Why Do I Need a Lawyer After a Car Accident?

One reason why you need a lawyer after a car accident concerns determining the cause of the motor vehicle collision. An experienced personal injury attorney determines the cause of your injuries, which can lead to gathering the physical evidence required 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 come up with a list of the three most common causes of auto crashes.

Distractions

When we opened our first office in 1988, cell phone technology had yet to become the primary way most of us communicated. Driving distractions in 1988 consisted of actions such as eating, applying makeup, and fiddling with the radio dial. When cell phones became an integral part of our lives at the beginning of the current millennium, driving and talking on the phone turned into the most prevalent type of distraction for operators of motor vehicles. Now, texting while driving has taken over the top spot of driving distractions. Even with most states banning texting and driving, the dangerous practice continues to be a safety hazard on our roads and highways.

If you sustained injuries as the result of a car accident caused by texting and driving, your personal injury lawyer might gather enough evidence to prove another party committed one or more acts of negligence.

Reckless Driving

Not even daily news reports about the carnage left behind by a reckless driver deter most motorists from taking risks while behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. Speeding represents the most frequent type of moving violation, whether it occurs on a two-lane road in a rural area or an eight-lane highway cutting through the heart of a large city. Speeding does not provide drivers with enough time to react to sudden changes in driving conditions, as well as generates much more damage than the damage caused by a car accident in which all vehicles traveled at a safe speed.

Another type of reckless driving that might lead to the filing of a civil lawsuit involves running a red light or stop sign.

Driving While Intoxicated

Every state has established a maximum blood alcohol content (BAC) level for motorists, with the most common maximum BAC set at 0.08 percent. However, state laws have not done much to lower the incidence of drug and/or alcohol-related car accidents. Driving while intoxicated significantly decreases reaction times, as well as causes drivers to use poor judgment when making operating decisions. For example, an intoxicated driver might not see an oncoming car when making a turn onto another road.

Your car accident lawyer reviews the official police report to determine whether drugs and/or alcohol played a role in producing the injuries that resulted from a vehicle collision.

Filing an insurance claim seems easy enough. You simply fill out every section before sending your insurer the proper documents for processing. Nonetheless, just one mistake on a claim form can force the insurance company processing your claim to send it back denied.

Ensuring you file an accurate and fully completed insurance claim form is only one reason why you need a lawyer after a car accident to file an insurance claim.

Gather and Submit Convincing Physical Evidence

You might be able to capture a few photo images at the scene of the personal injury incident, but hiring an attorney to conduct an exhaustive investigation that includes collecting physical evidence helps you build a much stronger insurance claim. For example, a car accident lawyer can obtain footage shot by a traffic camera that demonstrates another party committed one or more acts of negligence. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney also allows you to acquire statements from witnesses that verify your version of events.

Calculate a Value for Compensation

The most glaring red flag for an insurance adjuster is the filing of a claim that asks for an unreasonable value for compensation. An attorney who has compiled a proven record of success when it comes to getting insurance claims approved knows how to calculate a fair compensation value. Your lawyer starts by adding the tangible costs associated with your case, such as medical bills and receipts displaying the price of repairing property damage. You also have the right to request compensation for non-economic damages, such as the costs that occur because of the development of emotional distress issues.

At Morgan and Morgan, our personal injury attorneys calculate a fair value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages like medical bills.

Negotiate a Settlement

If the insurance adjuster processing your claim denies it, you can file an appeal to get the compensation that you deserve. The problem with the appeals process is that it takes a considerable amount of time for an insurance company to issue a decision. Instead of filing an appeal, a car accident attorney from Morgan and Morgan tries to negotiate a favorable settlement.

Negotiations start when your lawyer submits an offer, which the other party can accept or reject. Rejecting the initial offer can immediately send your claim to the appeals process, but the most effective strategy to resolve your claim involves the insurance company sending back a counteroffer Several rounds of counteroffers can follow until both parties reach a settlement or decide to put your claim through the appeals process.

Provides a Buffer Between You and the Insurance Company

The aftermath of a personal injury incident typically triggers stress, which can reach a level that makes it difficult to proceed with your case. By hiring an experienced personal injury attorney, you relieve most of the stress generated by having to deal with an insurance company. Far too many insurance companies take advantage of policyholders that do not retain legal representation, from denying valid claims to approving claims that are worth much less than what policyholders deserve.

An attorney who acts as a buffer between you and an insurance company allows you to focus on other issues, such as recovering from your injuries.

Do you know how much time you have to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages? Hiring one of the highly-regarded litigators from Morgan and Morgan ensures you discover the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Each state has set a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, with most states choosing to go with a deadline between two and four years. However, you might live in a state that has established a deadline of as long as six years or as short as one year. Regardless of the deadline, the clock starts ticking on filing a personal injury lawsuit on the day when you sustained your injuries. The typical exception concerns cases in which the plaintiff sustained one or more injuries that developed delayed symptoms. Whiplash and concussions represent two common types of injuries that can develop delayed symptoms.

Another reason you need a lawyer after a car accident is your attorney encourages you to take swift legal action for two important reasons. First, unless a healthcare provider places a medical lien on a settlement or legal judgment, you can expect to pay for medical expenses when they come due. This might put you in a deep financial hole that eventually results in taking a draconian measure like filing for bankruptcy. Filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages right after a personal injury incident helps you recover financial losses much sooner than if you wait to file close to the deadline. Another reason to take prompt legal action regards the interviewing of witnesses. Your attorney should interview witnesses as close to the date of the personal injury incident as possible to ensure optimal accuracy.

Are you asking yourself, “Why do I need a lawyer after a car accident?” Discover why an attorney can help you recover financial losses by scheduling a free case evaluation with Morgan and Morgan.