Car accidents occur all the time. Many citizens have either been involved in an auto accident or we know someone who was hurt in a car wreck. Many of our our friends, neighbors and family members have endured pain and suffering as a result of a  car accident. Any car accident has the potential to cause severe injuries to the accident victim including soft-tissue injuries, back and neck injuries, bruising, loss of limb, broken bones, scarring, disfigurement, permanent physical disability and even death. Car accident insurance coverage is often available and can be utilized to pay for an auto accident victim’s pain, suffering, lost wages, medical bills and loss of quality of life. In the event that the victim was killed in a car accident, the auto accident victim’s family could be entitled to receive money damages as compensation for the emotional and financial losses they have suffered including the loss of companionship, the loss of support and the loss of consortium.

A car accident may involve numerous complicated legal topics including: comparative negligence, stacking of policies, subrogation rights, bad faith, minimum insurance coverage requirements and uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM – UIM) coverage issues. If you are not familiar with these topics and need to explore your legal options, you can consult an attorney. Our firm can assist in the evaluation of your auto accident claim. One of the important points to discuss is the filing time for your auto accident. A car accident complainant has two years from the date of the car wreck to file a lawsuit. The filing time is different in other states, so you should consult a local attorney.

If you or a family member were hurt in a car wreck, there are a few things you can do to strengthen your car accident liability case and possibly increase the settlement or jury award available as compensation. These steps include the following: You should report the car accident to the police. If the accident report shows that the other driver was issued a citation for a traffic violation, this may establish liability and make your case stronger if you have to go to court over your vehicle accident. You need to get the names and addresses of anyone who was a witness to the vehicle collision. Do not discuss the auto accident with anyone at the scene of the car wreck except for the Police who are investigating. As soon as possible, have pictures taken of your injuries and of the car damage. These pictures will be useful if your car accident claim does not settle and you have to go to trial to recover for your injuries. Also, you need to keep track of any receipts and documents related to your car accident because these documents will be used to support your claim when an attorney makes a demand on the insurance company for the settlement of your auto accident claim for damages.

Seek immediate medical care after the accident if you feel you were injured in any manner. Be sure to report any injury (no matter how slight it may seem at the time) to the police, paramedics, doctor, hospital or any other health care provider. Be very specific with the injury symptoms you are describing and do not leave anything out regardless of how slight it may seem at the time. This is because a slight symptom could indicate a serious injury and your doctor cannot give you an informed medical opinion if you held something back.

Be aware that the adjuster for the insurance company may try to convince to settle your car accident claim without using a  personal injury attorney. You should use caution because the adjuster’s main objective is usually to get you to accept the lowest amount possible for the settlement of your personal injury claim. A friendly phone conversation with an insurance adjuster might hurt your auto accident claim. The adjuster could try to get you to say you were at fault for the auto accident. The insurance adjuster could try to get you to agree that your injuries were not severe. If this happens, you can tell the insurance adjuster: “I’m just not ready to discuss the accident at this time.” Remember that no matter how friendly the insurance adjuster or investigator seems, that person works for the insurance company. An  attorney works for you and represents your interest. Using an attorney to settle your car accident claim could increase the amount of your accident settlement.

If you or a family member were involved in an auto accident, you can get free legal advice and personal injury information in an initial consultation with an attorney in our firm. We provide legal services for auto accident claims and other personal injury cases throughout the area.