What Can a Lawyer Do For You After a Car Accident?

What Can a Lawyer Do For You After a Car Accident?

Another car hits yours and injures you. You need significant medical treatment and must take time off work.

Should you hire a car accident lawyer?

In most cases, yes. When you have injuries and damages from a car accident caused by someone else, retain a car crash lawyer to maximize your compensation and recovery.

Keep reading to learn what a car accident lawyer can accomplish to benefit your case. If you need further assistance, an auto accident attorney in your area can review your case for free. There is no obligation when a car accident lawyer reviews your case.

What Compensation Can You Get After a Car Accident? 

Did a serious car accident injury leave you with huge medical bills and other devastating losses? After your car accident, you can be entitled to several types of damages, depending on the situation.

Every case varies, but injury victims often receive compensation for:

• Medical expenses: A serious car accident may leave you with large medical bills for surgeries, hospital stays, doctor visits, prescription drugs, and more. 
• Lost earnings: Being out of work is a serious problem for most injury victims. A serious injury might sideline you for months. But you will receive compensation for your lost income.
• Lost earning ability: Do you have a serious, long-term injury? Are you out of work permanently because of the car accident? You can receive money for the lost ability to make a living. 
• Pain and suffering: Serious injuries often lead to serious pain and suffering. This type of compensation is subjective, but an experienced car accident attorney understands how to value your pain and suffering accurately. 
• Mental anguish: Being injured, in pain, and going through grueling medical treatments may exact a considerable emotional and mental cost. 

An attorney can review your case promptly and provide a rough idea of your compensation. There is no guarantee how any personal injury claim will turn out, but your attorney’s experience and knowledge may provide useful insight.

What Can a Car Accident Attorney Do for You?

Every car crash is unique, so your attorney’s role may vary.

However, in many cases, a car crash attorney will:

• Offer a complimentary consultation: Legal consultations are free; these attorneys don’t usually bill by the hour. Every auto accident attorney is paid by contingency agreement, meaning they aren’t paid if you don’t win. Personal injury attorneys offer a free consultation to learn if your case will probably end favorably. They will learn if another party hit you and if you suffered injuries. If both are true, they may take your case, and you don’t pay compensation unless they win a settlement or verdict. 
• Document your losses: A car accident may lead to medical bills, loss of income, mental trauma, and pain and suffering. You must document these losses to receive compensation potentially. Your attorney will organize and document what you have lost, including medical treatments and expenses, prognosis, vehicle repairs, lost earnings, and doctor statements about your pain and suffering. Some of your losses you can document yourself, but your attorney is more experienced and understands how to present a convincing and documented case to the insurance company. 
• Team with expert witnesses: Car accident attorneys have access to many legal, financial, and medical experts who are often critical to winning a claim. These experts may include accident reconstruction professionals, economists, doctors, other medical authorities, and mental health professionals. These experts often offer convincing evidence of fault, your losses, and more. 
• Obtain medical records: Winning a car accident claim means, among other things, proving that you have damages. This is done by obtaining all documentation related to your crash injuries. However, getting all the medical bills and records related to your injuries and treatments is often tricky. Yes, the records are yours, and you’re entitled to them. However, sending your medical records to lawyers and insurance companies isn’t your medical providers’ first concern. Medical offices may quickly frustrate you by failing to send you medical records. Your attorney will have more success obtaining these vital documents. 
• Investigate the accident: The car accident investigation is critical to your claim’s success. Your attorney will gather many types of evidence to show what happened and who is responsible. Critical evidence may include crash reports, witness testimony, videos, photos, cell phone records, etc. The attorney may also interview police investigators and witnesses under oath. 
• Lead settlement negotiations: Any auto insurance company wants to minimize what they pay in a claim. Dealing with a difficult insurance company that wants to shortchange you is stressful. Allow an auto accident attorney to handle and maximize settlement negotiations to create the best compensation.
• Offer objective legal opinions about your situation: Your car accident lawyer represents you and no one else. You will enjoy a dedicated legal professional providing vital information and legal guidance. They can inform you what the claim may be worth and what a fair settlement is. Also, they will advise if you should settle or go to court. 
• Meet legal and administrative requirements: As your settlement is negotiated, you and the insurance company may have to go through several processes before it finalizes. Legal forms, letters, and phone calls contribute to a successful claim. Your attorney knows how to handle these delicate matters. Don’t handle these aspects yourself because only one mistake can be costly.
• Ensure that your auto accident medical record is complete: Doctors don’t always use the precise words in a diagnosis and treatment plan needed to prove an injury and causation. Your medical record must clearly state your injury, any physical limitations, and what caused it. However, doctors often do not think about causation and degree of disability when diagnosing a patient. Your attorney will ensure that the doctor’s statements provide proof of injury and causation needed for fair compensation. 

Most car accident victims with serious injuries and property damage benefit immensely by hiring a car accident attorney!

