Between dealing with injuries, vehicle damage, insurance companies, and potentially aggressive other parties, accident victims often find themselves facing a complex web of decisions that can significantly impact their future. Yet, they have little to no margin for error, as the slightest mistake can have devastating effects on their pursuit of fair compensation.
In some ways, you can’t know what to expect after a car accident. That’s why you should hire a car accident attorney. Due to their years of experience handling cases like yours, attorneys have at least some idea of what may come next. They will prepare and protect you, and just as importantly, they will fight for the compensation you deserve.
Why You Should Get an Attorney Right Away After the Accident
The immediate aftermath of a car accident sets the stage for everything that follows. While your priority should always be seeking medical attention for injuries, consulting with a car accident attorney should be your next most important step.
Evidence preservation becomes crucial within hours of an accident. Physical evidence at the scene can disappear quickly, and your lawyer may immediately document:
- Skid marks and debris
- Property damage at the scene
- Other scene conditions
- Surveillance footage
- Witness memories
- Vehicle evidence (like photographs of damaged cars)
Insurance companies begin their investigation processes immediately, often within hours of receiving an accident report. During this time, they’re gathering information that may be used to fight your claim. Hiring a lawyer right away ensures the insurance companies don’t get too far ahead of your case.
The legal landscape surrounding car accidents involves numerous deadlines, requirements, and procedural steps that can trip up even the most diligent accident victim. Missing a deadline or failing to document an aspect of your case properly can have devastating consequences for your ability to recover compensation. An attorney understands these requirements and can ensure that every step is taken correctly and in a timely manner.
How Insurance Companies Might Pressure You After the Accident
Insurance companies are businesses first and foremost, and they may put their profit motive ahead of your interests (or even their contractual obligations). You need protection, which is another reason to hire your car accident attorney as soon as possible.
Some of the most common tactics used by insurance companies to deprive accident victims of fair compensation are:
- Artificial urgency for the claimant to accept a settlement offer
- Convenience arguments, which may include suggesting quick acceptance of a lowball settlement saves you “hassle”
- Lowball settlements, such as offers that seem reasonable but are far below the true claim value
- Pressure during vulnerable times, taking advantage when you’re in pain and overwhelmed
- Citing limited time frames, perhaps even creating false deadlines to prevent careful consideration
- Leveraging recorded statements by asking leading questions and misrepresenting the claimant’s words
Insurers may even misrepresent policies, which is a textbook definition of bad faith. These threats are real and all too common. The sooner you hire your car accident lawyer, the sooner you can stop worrying about these threats affecting your claim.
At-Fault Parties Might Accuse You of Causing the Accident—All the More Reason to Hire Your Lawyer Right Away.
Being involved in a car accident is traumatic enough without facing accusations that you caused or contributed to the crash. Unfortunately, it’s common for at-fault parties and their insurance companies to shift blame to accident victims as a strategy to reduce their financial liability.
Common blame-shifting tactics include:
- Claiming you were driving too fast for conditions
- Arguing you were tailgating or couldn’t stop in time
- Suggesting you were using your phone or not paying attention (potentially manipulating raw emotions around distracted driving, which is a fatal problem in the United States)
- Claiming you should have taken evasive action
- Alleging you ran a red light or failed to yield
- Suggesting that the state of your vehicle contributed to the crash
The other party may also claim that your injuries were caused by a pre-existing condition rather than the accident, or that you failed to mitigate your damages by not seeking appropriate medical treatment. They might argue that you delayed medical treatment, failed to follow the doctor’s orders, or engaged in activities that worsened your condition.
Your car accident lawyer will feature objective facts and expert testimony to combat any such claims of your fault for the collision.
Why Hiring a Lawyer Will Provide the Post-Crash Protection You Need
Insurance companies and at-fault parties can be, for lack of a better word, ruthless. They may show little to no empathy, instead putting money above all other considerations. Furthermore, you might be at risk of making a mistake if you have:
- Physical pain affecting judgment and concentration
- Emotional trauma from the frightening experience
- Financial stress from mounting medical bills and lost income
- Daily life disruption changing routines and capabilities
- Family concerns about ongoing impacts on loved ones
Get protection from an attorney. Your legal team will stand between you and liable parties, and their cool head and professionalism will be immense assets to your case.
A lawyer brings objectivity to an emotionally charged situation. An attorney can provide clear-headed analysis and advice based on legal merit rather than emotional factors, ensuring decisions serve the victim’s long-term interests.
Legal representation also provides access to resources that individual accident victims typically don’t have. It includes relationships with medical experts who can evaluate injuries and provide testimony, accident reconstruction specialists who can analyze how crashes occurred, economists who can calculate future lost earnings, and investigators who can gather evidence and locate witnesses.
Insurance companies treat represented claimants differently from unrepresented ones. They know that lawyers understand the true value of claims and won’t accept inadequate settlements. They also know that lawyers are prepared to take cases to trial if necessary. This knowledge often leads to more reasonable settlement negotiations and higher compensation offers.
How Your Lawyer Will Build the Case and Seek a Settlement from Insurance Companies
Once your lawyer has protected you, they can go on the offensive.
A thorough investigation can make or break a strong case. Lawyers will often visit the accident scene themselves, take photos of the current scene, measure distances, and search for any evidence that might have contributed to the crash.
