Should I Get a Lawyer for a Car Accident?

The jolt is much more than the impact generated by two cars colliding on a road or highway. In addition to the physical jolt felt by a vehicle collision, you also feel a jolt of adrenaline that triggers many questions, most of which you must answer in the next several minutes. When should you seek medical care? Do you need to call 911 to activate the emergency response system? How do you find witnesses to provide their names and contact information? The most important question of all is “Should I get a lawyer for a car accident?”

How you respond in the immediate aftermath of an auto crash goes a long way toward determining whether you receive compensation to recover financial losses. Unless you got involved in a minor fender bender, you should call 911 right after a car accident. When you receive medical care depends on the severity of your injuries. Nonetheless, you should seek medical attention at some point after the accident. Either you can obtain the names and contact information of witnesses or get the information from the official police report. As soon as you have taken care of the first few responsibilities, the time has come to contact a personal injury attorney who specializes in handling car accident cases.

Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer helps you recover the financial losses that are associated with medical expenses, repairs to property damage, and lost wages if you miss any time from work. A state-licensed car accident attorney helps you file a persuasive insurance claim and if you can prove negligence, a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. You should meet with a personal injury lawyer before you contact an insurance company. Far too many insurance companies take advantage of claimants that do not retain legal representation. With the legal support provided by an experienced attorney, the insurance company you have to deal with might deny a valid claim or approve a claim at a value that is worth much less than what you deserve in compensation.

As Morgan and Morgan, our team of personal injury lawyers helps clients file insurance claims, and if warranted, civil lawsuits that seek monetary damages. Since we opened our first office in 1988, Morgan and Morgan has recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for our clients. A large percentage of the favorable legal judgments involved car accident cases. Because we operate on a contingency fee basis, you do not have to pay upfront legal fees to receive the highest-rated legal services.

Schedule a free case evaluation with a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan to determine how to proceed with your case.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Car Accidents?

You have many reasons to answer yes to the question, “Should I get a lawyer for a car accident.” One of the most important reasons to answer yes concerns determining the cause of the auto crash. Once your lawyer determines the cause of the car accident, the next step is to gather enough physical evidence to prove another party committed one or more acts of negligence.

With more than three decades of litigation experience, the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have discovered three common causes of vehicle collisions.

Reckless Driving

Whether it is the advanced safety features that make drivers feel invincible or it is simple acts of careless driving practices, reckless driving remains the most common cause of car accidents. Speeding remains an especially huge problem that significantly places both drivers and passengers at risk of getting involved in a car accident. Cars that exceed the speed limit have less time to react to sudden changes in the flow of traffic. Moreover, speeding vehicles generate much stronger impacts than the impacts produced by motorists operating vehicles at or under the speed limit.

Another common type of reckless driving is motorists running stop red lights and stop signs.

Distractions

Distractions such as eating, applying makeup, and fiddling with radio dials have been around almost since the first automobile rolled off an assembly line. Technology has made distractions a separate category because of motorists talking on a phone and texting while operating a motor vehicle. Despite nearly every state passing strict anti-texting and driving laws, most motorists ignore state statutes, which puts them and other drivers and passengers in harm’s way.

Your attorney can prove another party caused a car accident because of one or more distractions by acquiring video footage captured from a traffic camera.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and/or Alcohol

Drugs and alcohol cause motorists to make poor decisions while operating vehicles. An intoxicated driver is much more likely to take unnecessary risks, such as passing other vehicles while operating a motor vehicle in a no-passing lane. Driving under the influence also dramatically slows down the reaction times of a driver, which is especially dangerous when an intoxicated motorist needs to take swift action to avoid a collision. Like texting and driving, states have passed laws making driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) above a certain level illegal.

If you got involved with an intoxicated driver, hiring a car accident lawyer helps you gain access to the official police report that might include information pertaining to a sobriety test.

Why Should I Get a Lawyer for a Car Accident Case?

Determining the cause of the vehicle collision is just one reason why you should hire a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan who specializes in handling car accident cases.

Obtain a Copy of the Official Police Report

Although you can request a copy of the official police report, your attorney receives a copy much faster. The official police report contains vital information, such as what caused the car accident and whether any party should assume legal liability for causing the collision. The police report also contains the names and contact information of witnesses, as well as a detailed description of each piece of physical evidence.

Collect and Organize Medical Records

Although the official police report includes a detailed description of every piece of physical evidence acquired by law enforcement, the evidence submitted does not include copies of medical bills and records. To receive just compensation to recover the financial losses that are associated with your injuries, your lawyer must collect and organize the medical paperwork to file an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Act as an Intermediary With the Insurance Adjuster

After a car accident, you have numerous issues to take care of that include treating and rehabilitating your injuries. The last thing you need is to get stressed out because you have to deal with an uncooperative insurance adjuster. By hiring a personal injury attorney at Morgan and Morgan, you allow your lawyer to handle all the insurance issues while you focus on recovering from the car accident.

Calculate a Reasonable Value for Compensation

One of the most important types of legal support provided by an experienced personal injury attorney involves calculating a reasonable value for compensation. Although adding up the value of tangible costs such as medical bills is relatively easy to do, the same cannot be said for calculating a fair value for non-economic damages like the costs connected with pain and suffering. To calculate a reasonable value for non-economic damages, your car accident lawyer uses a formula that includes the value of economic damages.

Negotiate a Settlement

Most civil lawsuits never reach the trial phase of the litigation process. Instead, both parties attempt to negotiate a settlement. Although your lawyer can request negotiations during any step of the litigation process, negotiations typically unfold during the discovery phase. Your personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan submits an offer, which the other party can accept or reject. If the other party rejects the initial offer, the attorney representing the other party can submit a counteroffer or end negotiations.

Prove Negligence

To file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your car accident must demonstrate the presence of four legal elements. First, your attorney has to establish the other party owed you a duty of care to protect you against getting hurt. Second, the judge hearing your case must determine that the other party breached the duty of care doctrine. Third, the car accident must have produced your injuries and finally, your injuries must have generated financial losses.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Car Accident Lawsuit?

Another compelling reason why yes is the right answer to the question, “Should I get a lawyer for a car accident?” concerns the statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Each state has established a deadline for taking legal action, with most states setting a deadline between two and four years. However, you might live in a state that has established a statute of limitations as long as six years or as short as one year. Hiring a personal injury attorney ensures you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Although you have plenty of time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, your car accident lawyer needs to interview witnesses as close to the date of the vehicle collision as possible. Witness accounts tend to be more accurate the closer they are given to the date of a personal injury incident. Second, you need to take action quickly because of rapidly mounting medical bills. Unless you and your healthcare providers agree to place medical liens of your settlement or legal judgment, you are responsible for paying off medical bills as they come due. Taking swift legal action helps you recover financial losses much sooner than if you wait to file near the deadline.

Get the Compensation You Deserve

With more than 30 years of experience representing clients that sustained one or more injuries because of a car accident, Morgan and Morgan has established itself as the preeminent personal injury law firm in the United States. The car accident lawyer assigned to your case represents you every step of the way, as well as responds to your communications in a timely manner. We understand the emotional roller coaster ride clients experience when seeking just compensation for their injuries. With unsurpassed compassion and legal expertise, the car accident attorney assigned to your case can help you recover all your financial losses.

Discover why Morgan and Morgan receives highly positive reviews from clients on sites such as Yelp and Google by scheduling a free case evaluation today.