How to Attorney Can Assist with Your Automobile Accident Claim
No one wakes up thinking about getting hurt or dying in a car crash. Things like that always happen to other people, but in North Carolina, the number of people killed in car accidents went up in the same year that the number of miles people drove dropped by 19% because of a pandemic. More than 1,500 people who didn't think about getting into a car accident died in one when they started their day.
When someone's carelessness or recklessness causes you to get hurt or lose a loved one, a car accident attorney becomes a much-needed and trusted advocate to ensure that victims. Working with a skilled and experienced car accident lawyer could be the difference between a good outcome and one you end up regretting for some reason.
Examine The Accident And Collect Evidence
Your lawyer will take time to talk with you about what you remember about what happened before, during, and after a car accident. But when two fast-moving cars crash into each other, it happens so quickly that the drivers and people in the vehicles rarely know what happened and, perhaps more importantly, how it happened. A good lawyer knows how substantial evidence shows what happened, how it happened, and who was at fault.
Your lawyer's ability to find evidence will determine how much compensation you get through negotiations that lead to a claim settlement or a verdict after a trial. The evidence must be strong enough to convince a claims adjuster working for the insurance company of the person at fault or a jury that you deserve to be paid.
The following will be investigated as part of the claim:
- Please take pictures of the accident scene and its area as soon as possible after the accident.
- Photos of the destruction to your car and where it was hit can show where the damage was done and help prove what caused the crash. If possible, your lawyer will try to get pictures of the other cars that were in the accident and the damage they got.
- It is getting copies of the reports that the police have made. Suppose fire or ambulance services were called to the accident. In that case, your lawyer might be able to get copies of written words that may include statements from people involved in the crash and observations by emergency workers that support your claim for damages.
- Talk to people who saw what happened or talk to the other people whose cars were involved in the accident and get their statements.
- Talk to the owners of nearby businesses or homes with surveillance cameras and video of the accident.
A personal injury lawyer also works with your doctors, physical therapists, and other health care providers to get medical records about how your injuries were treated and how they were taken care of. The documents are essential because they show the extent and severity of your injuries and your short-term and long-term healing outlook.
Determine The Crash's Cause And Those Responsible For It
Personal injury lawyers use their knowledge of the law and their years of experience to put together a theory about what caused a crash by putting together the evidence they find and figuring out who was negligent.
For example, a truck driver who crashed because he was too busy looking at his phone for text messages to notify the traffic ahead may not be the only person to blame. If your lawyer finds proof that the driver wasn't able to stop in time because the truck wasn't well-kept, you may also be able to file a claim against the leasing company that owned and was responsible for maintaining the car.
Handle Insurance Company and Defense Attorney Negotiations
A lawyer takes care of dealing with adjusters and other insurance company representatives so that you can concentrate on obtaining the medical care you require to heal from accident-related injuries.
It also takes away an advantage claims adjusters have over accident victims who don't know how much their claim is worth. Your car accident lawyer will look at jury verdicts and settlements in similar cases to determine how much your claim is worth.
This includes how bad your injuries are and how likely you will get better. Lawyers often give an adjuster evidence that backs up a claim. This stops the adjuster from trying to downplay how badly you were hurt or how a crash happened.
- Insurance companies need to hear from their policyholders about an accident, so your lawyer sends a written notice of your claim for damages to the people who caused the car accident and asks them to tell their insurance companies about the lawsuit.
- Help you get ready to tell your insurance company about the accident so you can follow the terms of your policy.
- Takes care of all communication with the other insurance company so that a claims adjuster doesn't bother you or trick you into talking about the accident or your injuries.
- It helps you reach a reasonable settlement with your insurance company by negotiating on your behalf.
- It keeps you up to date on how the negotiations are going.
The best thing to do is negotiate a settlement so that you don't have to wait for your case to go to trial. But insurance companies know that a car accident lawyer at The Clauson Law Firm, PLLC, won't be afraid to go to court if negotiations don't lead to a fair settlement for the people we represent who have been hurt in car accidents.