Expert witnesses can be game changers, especially in complex cases. You have accident reconstruction experts who can examine the physical evidence and determine precisely how the crash occurred and who’s to blame. Medical experts can break down the victim’s injuries. Economic experts crunch the numbers on lost income and future earning potential.
Gaining access to medical records and thoroughly understanding them is crucial to building a case. Lawyers team up with medical professionals to get the complete picture of what injuries happened, what treatments are needed, and what the long-term outlook looks like.
Composing the demand package is where lawyers lay all their cards on the table for the insurance companies. It’s this comprehensive document that includes every piece of evidence supporting the claim, such as medical records, bills, proof of lost wages, expert reports, and a detailed breakdown of every dollar being requested.
Settlement negotiations follow the presentation of the demand package. Insurance companies rarely come to the table with a fair first offer, so effective negotiation means going back and forth multiple times with offers and counteroffers.
While all this negotiating is happening, the accident victim’s lawyers must also get ready for trial. This two-pronged approach—attempting to settle while preparing to go to court—actually strengthens their negotiating position because it demonstrates to the insurance company that they’re not blowing smoke about obtaining fair compensation.
What Happens if Insurance Companies Don’t Offer Fair Settlements (Trial)
While most personal injury cases settle out of court, some cases require a trial for the accident victim to achieve fair compensation. Insurance companies simply refuse to offer reasonable settlements.
Your lawyer will help decide whether to take your case to trial, should your case reach that juncture. Stages in car accident trials generally include:
- Trial preparation is extensive and time-consuming. Your lawyer will handle it.
- Jury selection plays a crucial role in trial outcomes. Lawyers work to select jurors who can fairly evaluate the evidence and aren’t biased against personal injury claims.
- The trial itself follows established procedures, with each side presenting its evidence and arguments.
- The plaintiff (accident victim) presents their case first, followed by the defendant.
- Lawyers must effectively cross-examine opposing witnesses, present their own witnesses clearly, and make persuasive opening and closing arguments.
- Jury deliberation and verdict represent the culmination of the trial process. Juries consider all evidence presented and determine both liability and damages.
Appeals may be possible if legal errors occurred during the trial or the evidence does not support the verdict.
Recoverable Damages in Car Accident Cases
Car accidents can be life-changing in every sense of the word, as the vast range of damages that you may face includes:
- Medical expenses: You can recover costs for ambulance rides, emergency surgery, MRI scans, specialist consultations, physical examinations, and follow-up treatments with your healthcare team.
- Rehabilitation costs: You may be entitled to reimbursement for weekly physical therapy sessions, occupational therapy to relearn daily tasks, speech therapy after head injuries, and specialized rehabilitation programs.
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity: You can claim compensation for missed work shifts, unused vacation days, lost overtime opportunities, and salary reductions due to your inability to perform job duties, as well as any long-term loss of earning power.
- Property damage: You’re entitled to compensation for auto body repairs, replacement of your totaled vehicle, damaged cell phones, destroyed laptops, and ruined clothing or personal belongings.
- Transportation costs: This includes reimbursement for taxi rides to medical appointments, gas money for family members driving you to therapy, and public transportation costs during recovery.
- Pain and suffering: You may receive compensation for chronic back pain, daily headaches, difficulty sleeping, limited mobility, and the emotional and psychological trauma stemming from the crash.
- Loss of consortium: This provides compensation for spouses who lose intimacy in their marriage, take on additional household responsibilities, or experience reduced companionship due to their partner’s injuries.
Car accident lawyers are also familiar with the hardship resulting from fatal collisions. If you have lost a loved one from accident-related injuries, their mission will be to attain the justice you and other affected loved ones are entitled to.
The Statute of Limitations and Other Time-Sensitive Reasons to Hire a Lawyer Right After the Crash
Legal deadlines create urgency that many accident victims don’t recognize until those deadlines have passed. Missing these deadlines can result in complete loss of the right to seek compensation, regardless of how strong the case might otherwise be.
Several deadlines can be critical to your case, including:
- State-level filing deadlines for car accident cases, which can be one or more years, depending on your state
- Insurance notice requirements, which are often 30 days or less from the accident
- Filing deadlines for claims against the government, which tend to be significantly shorter than the filing deadline for other car accident claims
There are time-sensitive case elements that may not have formal deadlines, but are still urgent. Medical facilities may dispose of documents, video may be erased, and witnesses’ testimony may become unreliable. This is more than enough reason to hire your car accident lawyer today.
Don’t Wait a Minute Longer to Hire Your Car Accident Attorney
The legal process involves numerous deadlines, procedural requirements, and strategic considerations that can be challenging for non-attorneys to handle effectively. Insurance companies have teams of professionals working to minimize their liability, and accident victims should retain legal representation to balance the scales.
Contingency fee arrangements make quality legal representation accessible when needed most, allowing victims to obtain experienced attorneys without upfront costs. This arrangement ensures that attorneys have strong incentives to achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients, as your car accident lawyer won’t receive a fee unless you receive compensation.
The key to successful accident claims is prompt action. Don’t wait to speak with prospective law firms and hire your attorney as soon as possible.