A car accident can leave you with serious injuries, a wrecked car, an inability to earn an income, and significant physical pain and emotional suffering. Thankfully for victims, under certain circumstances, Pennsylvania law1 allows people who are hurt in accidents to recover compensation for these and other losses that they sustain as a result of their accident.
Obtaining compensation does not happen automatically, however, and there are often several complicated steps that victims need to go through before they receive a check to cover the damages they incurred. For this reason, it is strongly suggested that anyone involved in a car accident speak to a lawyer about their options shortly after their wreck. Below are the top three reasons you should talk to a lawyer after a car wreck.
A Lawyer Will Determine Whether You Have a Claim
Not every car accident entitles those involved to compensation for their injuries – you need to be able to establish that the incident was someone else’s fault. For example, if a tree suddenly fell into the roadway after a lightning strike and caused an accident, it would be hard for anyone hurt in the incident to establish that someone else caused their injuries.
In personal injury law, a person is said to be “at fault” if it can be shown that he or she was negligent and that their negligence caused an accident. Some common examples of negligence that can cause a car crash include the following:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving2
- Following too closely
- Drunk driving
- Failure to yield the right of way
In some instanced, it may not be clear who or what caused an accident to occur. If this is the case in your accident, you attorney will investigate your case, gather evidence, and determine whether you may be able to file a claim.
An Attorney Will Make Sure Your Rights Are Protected
There are many ways that you could hurt your chances of recovering compensation while your case is pending. Insurance company representatives often try and get accident victims to make statements that may indicate that they were partially or even completely at fault for an accident, which could have the potentially of significantly reducing the amount of compensation you receive or making it impossible to recover compensation at all.
When you have a lawyer representing you, he or she will communicate with the insurance company on your behalf so that you do not have to worry about saying anything that could hurt your chances of obtaining compensation.
Your Lawyer Will Ensure That Any Settlement You Accept is Fair
The majority of car accident cases are settled out of court, sometimes before a lawsuit is even filed. This is because in most cases, the cause of the accident is so obvious that it would be a waste of time to litigate the matter. As a result, the only issue that the parties need to agree upon is how much the insurance company will pay the injured victim.
In order to know what a fair settlement is, however, you need to know how much a case may be worth. The damages that are involved in car accident cases often include economic damages like lost income and property damage, which may be easy to determine, but also damages for pain and suffering or loss of quality of life, which are more difficult to accurately assess. In addition, in cases involving serious injuries that cause long-term problems, victims need to be certain to seek damages for their future losses as well. In cases where future losses are at issue, it is often necessary to consult with experts who can determine the cost of care in the future as well as how much a person would have earned had the accident not occurred.
Call the Levin Firm Today to Speak With a Philadelphia Car Accident Attorney
If you have been involved in a car accident, you should speak to a lawyer as soon as you can. At the Levin Firm, our Philadelphia car accident lawyers are committed to representing the rights of victims and take every step possible to ensure that our clients get the compensation to which they are entitled.
To schedule a free consultation with an attorney, call our office today at 215-825-5183 or send us an email through our online contact form.
- http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/Public/cons_index.cfm
- https://www.distraction.gov/stats-research-laws/facts-and-statistics.html