A car accident lawyer provides legal representation to individuals who have been involved in car accidents. Their primary role is to advocate for their client’s rights and help them navigate the complex legal process associated with car accident claims. Here’s what they typically do:
- Legal Advice: A car accident lawyer advises their client on their legal rights and options following an accident. They explain relevant laws, statutes of limitations, and potential outcomes of legal actions.
- Investigation: They investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident, which may involve collecting evidence such as police reports, witness statements, photographs, and medical records. This helps establish liability and determine the extent of damages.
- Negotiation: Car accident lawyers negotiate with insurance companies on behalf of their clients to seek fair compensation for damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering. They strive to maximize the settlement amount.
- Litigation: If a fair settlement cannot be reached through negotiation, a car accident lawyer may file a lawsuit and represent their client in court. They prepare legal documents, present arguments, and advocate for their client’s interests during trial proceedings.
- Representation: Throughout the legal process, the lawyer serves as their client’s advocate, protecting their rights and interests. They handle communication with insurance companies, opposing parties, and other involved parties on behalf of their client.
- Legal Compliance: Car accident lawyers ensure that their clients comply with all legal requirements and deadlines associated with their case, such as filing necessary paperwork and meeting court deadlines.
- Evaluation of Damages: Car accident lawyers assess the full extent of their client’s damages, including both economic and non-economic losses. This may involve calculating medical expenses, future medical costs, lost income, diminished earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering.
- Legal Strategy: Based on their investigation and assessment of the case, car accident lawyers develop a strategic approach to pursue the best possible outcome for their client. This may involve determining the most favorable legal theories to support their case and anticipating potential challenges.
- Expert Consultation: In complex cases, car accident lawyers may consult with experts such as accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals, economists, and vocational experts to strengthen their client’s case and provide expert testimony if needed.
- Client Support: Beyond legal representation, car accident lawyers provide emotional support and guidance to their clients throughout the legal process. They address their concerns, answer their questions, and keep them informed about the progress of their case.
- Settlement Negotiations: Car accident lawyers engage in ongoing negotiations with insurance companies or opposing parties to reach a fair settlement. They use their negotiation skills and knowledge of the law to advocate for their client’s best interests and ensure that any settlement offer adequately compensates for the damages suffered.
- Contingency Fee Basis: Many car accident lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means they only receive payment if they successfully recover compensation for their client. This arrangement allows individuals who have been injured in car accidents to access legal representation without upfront costs or financial risk.
- Mediation and Arbitration: In some cases, car accident claims may be resolved through alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation or arbitration. Car accident lawyers represent their clients in these proceedings, working to negotiate a settlement outside of court while still advocating for their client’s best interests.
- Legal Documentation: Car accident lawyers handle the preparation and filing of all necessary legal documents related to the case. This includes drafting demand letters, pleadings, motions, and other court filings required throughout the litigation process.
- Legal Representation in Court: If the case proceeds to trial, car accident lawyers represent their clients in court proceedings. They present evidence, examine witnesses, cross-examine opposing witnesses, and make legal arguments to the judge or jury on behalf of their client.
- Appeals: If either party is dissatisfied with the outcome of a trial, car accident lawyers may handle the appeals process. This involves reviewing the trial record, identifying legal errors, and presenting arguments to a higher court to seek a reversal or modification of the lower court’s decision.
- Continued Support: Even after a case is resolved, car accident lawyers may continue to provide support to their clients. This can include assistance with medical liens, resolving outstanding medical bills, and advising on any potential future legal issues related to the accident.
- Legal Compliance and Ethics: Car accident lawyers adhere to the legal profession’s ethical standards and rules of professional conduct. They ensure that all actions taken on behalf of their clients comply with these standards, maintaining the integrity of the legal process.
Overall, the goal of a car accident lawyer is to help their client obtain the compensation they deserve for the losses and injuries sustained in the accident while guiding them through the legal process with expertise and support.
Most people will experience a car accident at some point in their lives, and sometimes they result in injury. A car accident lawyer is experienced in tort law, also known as personal injury law, and a personal injury occurs when you are involved in an accident and suffer an injury through no fault of your own. If you sustained an injury in an auto accident, you may be able to recover the money you lost and potentially more with the help of a car accident lawyer.
What Does a Car Accident Lawyer Do?
The primary goal of a car accident lawyer is to help you receive compensation for the losses you incurred after a car accident. They handle a case from start to finish and use the resources available to them to secure a fair settlement. Below is a more thorough explanation of some of the main duties a car accident lawyer has while working with an injured driver.
