Being in a car accident is scary for anyone, no matter who you are. The details of a car accident can be simple or complicated, depending on what exactly happened. Maybe it was a clear-cut case of someone hitting you, no one getting hurt, and the other driver's insurance paying for your vehicle's damages. But not all accidents will be like this. Some of them quickly become complex if the incident involves injuries, insurance companies that don't work with you, and even going to trial to fight for financial compensation for those injuries.
And because car accidents can happen to anyone at any time, it is important at least to be familiar with what needs to be done afterward. With that in mind, we'd like to present to you three ways to tell that it's time to hire a car accident attorney.
When Car Accident Laws Confuse You
You might think that figuring out the laws of car accidents is relatively easy: if you got hit, you deserve payment. While this is true in principle, different U.S. states have different laws related to car accidents. For instance, California has its own laws regarding the statute of limitations for initiating litigation following an accident. The state also requires drivers to carry certain amounts of insurance for injuries or death caused to another person in an accident. You may live in a state with its own unique laws regarding insurance, accidents, personal injuries, and so on. When these laws are just too much for you to wade through on your own, it's time to hire a car accident attorney.
When You Need Help with Insurance Claims
As we said above, some accidents seem clear cut but end up being anything but that. In your mind, you may know for a fact that the other driver broke a traffic law and hit you because of it. You may expect that driver's insurance to pay you for your injury. But perhaps the other driver argues to his insurance provider that it was you who made the mistake. As a result, your claim for compensation is denied.
Attorneys who work with car accidents day in and day out have likely seen all of it before. They will know the aspects of a good compensation claim, including what evidence needs to be presented to make it more effective. Even in cases of denied claims, experienced lawyers can appeal the decision and continue your fight to get the compensation you deserve. If the claims process is becoming too weighty for you to handle on your own, it's time to bring in a professional.
When You Have to Go to Court
Here's a fact: the great majority of car accident compensation cases, if they reach a point where they are assigned a court date, are settled out of court. This is generally because, in court, it is an insurance company's finances on the line, not the at-fault driver's. Insurance companies know that trials can quickly go out of their favor, and to head off having to make an as-yet undetermined payout, they settle with plaintiffs out of court to be more in control of the negotiation conditions.
Should your case make it to trial, you'll need a good litigation lawyer to represent you,. Lawyers have better chances of winning court cases than laypersons do, simply because of their education and experience. If you were injured in a car accident and know you deserve payment for your pain and suffering, don't leave things up to luck. An attorney who works regularly with car accidents and personal injury law will know how to navigate a court. If you're intimidated by the prospect of going to trial to defend yourself against an aggressive insurance company that doesn't want to pay you for your injury, you know it's time to hire a car accident attorney.
In the days following a car accident, your mind may not be in the right place to think through the details of filing a claim with an insurance company or figuring out what evidence is needed to win a claim or court case. This is what lawyers are for. They will help you through these troubling times and take care of the things you don't understand or don't have the capacity to think about.
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