Hopefully this never happens to you, but statistically, it’s one of those “not if but when“ situations. At some point in your life, you will likely be involved in an automobile accident caused by another driver’s negligence or fault. If this happens to you, and you were injured, you really should hire a good injury lawyer.
Although there is no requirement that you hire a lawyer to represent you after an accident, for a number of reasons, it’s in your best interest to do so, as explained briefly in this post. Not only is it wise to hire a good personal injury lawyer, the sooner you hire one after a wreck, the better.
But first things first: after a wreck, your well-being and safety comes first. Call 911 or the police immediately. As the old saying goes: cars and property can be replaced; your body can’t. Get the medical care you need as soon as possible.
If you are able, take photos of your vehicle and the other involved vehicle(s). Make sure you capture the damage and extent of damage to the vehicles. This will go a long way with the insurance company, or a jury later if the case goes to trial, of proving not only the severity of the collision, but also adds to the proof of the severity of the injuries, and the injuries being caused by the collision. Insurance companies will pull out all the stops to deny the claim if possible, and if they can’t deny the claim based on fault, they often claim the injuries were “ pre-existing “ or not related to the wreck.
Once you’ve called the police, taken photographs of the vehicles, and received prompt medical attention, it’s time to hire an attorney to assist you. Our lawyers at can explain, there are a lot of moving parts that have to be dealt with after an auto collision. Depending on the severity of the injuries, you may be off work for an extended period of time, or you may not have a vehicle if yours was totaled in the collision. For these reasons, the sooner you hire a lawyer, the sooner these problems can be solved.
An experienced personal injury attorney will immediately start work on handling your property damage claim to get the fair value of your car if totaled, or fair repair costs if repairable, as well as getting you in a rental vehicle while yours is being repaired. Most folks are either recovering from the injuries, or getting back to work, and taking time out to deal with insurance adjusters, body shops to get estimates, fielding calls from health care providers, can not only be overwhelming, but is taking valuable time away from your recovery and getting your life back on track. A good lawyer will handle all this for you, while allowing you to take care of yourself. This includes having all medical billing calls go to the lawyer to handle, so you aren’t getting hassled about outstanding bills, and coordinating with health insurance companies or Medicaid if you have those coverages. Not only that, but many times there are med-pay or PIP ( personal injury protection ) type coverages that you may have that will apply to your medical bills, as well as uninsured or underinsured coverages, if the other driver does not have sufficient liability coverage to compensate your injuries and damages. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of matters to deal with to handle an injury claim properly. And equally important for you, the statistics show that the average recovery is HIGHER for someone who has a good lawyer than for the person who tries to handle it by themselves. Insurance companies know the reputations of good injury lawyers, and they know they can’t get away with “ low-ball “ offers of settlement when an experienced injury lawyer is on the case.
So, hopefully this never happens to you, but be prepared. If you’re in a wreck caused by someone’s carelessness, get prompt medical attention, contact the police, get photos of the vehicles, and hire a good lawyer as soon as possible.
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