After another driver hits you and causes injuries, you may be wondering when you should call a car accident lawyer. There are no rules about whether or how quickly you must call a personal injury lawyer after the crash. However, the sooner you call an attorney, the better able he or she can be to collect facts in the case.
If your attorney needs to interview witnesses for the accident to strengthen your case, beginning the process as soon after the crash as possible will ensure the witnesses still have the facts in the case fresh in their minds.
Additionally, you need to follow the statutes of limitations in your state to begin the process of filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you wait too long to contact a lawyer, you could miss the deadline for filing your case. However, even if you believe you are outside the statute of limitations deadline, you should still contact an attorney to see if you can qualify for exceptions to the deadline.
Facing Financial Hardships
After you suffer injuries in a car accident where the other driver was at fault, you could end up with significant medical bills because of a long hospitalization or because of aggressive treatments required to help you recover from health problems.
You also may be facing financial problems because you are unable to work after the crash and do not have any income. You may even be unable to return to work as quickly as you would like after leaving the hospital, creating ongoing issues financially for you.
Any settlement you receive from the insurance company for the driver who caused the crash should compensate you for medical bills, missed wages, and pain and suffering.
Negotiating with the Insurer
After the crash, you may hear from the insurer for the other driver. The insurance company may even offer you a settlement to help with your medical bills.
However, once you accept this settlement, the insurer will not pay any additional medical bills or other expenses related to the accident. You may be unsure whether the amount the insurance company is offering will truly compensate you for the financial hardships you are experiencing both now and in the future.
Contacting an attorney at this point can help you significantly. A personal injury lawyer can help you estimate your future medical costs and determine whether the insurer is offering a fair settlement. If not, the attorney can take over the negotiations for you, working toward obtaining the fairest possible reimbursement for you.
For a free legal consultation, call (972) 535-6377
Proving Negligence from the Other Driver
Another reason to contact an attorney early in the process is to help show that the other driver was at fault for the crash and that you deserve a full settlement. Your lawyer can use a few different tools to show the other driver was at fault.
Understanding Truck Driving Rules
If a truck driver hit your vehicle, causing your injuries, the police report may not have assigned a cause for the crash, meaning the officers investigating the crash did not assign blame to either driver.
However, if you hire an attorney to represent your interests, the attorney may discover key information through his or her investigation. Investigations may uncover that the truck driver violated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules regarding hours of service, which could show the driver created a negligent situation that led to your injuries in the crash.
Determining Impaired Driving
Another way an attorney can show that the other driver was acting negligently is by investigating whether the other driver was intoxicated or took drugs before climbing behind the wheel.
Even if the other driver did not have a blood alcohol content (BAC) level that violated state law, your attorney could argue that any alcohol in driver’s system may have impaired his ability to operate his vehicle safely, leading to the crash.
According to study presented by Stanford University, a BAC as low as 0.04% can create a minor impairment of reasoning, which could have led to the crash.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
In some car accidents, you may feel like you did not suffer significant injuries in the aftermath of the accident. It is common for adrenaline after the crash to mask some of the pain and injuries you may have.
If you notice pain or limitations in movement a couple of days after the crash, you should schedule an appointment with a doctor to have your injuries diagnosed and to have a treatment plan laid out for your care.
We recommend that you should call a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. The sooner you call an attorney, the faster he or she can help you determine whether you have a case, and the sooner work can begin on collecting the facts that show you deserve a settlement for your losses.
Contact Underwood as soon as possible for a free consultation. Call (972) 535-6377 to schedule your free consultation.
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