Help You Get the Help That You Need
Helping you recover compensation also means supporting you through your healing process. Car accident lawyers regularly work with medical professionals as part of the personal injury legal process. They often have access to doctors that specialize in injuries caused by auto accidents. Car accidents have common injuries ranging from minor to severe:
Contusions and bruising
Internal bleeding, which is common in high-speed accidents
Whiplash, which is one of the most common injuries from car accidents
Brain injuries, such as concussions and traumatic brain injuries
Neck, Back, and spinal cord injuries Broken or fractured bones
Post-traumatic stress disorder
While attorneys may recommend doctors that have worked with clients in the past, they should not recommend specific medical treatments. This is a common misconception, but your attorney may offer advice about working with your health insurance.
Offer Legal Advice and Help You Understand Your Rights
In the aftermath of your accident, you may have several questions about what to do next. You may turn to the internet and find conflicting information or ask close friends and relatives who have different experiences and opinions. It can quickly become confusing. Car accident lawyers have experience and offer reputable legal advice. They spend years in school and train to work in the field. Then they gain the first-hand knowledge necessary to advise you. Most importantly, they know what constitutes a good case and what will not work in your favor.
They also understand your rights in accordance with tort law. Insurance adjusters are known to use whatever means necessary to avoid a reasonable payout, including bad faith tactics:
Delay payment on a valid claim
Pressure you to accept an offer that is not fair
Change your policy
Deny your claim without a reason
Avoid communicating with you
Your attorney will go through all the relevant laws in your case and advise you of your rights as you deal with obstacles in your case.
Investigate the Accident and Gather Evidence
Following a serious car accident, the police and the insurance company conduct their own independent investigations. When you hire an attorney, he or she will also conduct an investigation by reviewing existing evidence, such as photos and witness statements, and look for more evidence, such as security camera footage. If there are questions left unanswered, an attorney will usually go the extra mile and recreate the accident scene to better understand it, often with the help of experts.
One of the most tedious aspects of a personal injury case is the collection of evidence or paperwork to validate your claim. For someone that is healing from an injury, this part of the process is tedious and difficult. However, your attorney knows all the paperwork that you need and collects it for you while you focus on healing.
Assess and Calculate Your Damages
When building a claim, your attorney knows what damages you should be able to recover. You may know that you should ask for some economic damages:
Cost of medical bills
Lost wages
Cost of property damage
However, you may not know that you should request compensation for future medical treatments and future lost wages. If your injuries result in a disability, you may include loss of earning ability. You should recover all out-of-pocket expenses associated with your accident, and your attorney knows what those are.
You can also recover non-economic damages:
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Mental anguish
These are not as easily calculated as economic damages. An experienced attorney can use precedented cases to determine how to quantify the non-economic damages. In cases where the at-fault person acted particularly egregiously, you may even sue for punitive damages, which are not designed to compensate you for losses but to punish the other party and attempt to deter that type of behavior in the future.
Negotiate a Settlement or Prepare for Trial
Negotiation is a central component of personal injury cases that can start at any point in the process. Most car accident cases result in a settlement before they ever go to trial because car accident lawyers know when to cease negotiations and accept the settlement, but they also know when they should continue fighting. Insurance adjusters are also far more likely to negotiate reasonably with an attorney.
If your case were to go to trial, your attorney will already have everything prepared for court. There are important elements of the court process that an attorney understands from training and experience. Every step taken so far is part of trial preparations, but your attorney is also aware of the necessary paperwork and filing deadlines.
When Should You Contact a Car Accident Lawyer?
It is always in your best interest to reach out to a car accident lawyer following an accident. Even minor fender benders may result in injuries, but there are a few situations in which contacting a lawyer is highly recommended:
The insurance company offers you a settlement that is not sufficient enough to cover all of your economic damages
You suffered injuries in the crash
The at-fault driver contests accident liability or argues that you share liability or are fully responsible
The insurance company refuses to pay your claim at all or participates in any of the aforementioned bad faith tactics
You have been asked to provide a statement or medical records
In the aftermath of a car accident, there are many things that you should do if you are able, such as document as much evidence as you can, call the police and get a copy of the police report, and exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver. However, the shock of a crash may cause a surge of adrenaline and make it difficult to think. The most important step is to seek medical attention right away. Even if you feel fine, adrenaline can block pain receptors and make you feel okay for days while you are actually suffering a serious injury. Then speak with an attorney as soon as possible so you can start building your case.
