Experiencing a car accident can be a very stressful thing with there being so many different things to worry about, including medical expenses, property damage, and dealing with insurance companies and any other driver involved. With all of this happening, many people forget to even think about hiring a car accident lawyer serving McAllen to represent them and handle their case.
If you have experienced injuries as the direct result of being involved in a car accident or have been involved in a collision with another driver who was acting negligently, the first thing that you should do is to seek immediate medical attention and then hire a car accident attorney to represent you and fight to get the compensation that you are entitled to.
After either yourself or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, it is likely to be the case that the insurance companies will attempt to reduce the severity of your accident or even dismiss it altogether as so to save themselves from paying down any compensation. By hiring an experienced car accident attorney you are going down the best route of securing the compensation that you so rightly deserve.
Most insurance companies have huge legal teams and resources available to them. It is for these reasons that you need a highly capable car accident attorney in your corner, fighting for you.
This is likely to be a very difficult and confusing time for you. You may potentially have to deal with numerous injuries, the death of a friend or family member, a damaged vehicle, or the worry of how you are going to categorize expenses for medical bills that you have incurred as a result of your injuries.
What to do after a car accident?
Immediately after you have got out of the road and made yourself safe, you should call the police. They will give you some documentation, as well as perform an investigation of the crash site in order to try and work out who exactly was at blame for the accident.
If you have any injuries, you should seek medical help to get these treated. Doing this creates a precise record of your injuries which can be looked back on when the attorney is handling your case.
You should never leave the crash site until you have been told by the police that it is OK to do so. Leaving the area without speaking with the police first may possibly result in criminal charges being brought against you.
Be sure to share your contact details with the other drivers involved and make sure that you also get their information as well. This needs to include insurance details, name, license plate number, and any other important information.
Once you are back home, you should make your insurance company aware that you have been involved in a car accident and where you were not at fault, they will contact the other driver’s insurance company.
It is very important that you make an accurate note of what happened, including what you saw just before it happened. This can include details such as sketches or pictures of the crash site. Collect the contact information of any witnesses that saw the accident happen. Do this as early on as possible while all the information is still fresh in your mind and while bystanders are still present at the scene.
A car accident attorney will check the surrounding area to see if there are any surveillance cameras that may have recorded footage of the incident that can be used as evidence in your case.
Even if you think that you may be at fault for the car accident happens, it is important that you do not immediately admit to being at fault. It is important that you do not sign any documentation which has not been given to you by the police or your own insurance company without prior consultation with a car accident attorney.
Do not ever talk about the car accident on social media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, as what you say could potentially be used against you by the other driver’s insurance company.
Get in touch with an experienced car accident attorney. They will begin to start putting together your case, including documenting your injuries, so that you are successful in getting the compensation that you are entitled to.
Do I really need a car accident attorney?
Without having an experienced car accident attorney representing you, you are putting yourself at the whims of the opposing insurance company that will do everything they possibly can to minimize the level of compensation that they have to pay out to you.
Car accidents have the potential to cause significant harm to your body, including things like organ damage, brain injury, burns, broken bones, disfigurement, permanent disability, plus many other things. Where such severe injuries are sustained, it is also likely to be the case that your vehicle requires major repairs or to be replaced altogether.
As the victim of a car accident, you rightly deserve to be compensated for the physical, mental, and emotional damages that you have experienced. A specialist car accident attorney knows how to best handle your case in order to maximize the level of compensation that is paid out to you.
What they will do is collect an abundance of evidence, including taking photos of the crash site and your vehicle, getting the police report, collecting statements from witnesses, extracting data from your vehicle’s data recorder, ascertaining medical records, examining cell phone records, and looking at vehicle manufacturer record (i.e. recall information).
A good car accident attorney is able to gather up all of this information and consult with other industry experts in order to put together the strongest possible case for you so that the insurance companies involved will settle outside of a courtroom.
