it is important that you seek medical treatment after getting involved in a car accident even if you feel that the injuries are not serious. It is only a medical report that will prove that the injuries that you sustained and were treated for were a direct result of the car accident that you were involved in.
Dealing with car insurance company
Once you have collected the evidence required to sustain a negligence case against the at-fault driver, you will send them a letter notifying them about your claims for loss resulting from the accident. The letter outlines your legal position, reasons for finding the at-fault driver negligent, and the type of compensation that you are seeking. At this stage you will certainly be contacted by the other driver's insurance company. They will send you a letter requesting statement and evidence that you have about the accident. This is not a mere routine exercise, it is an attempt by the insurance company to find as much information as possible to use against you and reduce the amount of money that they eventually pay you as compensation or even not pay you at all. Usually, when the insurance company finds that you have a strong negligence case against the at-fault driver, they may entice you with a pay-out to close the case. It is, however, worth noting that the amount is usually significantly less than the one you deserve.
Why you need to hire best attorney
As explained above, the insurance company usually tries to minimize what it can pay you or even avoid the payment altogether by using whatever information you give them against you. Thus, to make sure that you do not bungle your case through a combination of ignorance and inexperience, it is important to hire a qualified personal injury lawyer. Such a lawyer, acting on your behalf, knows how to present your statements and evidence to the insurance company in a manner that does not work against you. They will also analyze available evidence and severity of the injuries and approximate the amount of money that you deserve for compensation. Thus, in case an insurance company makes an offer to you, they will be able to advise you on whether the offer is good enough or not. If there is need for negotiation they will competently conduct the negotiations with the insurance company on your behalf with the goal of getting maximum compensation possible for your lost earnings and personal injuries.
When the at-fault driver has no car insurance
There are instances when the at-fault driver may not have car insurance. Does it mean that you now cannot receive any compensation? Certainly not. You will still receive compensation from an insurance company only that it will be your own insurance company. The evidence required and the steps to be followed remain the same. However, just because they are your insurance company does not mean that they will be more sympathetic to your case and quickly offer the compensation due to you. Remember, they are a business focused on maximizing profits by making pay-outs as small as possible. For your own insurance company to consider your claim you need to provide evidence that at the time of the accident the at-fault driver did not have an active insurance policy. It is also worth noting that whether the at-fault driver has an active policy or not, you can still sue them personally because it is their negligent actions that resulted in your injuries.
The no-fault state
In at-fault case, such as the one considered in the discussion above, the car insurance company compensates your lost earnings and expenditure on treatment either partially or fully depending on who was at fault for the car accident. In a no-fault state, the injured party receives compensation without considering who is at fault.
When filing a claim with automobile insurance or suing the at-fault driver after getting involved in an accident, the process can be long and tortuous. It can also be risky especially if you are conducting it on your own. A car accident attorney, using their knowledge and experience, will help you go through the required steps quickly and receive compensation that takes into consideration all the economic and non-economic damages that you suffer as a result of the accident.
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