What Makes a Good Car Wreck Case?
When you are involved in a car wreck, many things run through your mind. Have you incurred a personal injury? Is the person (or people) in the other car injured? How bad is the wreckage? Will your auto insurance cover the damage? As all this happens, you need to know how best to handle the situation.
Everything you say and do at that moment will determine how strong your car wreck case will be. This is why we took the time to give you professional legal advice concerning your reaction if ever you are involved in a car wreck. Here are some of the questions and solutions we’ll cover in this piece:
What’s the First Thing You Should Do in a Car Wreck Situation?
Before anything, determine liability. You need to know whether it was yours or the other person’s fault. To do this, assess your own personal damage and if you determine it wasn’t your fault, make this clear with the other person. This could end up in the famous “he-said-she-said” conundrum.
In this case, you need to act timely to figure out who was in the wrong. Take pictures of the scene where the cars stopped and the traffic lights at exactly the time it happened. Get all the witnesses you can such as passersby and people in nearby businesses. Record their contact details as their accounts are important to your case. All these things will help to determine liability.
What are Your Damages?
You need to know the severity of damage to your car. Make sure that you get estimates of the value of your vehicle. You need to immediately learn whether the damage is repairable or is a total loss. Contact your auto insurance company for an estimate on the value of the damage. Also, the other person’s auto insurance company will contact you (if they don’t, you should contact them).
During your interaction with the other person’s auto insurance company, give them only details about your car’s location, nothing more. They’ll do an assessment of the damage and estimated its value at a body shop. When the auto insurance company gives you their estimate, you can compare it with your own estimate for the repair or value of your vehicle.
What About Personal Injury?
Sometimes, auto insurance companies overlook your personal injury based on the damage to your vehicle. In fact, convincing the jury that you started feeling pain in your neck, back or knee immediately or days after being in a car wreck where the vehicle didn’t get any scratches or dents can be difficult. This is why you need to give an extensive report on what you felt immediately and days after the car wreck. It is necessary to hire an attorney to present a compelling argument to the jury to prove that you are really injured.
Using doctor reports and expert accident reconstruction your attorney can prove that the low impact accident certainly inflicted personal injury. Your attorney will seek compensation for both pain and suffering and lost wages due to personal injury, missing time off work for treatment, and medical expenses incurred. One other approach is claiming the minimum $30,000 for injury and lost wages.
Related: What to do when you did not call the police but now you are injured?
I was in an accident I have insurance but I don’t have any legal status here, can I still make a claim?
Yes, you can. It is unlikely that the judge will bring your legal status into the case because the central issue is that you were in a car wreckand are seeking compensation for the incident.
Should I avoid giving an assurance adjuster a recorded statement?
Yes, you should avoid it. The enemy will twist your words against you. Therefore, especially in cases where the other party is responsible for the car wreck, it’s better to play it safe; don’t give them a statement. Inform them only about the location of your car. Also, call your attorney first who will instruct you on what you can say to the adjuster, or let them speak to the adjuster directly.
Related: 3 Auto Accident Aftermath Myths
In Conclusion
Keep these tips in mind for whenever you’re involved in a car wreck. Remember to work with a professional attorney to build a good car wreckcase. Visit this link to get a FREE Case Evaluation and find out if you are entitled to compensation or call us at 713-904-1765 if you have further questions.