The emotional, physical and financial toll associated with a car accident can be overwhelming. If you sustained an injury in a car accident and worry that you are not able to afford an attorney, our compassionate and hard-working team at Mike Morse Law Firm is here to support you. Contact us for a free consultation. We will answer all your questions and explain your next steps.
The Reasons To Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
Many car accident injuries or death are more complicated then what meets the eye. Your car accident lawyer will look out for your best interests under the application of civil laws.
Auto insurance companies are acutely aware of the final ramifications at stake. As such, they may offer a subpar amount. Make sure you run an initial offer by a car accident attorney to ensure you are receiving a fair offer.
In addition to evaluating your settlement offer, he or she will help in numerous ways, including:
1. Thoroughly Investigating Your Accident
You do not have to accept the police or accident report as the final answer regarding fault in a car accident. Hiring a car accidents lawyer will put a legal professional on-task to investigate your case. We will preserve evidence, interview eyewitnesses, consult with experts, and establish a theory surrounding your specific situation.
2. Documenting Your Financial and Future Losses
Obtaining adequate compensation for car accident injuries is a cornerstone of these cases. An attorney understands the laws regarding this aspect of personal injury, product liability, and wrongful death laws. In Georgia, you can recuperate medical costs, lost work wages, pain and suffering, and wrongful death benefits for survivors.
3. Providing Honest Information About Your Situation
Your attorney represents you and not the insurance company. As such, you will have a legal professional provide information and advice that benefits you. We can also address what you might expect from the claims process as well as what we think is a fair settlement offer or jury trial award. Communication and protection are a vital aspect of the attorney-client relationship.
4. Meeting Administrative Requirements
When negotiating a settlement, your case may require several passes between the insurer and you before reaching a decision. Letters, forms, and telephone calls all become part of your claim record. Be sure that you are not making any errors since doing so can derail your settlement objectives.
5. Preparing for Settlement but Always Ready To File a Petition
From the moment you hire a car accident attorney, he or she will document your case and preserve evidence. Doing so prepares you if your case must go to a civil jury trial. While most personal injury cases resolve outside of civil court, it is crucial to let the insurance company know that you mean business if they unfairly deny you the benefits they promised you per Georgia laws.
6. No Upfront Attorneys’ Fees
Due to the unique nature of personal injury cases, your car accident lawyer will not charge you advance attorneys’ fees in most cases. Typically, they offer their legal services on a contingency fee agreement.
Rather than request an upfront payment, your attorney will assume a reasonable percentage of your civil award. He or she genuinely does not get paid for his or her services unless you win your case.
Car Accidents FAQs
What Steps Should I Take If I Suspect a Hit-and-Run in Atlanta?
What Types of Compensation Can I Expect From a Car Accident Claim in Decatur?
How Can a Decatur Car Accident Lawyer Help Me?
What Is the First Thing to Do After a Savannah Car Accident?
How Long After a Car Accident Can You Claim Injury?
Can I Sue for Anxiety After a Car Accident?
Questions You Can Ask a Car Accident Lawyer
Before speaking with a car accident lawyer, it is critical to gather as much information about your case as possible. You should try to obtain documentation such as police reports, medical reports, letters from the insurance company, and your notes on the matter.
While it is not reasonable to request severely injured parties to assemble these documents, preparing as much as possible will make your initial consultation more productive. Here are a few questions that you will want to ask to determine if the car accident lawyer helping you is a good fit:
How do you structure your attorneys’ fees?
What successes have you had handling cases like mine?
How much time will you spend on my case?
Does your practice handle more than injury matters?
Am I responsible for any initial costs or expenses?
The answers to these questions will help you evaluate if hiring that law firm is right for you. A car accident lawyer must take the time to address your issues before you agree to hire him or her.
He or she owes a general duty of care toward prospective clients, per Rule 1.18: Duties to Prospective Client of the ABA. If these questions go unanswered, consider looking elsewhere for representation.
How Our Car Accident Lawyers Will Help You
Car accident injury and wrongful death plaintiffs erroneously believe that not hiring a car accident lawyer will always save them money. This belief is not valid. There are numerous cases in which the benefit of hiring personal injury lawyers for your motor vehicle crash case far outweighs the costs.
The insurance company will have its attorneys representing their case. You should fight back and hold your detractors accountable by obtaining legal representation that looks out for your rights. Bader Scott Injury Lawyers will work on your behalf. We take new client cases on a contingency fee agreement and will not receive payment for our services unless you win.
