Understanding Why Retaining the Services of a Car Crash Lawyer is a Wise Decision

There was no way that you could have seen what was coming. In fact, the car crash happened so quickly that you had no time to react. One thing is clear: you did not contribute to the occurrence of the accident. Even as you seek medical care for your injuries, now is the ideal time to find a car crash lawyer who can seek to secure the compensation that’s in with the damage you’ve experienced. Here are some of the reasons why retaining legal counsel rather than relying on the good graces of the responsible party is the thing to do.

You Don’t Know Much About the Laws Applying to Car Crashes

While you’ve been involved in a minor accident before, no one was hurt, and it was easy enough to call the police, file reports, then turn the matter over to the insurance companies. Things won’t be so simple this time, and you’re not sure what sort of rights you have under the current laws. In fact, you’re not sure what laws apply in this situation.

What you need is access to someone who understands the law and how it applies in this case. That’s where hiring a lawyer comes into the picture. Once your lawyer has a clear understanding of what has transpired, it will be easy to help you understand the rights and protections that are relevant to the situation. Best of all, the lawyer can use terminology that you can understand with ease.

Dealing with The Responsible Party’s Insurance Company

There’s no doubt that the insurance company representing the responsible party will send someone to offer a settlement. What you should remember is that this offer will likely come when you are still feeling vulnerable from the accident. In fact, you may still be in your hospital bed when the first attempt is made.

You do not want to deal directly with the insurance company. That’s because the plan is to offer a settlement for as low as possible. There may even be hints that you can’t hope to get anything better. It’s not unusual for questions to be asked with an eye toward attempting to shift part of the responsibility for the accident to you. By retaining your own legal counsel, all you have to do is provide the lawyer’s contact information and refuse to make any other response.

Considering What Expenses Should Be Included in the Compensation

While you know there will be immediate medical bills above and beyond what your health insurance will pay, what other expenses are you likely to incur? There’s the possibility of being out of work for a time, and not being able to earn a living. The accident may also mean you have to undergo physical therapy for some time, or even learn to live with a permanent injury. In short, there could be more expenses resulting from the accident than you think about initially.

You can bet that your legal counsel will be in a position to determine what to include in the compensation that is sought. Based on information about your injuries and the related medical care that will apply in the future, it’s possible to project what the total financial impact will be. From your care to replacing lost income to getting another vehicle to drive, your lawyer will be sure that nothing relevant is left out.

Making Sure There’s No Question About Liability

In order to provide the best chance for receiving compensation, there must be no question about who is at fault. More to the point, it’s helpful to confirm that nothing you could have reasonably done would have prevented the event from taking place. This will basically involve ensuring that you were obeying all traffic laws at the time and that the actions of the other party are what led to the accident.

Your car crash lawyer will take all the necessary steps to ensure that there is no question of who is liable for what took place. Along with reviewing the police report, the lawyer will want to talk with anyone who witnessed the accident. This is key to pursuing a settlement and will certainly come in handy if the other party refuses to settle.

Organizing the Evidence For Your Claim

It’s not enough to confirm liability. You will find that your lawyer will take the time to organize all the data and establish a timeline of what occurred. This matters since being able to accurately recount the chain of events will be essential to filing your suit and seeking compensation.

What the suit notes will go a long way toward making it clear to the other party that you are taking appropriate action. It will form the basis for any further discussions that occur between the respective legal counsels and help to ensure that nothing relevant to the accident is left out of the mix.

Pursuing an Equitable Settlement 

Ideally, a settlement that’s fair can be reached. This is likely to be one of the first things that your lawyer will attempt to do. If the other party is open to the idea, it will be possible to open negotiations and try to arrive at a figure that’s acceptable to everyone. When this is possible, it can save the responsible party a great deal of time as well as the expenses related to absorbing court costs.

Since your lawyer has reviewed all the details related to the accident and had assembled information about your injuries and overall expenses for now and for future treatments, it won’t be hard to set a figure. Keep in mind that since it is a negotiation, your lawyer is likely to ask for an amount that covers legal expenses and possibly a little more. The only ones who will know the figure you will settle for the two of you.

Taking the Case to Court

The responsible party may refuse to negotiate, or the negotiations may fail to produce the desired result. In either of those instances, taking the matter to court is next. You can depend on your legal counsel being prepared to present the case and to seek damages that cover all related expenses.

Your lawyer will take the lead in pursuing the case. In the best possible outcome, the court will award the amount that is sought and provide the defendant with a time frame for paying the full amount.

Remember that it’s rare for those who cause accidents to seek to treat injured parties fairly. Instead of assuming everything will be fine, secure your own legal counsel and pay close attention to the advice that’s received. Doing so will help you understand your legal rights, avoid unwanted communications while you focus on recovering, and in general, increase the odds of being able to move what has happened.