What Influences the Size of a Car Accident Settlement? 

Every injury victim wants to know: How much can they receive in car accident compensation? It always depends on many factors, including the ones detailed below:

Severity of Injuries

The severity and extent of your car accident injuries will heavily affect your settlement. Serious crash injuries require expensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. If you have any of the following injuries, there’s a higher chance of a large settlement:

• Head trauma or traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Spinal cord damage
• Internal organ damage and bleeding
• Compound bone fractures
• Soft tissue injuries and whiplash

Medical Costs

People with high medical costs usually receive more in an accident settlement than those with minor medical expenses. For instance, if you break several bones in a crash, you may need hospitalization, surgery, and months of therapy. Your medical costs can be in the six figures, increasing the size of a personal injury settlement.

Lost Earning Capacity 

Being out of work for months means more lost income, increasing your settlement. You also may have a loss of earning capacity related to your injuries. For example, if you were a carpenter and can no longer walk because of your injuries, you may be due compensation for your ability to earn a living.

Property Damage

Did you severely damage or total your vehicle? Your settlement may be higher than if you only had minor vehicle damage.

Fault

Were multiple parties at fault for the crash? Was an individual driver the only liable party, or was a company also legally liable? The at-fault parties can influence how much you might receive.

Insurance 

The auto insurance policies held by all parties in the accident may play a pivotal role in the settlement. Obtaining fair compensation may be challenging if the liable party has only $25,000 in coverage for a $100,000 accident. Your attorney will uncover every potential insurance policy that may boost your compensation.

Pain and Suffering

Medical bills and lost income are only part of what may be owed in a personal injury settlement. Serious auto accident injuries often cause terrible pain and suffering. Your attorney will rely on your doctor’s statements and testimony to prove the degree of pain and suffering you have.

Do I Really Need an Auto Accident Attorney Right Away? 

It’s nice to hope for the best and that the liable party’s insurance company will compensate you fairly. But without an attorney, there’s a good chance that the insurer will minimize or deny your car accident.

After a serious accident, you probably have enough to deal with - medical treatments and bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. Do you want the additional stress of dealing with legal and insurance headaches?

A car accident attorney has years of experience handling insurance companies. Getting fair compensation, even when blame isn’t contested, is often difficult. It’s common for a stingy insurance company to lowball an injured party hurt by the other driver.

There are other vital reasons to get a car accident attorney immediately: 

• Critical accident evidence, such as surveillance video, can disappear. 
• Eyewitness memories may fade after a few days. 
• Documentation of your losses needs to start immediately. 
• Every state has a statute of limitations for personal injury claims. 
• You need a qualified party to engage with the insurance company immediately. 

Your attorney is your dedicated legal representative who will protect your interests and maximize your compensation. The insurance company and defendant will have attorneys, so you want to level the playing field by having one. The lawyer you hire isn’t compensated unless your case results in compensation.

So, there is never anything to lose by hiring a personal injury attorney. They won’t take your case if it isn’t likely to produce compensation, so consult with an experienced attorney today.

Learn Why We’re the Top Car Accident Attorneys

Important Car Crash Compensation Myths

Reading online can provide helpful legal information, but many car accident compensation myths live on the Internet.

Don’t fall for these pesky legal myths, and speak to a car accident lawyer for the most accurate information: 

• Auto insurance will pay all your losses: If another driver injured you, it’s easy to assume their insurance will cover all your needs. This is rarely true. Insurance companies want to reduce what they pay. They do so by undervaluing your claim and paying you as little as possible. They also may offer a low settlement to see if you will take it. 
• All drivers have auto insurance: They are required to have insurance, but some don’t. Drivers may cancel their policies to save money or may have lost their licenses. If a driver without insurance injures you, you may need to rely on your uninsured or underinsured policy. This policy may be optional, but it will cover at least some losses if someone has no car insurance. 
• You don’t need to see a doctor: You almost always should see a medical professional after any accident other than a minor fender bender. It is always better to be safe than sorry. The last thing you want is to not go to the doctor and find out a week later that you have a nasty injury. Your condition can worsen. Plus, delaying medical treatment will make the insurance company doubt your claim. 
• A car accident lawyer isn’t worth the cost: On the contrary, data shows that personal injury attorneys almost always obtain more compensation than the injured would have obtained without a lawyer. Yes, the attorney may charge a percentage as their contingency fee, but their experience and skill almost always leads to a bigger settlement. 

Contact A Car Accident Attorney Today 

Did another car hit and injure you? It doesn’t matter if you were another driver, a pedestrian, a motorcyclist, or a bike rider. You may recover compensation for damages when another party’s negligence causes a car accident that injures you.

Payment for medical bills, future medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and more may be due to you. However, attempting to maximize your compensation without an attorney is difficult.

Speak to a personal injury attorney today to find out if you have a case.