Following a car accident, the initial shock, fear, wonderment, and figuring out if everyone is okay, and how much damage has ensued, you will begin the process of figuring out who’s to blame. Were you at all at fault, or 100% guilt-free in the crash? Did the other driver have a BAL higher than the legal limit in the state? Did they negligently run a red light or stop sign? If you know you aren’t at fault, know the crash wasn’t your fault, and are injured, or your vehicle has a great deal of damage repair required, a car accident attorney can help!
An attorney will do the fact-finding –
Sure, you are going to stop at the scene of the accident, call the cops, call your insurer, and exchange insurance information with the other driver. But what next? What if the driver at fault doesn’t have insurance, or sufficient coverage to pay for damages and your medical bills? Or, what if the police report is indefinite in detailing who was at fault? A car accident attorney will step in to do the investigatory work.
Car accident attorneys will offer their clients with a wide range of services. Some of the ways they will help clients include:
1. Contact experts. They will find legal experts who specialize in crashes, to determine trajectory, how the accident occurred, and all details pertaining to how the other driver was truly fat fault, to prove your innocence.
2. Look for witnesses. If witnesses want to hide, an attorney knows how to find them. From gathering footage from the city/state government (traffic light cameras), to revisiting the scene of the accident, checking tire skid marks on the road, and digging deeper to find potential people who can help piece together your story, they will find all information to prove your case, the way you are describing it to have occurred.
3. Work with insurers and the opposing party (and lawyers). If your insurer has to pay anything, your attorney will deal with them. If the opposing side is trying to get out of payment and has hired a lawyer, your legal team will do the work of finding out about assets, insurance, and possible ways to reach a settlement offer. Basically, your car accident attorney is going to work to ensure you receive what is owed to you, by those who are at fault, regardless of where they have to dig to find the money.
Your attorney will do the hard work, and investigatory work, you didn’t even realize went into a car accident claim.
Settlements –
More often than not, if the other driver was at fault, and both parties are 100% sure of this, they will also “lawyer-up.” Their lawyer is in turn going to try to settle with you. Further, if it is a no-fault state you are in, and your insurer has to pay for vehicle damage (whether or not you were at fault), your insurer might try to pay less than the damages are truly worth. Your car accident attorney is going to again work with experts, body shops, and repair shops, to determine how much work has to be done to the car. This in turn is going to allow them to determine if those settlement offers are reasonable and will cover all repair costs.
It doesn’t end with vehicle damages however. What if you require ongoing medical care? What if a passenger was injured in your car? Your attorney will work with all parties, insurers, and police (investigatory agencies) to make sure you are fully and justly compensated, for the full value of future compensatory, as well as personal injury (body harm) damages which are owed to you, following the car crash you were involved in.
Don’t let your insurer try to take advantage of you –
In many instances, insurance companies know that injured parties do not want to hire an attorney. In such cases, they will typically make a settlement offer (if they are legally required to pay for vehicle damage, based on your insurance policy levels). In addition to making a settlement offer which is far less than the true value of your claim, insurers will try many tricks to try and hike up your insurance rates, and in certain cases (for ex. you have been in accidents in the past, have a driving record, tickets, etc), they will inform you they are going to drop you from their policy! Although illegal and unwarranted (especially when you aren’t at fault) most drivers simply accept this and believe it to be the law.
When you have a great car accident attorney on your side, they are going to work for you. If insurers make false claims or threaten to drop you (or hike up insurance rates), they will deal with your insurer. If the opposing party’s insurer doesn’t want to work with you, you can be rest assured they will work with a licensed, reputable attorney. The right team of attorneys is not only going to provide you the assistance and legal guidance you need during this trying period, but will work to preserve your legal rights, especially when major insurance companies are trying to trick you, or provide you with false information (which even the most educated of people would believe).
There is far more than one might think which goes into filing a car accident claim. And, more often than not, filing it on your own is going to result in the injured (innocent party) ending up paying some kind of out of pocket expense, when they wouldn’t have to, if they had simply chosen to hire the right car accident attorney at the onset of the case. If you are hurt, have damage to your vehicle or property, or simply want to know what damages you might be entitled to after a car crash, Lloyd Law can help! Visit Lloyd Law today to learn more about the legal team, research experts, and the team of dedicate attorneys who will work on your case, and work for you, to ensure you receive all compensations which are owed to you after the crash.
