Car accidents are often devastating. Injuries resulting from collisions are not just physically painful and stun your senses, but the mental anguish and accompanying fear make it worse. If these personal injuries resulting from a road accident occur due to the negligence of the other driver, then they are liable for damages to you and your car. You can file a personal injury lawsuit against the culprits. According to the Department of Justice, 52% of the total personal injury claims are related to car accidents. So, the issue is very prevalent, and the offender needs to be brought to justice.
While driving, car accidents occur because the driver was driving rashly or too fast, missed a traffic signal, or failed to give right-of-way at an intersection. Drivers may swerve to avoid a collision and end up with a car rolling over instead. Side-swipers, T-bone accidents, and head-on collisions caused by distracted drivers or medical emergencies can all lead to devastating car crashes. Whatever the circumstances, you can demand compensation for your emotional, physical, and material damage.
You have physical and material damages because an accident can disable you and make it difficult to continue working. Lost income, unpaid bills, medical costs, and car repairs are the damages for which you need financial compensation. The compensation amount can help you pay for both. However, what is the best way to file a personal injury claim for car accidents? Are there some practices that make the process smoother and increase your chances of winning? Of course, there is.
Seek Help from a Professional lawyer
First, contact a lawyer to discuss your situation. Finding a personal injury lawyer is not difficult. If you are unsure who to contact, google “best accident lawyer near me” after setting up your location in the search engine. This way, the search engine will only show options within a certain radius of your house. You can contact multiple lawyers one by one in their offices. Often, their secretaries or personal assistants initially connect with you. You can tell them why you want the attorney’s help, but don’t disclose any details yet. Many victims get trapped by the defense lawyers and insurance companies during the legal proceedings because they misinterpret your initial statements and use these statements against you. Therefore, make your discussion with the initial point of contact as reserved and brief as possible. Once you talk to a few attorneys, you can discuss your case details at length.
- Work with a personal injury lawyer dealing with car accidents lawsuits
The range of personal injury lawsuits is quite varied. Medical malpractice lawsuits, nursing home abuse, falls and slips, product liability, and car accidents. Most experienced lawyers often define their law practice and explicitly define their area of expertise within personal injury law. So, when you search for a suitable lawyer, only contact those who primarily deal with car injury lawsuits.
An experienced attorney can help you receive three times more compensation than what you would get otherwise. Enough compensation to manage your immediate and future financial commitments. It is probably because these lawyers have multiple resources at their disposal. Years of practice also help them understand the defense lawyer’s tactics to bar you from getting a reasonable compensation amount.
- Ask questions from your attorney
Ask as many questions from your lawyer as possible. You have to be clear about your case’s direction and your chances of winning a settlement. Most lawyers understand this dilemma of their clients. They are kind and professional enough to respond to all of their queries, however trivial they may seem.
- Seek medical help
After an accident, make sure you seek proper medical attention to address your injuries. You cannot file a claim before all your injuries and their severity is documented. If you fail to receive medical assistance immediately after an injury, this can be considered a deliberate effort to aggravate the wounds and demand more compensation. It will weaken your case and put your health in jeopardy. So, this is the responsibility of the injured party to mitigate their losses.
On the other hand, if you got an injury meriting a lawsuit, the clinic’s records where you got the treatment can strengthen your case. Besides, there can be internal injuries that may not appear immediately and surface later. So, it would help if you prepared for everything.
- File a police report
The second thing that can corroborate your claim and act as evidence is the police report you file immediately after the accident. The police will document all the circumstances that led to the accident and the role of both parties. The officials will also ask for details such as both parties’ names and contact information. When you file a lawsuit, you can strengthen your case by showing a copy of the police report made immediately after the incident. Often police reports help establish a fault as they can tell all the details of an accident. Insurance companies can also use these reports for their internal review.
- Be aware of what you see at the time of the accidents
An accident is often a critical time and demands discretion from both parties. So, make sure you don’t say anything at the time of the accident. Even if it is necessary to communicate with the other party, keep it short and avoid making bold statements. You must avoid stating whose fault the accident was or brushing aside the case following an immediate apology from the responsible party. Tell them clearly that you would take legal help to sort the issue.
Moreover, don’t argue or fight about the accident. You would not want anything to go against you when the case finally reaches court. Most importantly, don’t apologize and admit fault in front of law enforcement and other parties. You must maintain the stance that accidents occur at flashing speeds and are difficult to recall under pressure.
Conclusion
Filing a complaint due to a car accident can be very complicated. Many facts and supporting details need to be recorded at the time of the accident. However, the drivers may be in shock and may find it difficult to recall events. Secondly, you need medical assistance to cope with injuries or shock. A medical report is the second document you need to present, along with the police report to sue for personal injury. An experienced attorney can help streamline the process and make more sense. Moreover, you must develop and preserve the evidence by going through a medical review and filing a report at the police station. Failing to do so can impact your case or affect your eligibility to file a car accident lawsuit.