You are likely to be unaware of what your individual rights are as the victim and so this could possibly be used against you by unscrupulous insurance companies. They will try and make you admit to being at fault for the car accident in order to either reduce the amount of compensation that they have to pay out or to dismiss your claim altogether
What a car accident attorney will do is make you aware of what your rights are exactly and provide advice on how to deal with insurance companies without getting yourself into bother by saying something that may be incriminating.
They will call on their network of peers and industry experts in order to strengthen your claim, to negotiate for an improved outcome, and to generally level the playing field against the large insurance companies that may not always be acting in the best natures.
How to choose a car accident attorney to hire?
When deciding which car accident attorney to hire to handle your case, you will want to choose one that has lots of experience in dealing with similar cases and a proven and best track record of obtaining compensation for their clients.
Do not choose an attorney that takes on a large number of clients and will look to settle your case without a thorough investigation of the evidence first. Car accident attorneys like this will not get you a fair settlement as all they aim to do is get clients in and out of their door as soon as possible in order to make some profit.
It is important to remember that the vast majority of car accident cases do not end up in the courtroom and are usually settled outside of it. It is important that the car accident attorney that you choose to hire has a wealth of experience in types of cases that are similar to your own and is willing to fight on your behalf.
What you need is a car accident attorney that has a good understanding of how to both deal with and negotiate with large insurance companies. An experienced professional will guide you through the entire process, hold the responsible driver to account, and get you the compensation that you are rightly entitled to given the severity of your injuries and damages.
How long does it take for a car accident case to be settled?
The exact length of a car accident legal case is very much dependent on a range of different factors, although it can take anything from two or three months (this is the best scenario) all the way up to one or two years (this is the worst scenario). Some of the main factors which have an impact on the length of time include if a fault has been determined or not, the insurance company or companies involved, the complexity of the case, and the determining of previous, current, and future medical bills and lost income.
What can I recover from a car accident?
A car accident attorney will make you aware of all the things that you can and cannot be eligible to claim for.
Some of the things that can be recovered include money for the purpose of repairing your vehicle, money for the loss of your vehicle if the damage caused is beyond repair, money for depreciation in the value of your vehicle, money for any medical expenses incurred, money for any future medical expenses, money for lost income or wages, money for lost income in the future, and money for the suffering incurred – whether that be physical, emotional, or mental pain.
Depending on the specific details of your case and the circumstances surrounding it, there may be ground for you to claim for punitive damages also. Additionally, your spouse and your children (if you have any that is) may also be within their rights to claim for loss of consortium.
- Vehicle replacement or repair – the full market value of your vehicle can be reimbursed if it was declared by the insurance company to be a total loss. Where this is not the case, you may be eligible to have the damage repaired free of charge.
- Medical bills – if you experienced injuries from a car accident that requires medical treatment, then you are well within your rights to seek compensation for the cost of this.
- Reduced or lost income – where the injuries that you sustained prevent you from working and making a living, there are grounds to be compensated for this lost or reduced money.
- Suffering and pain – as well as physical health conditions, it may also be argued that you should also be compensated for any mental and psychological health problems that you have experienced as a result of a car accident.
- Punitive damages – you may be allowed to claim for further compensation if it turns out to be the case that the guilty party was driving recklessly or under the influence of any kind of drugs or other substances at the time of the car accident.
How much is a successful car accident settlement worth?
The amount of compensation that you are awarded depends on a number of different factors, including how severe your injuries are, how badly your property was damaged, and the strength of the case that has been put together – this is why it is important to hire a good and experienced car accident attorney. Sometimes an insurance company will make a quick offer in an attempt to have the case settled without the need for it to go to court.
What a car accident attorney will do is level the playing field for you better-getting lots of evidence in your favour based on the medical treatment that you have received as a result of the crash, the damage sustained by your vehicle, witness statements, police reports, lost income/wages, and anything else that may crop up.
The takeaway
No matter the scale or severity of a crash, it is important that you hire a specialist car accident attorney to handle your case and get you the compensation that you are entitled to.