Duluth Car Accident Lawyer can help you recover compensation for your losses. These may include your medical expenses, property damage, lost income, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Experienced lawyers know how insurance companies operate and the tactics they use to minimize or deny claims. They can also assist with lawsuits where necessary.
The road to recovering money for damage to your car or injuries sustained in a crash can be a long one. Even when you have a clear understanding of your losses, it can take months to negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement. Car accident lawyers have a lot of experience in negotiating settlements with insurance companies and can help you avoid common pitfalls.
A good lawyer will gather as much documentation as possible for the claim, which should include official police reports and medical records. They will also have expert witnesses who can testify on your behalf about the crash or your medical treatment. For example, if the crash was caused by a poorly maintained road, an attorney might call in a traffic engineer to examine the site and report on its condition.
Once the attorney has gathered as much evidence as possible, they will send the insurance company a demand letter outlining the full amount you are owed to cover your damages. This document will include documentation such as medical bills, receipts from repair shops and any other documents related to your losses.
The insurance company will usually respond to this request with a lower offer than you requested. This is because they want to settle your case as quickly as possible, before you hire a lawyer and find out how much you are really owed.
Your attorney will review the offer and may decide to make a counteroffer. They will be able to tell you whether the insurance company is being reasonable or if they are trying to lowball you. Once a settlement is agreed upon, your attorney will help you draft a contract and ensure that the terms and conditions are written clearly.
Some accident victims are in desperate financial straits and need to settle their cases quickly. In these cases, a lawyer may recommend accepting a lower offer than they would at trial in order to speed up the process and get their client some money as soon as possible. However, it is important that your attorney consult with you first to make sure they understand your situation and act in your best interests.
Litigating the Case
During this stage, your lawyer will gather information related to your case to prove that the defendant was responsible for the crash. This includes medical treatment records, police reports, witness statements and more. They will also collect data on the accident’s economic impact, including property damage and your lost earnings. Your attorney will then document the extent of your injuries and damages to determine how much compensation you might be entitled to. This could include not only existing and projected future medical expenses, but also non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Often, your car accident attorney will negotiate with the defendant’s insurance provider in an attempt to settle the claim outside of court. If they are unable to reach a settlement, they will prepare the case for trial. This process can take weeks or months.
Once they’ve completed this initial work, they will file a complaint in court to identify themselves as your legal representative. This will typically be accompanied by a fee agreement or representation agreement, which will detail how your attorney’s legal fees and other case costs are calculated.
The next step is the discovery process, which allows both sides to request and exchange information on your case. This could include photographs of the scene, police reports and more. It’s important for your attorney to review these documents carefully, as they will be used later to build a strong case in your favor. Your attorney will also request testimonies from any witnesses and expert consultants that consulted on your case. These will be given in a formal setting, known as a deposition. Both parties can question these witnesses under oath and the testimony will be transcribed by a court reporter.
While most car accident cases do settle, you may be required to go to trial if the defendant refuses to offer fair compensation. Your attorney will prepare a presentation on the evidence in your case, as well as their arguments and defenses. They will then file a pretrial motion to set a trial date, which could take another several months or years.
Gathering Evidence
Evidence can come in the form of physical objects, eyewitness statements, photographic and video evidence, medical records, and circumstantial evidence. In most car accident cases, each of these types of evidence can be used to build a strong legal case for the compensation you deserve. Evidence is important to your claim because it proves the extent of your injuries and damages as well as how the crash occurred. Without it, your claim might not be successful and the insurance company could reject your claims or offer you less than you need.
It is important to gather as much evidence as possible at the scene of the accident, or as soon as you can afterward. This includes collecting the contact information for everyone involved, including drivers and passengers, and their insurance information. If you are unable to do this yourself due to your injuries, ask a witness or another person to collect the information on your behalf. Additionally, be careful of what you say at the scene of the accident. You are likely to be stressed and emotional after the crash, which may lead you to make statements that can hurt your case later on. Try to avoid admitting fault at the scene, and never make any promises to other drivers or witnesses that you cannot keep.
Whether you are able to collect the evidence yourself or not, it’s a good idea to get a copy of the police report from the scene of the accident as soon as you can. The police officer’s report will contain valuable information about the cause of the crash as well as their assessment of who is responsible for the collision. This evidence is crucial for your car accident lawyer, especially when arguing that the other driver was at fault.
Photographic and video evidence is important because it can provide visual proof of how the crash happened and the extent of your injuries. Take pictures of all visible damage to your vehicle and others’ vehicles, as well as any other personal property that was damaged in the crash. The pictures should also be taken from all sides and angles of each vehicle, as this will help your attorney reconstruct the accident to demonstrate how it occurred.
Calculating the Total Value of Your Claim
The insurance companies for the negligent parties are looking to minimize or deny your claim, and a car accident lawyer can be your advocate to fight for the compensation you deserve. An experienced car accident lawyer can handle the communications with the insurance adjusters and their representatives to ensure that you are being treated fairly, and that all of your damages are considered.
A car accident attorney can also help you calculate the total value of your claim for physical damages, pain and suffering, lost current and future wages, and property damage. The amount of these damages varies depending on the state laws and what happened in the crash.
It is important to seek medical attention immediately after a crash. Not only will this ensure that your injuries are diagnosed and treated, but it will also provide documentation that supports your case in the event that the responsible party attempts to challenge the legitimacy of your injury claims. Obtaining medical care early will also establish causation, which is necessary to prove negligence in a car accident case.
While it may be tempting to get out of the scene of the accident, it is important to remain at the scene until a police officer arrives to file an official accident report. This will allow the insurance companies to identify the other drivers and vehicles involved in the accident, and it will help to ensure that all relevant evidence is collected.
Another important step is to make sure you contact a car accident attorney as soon as possible after your crash. A lawyer can start working on your case while the accident is fresh in your mind, and they can gather critical information that you may have missed at the time of the crash.
An accident lawyer can also assist with cases that involve multiple liable parties or are complex, such as crashes involving rideshare cars, commercial trucks, public transportation, and sanitation vehicles. A lawyer can help you track down all liable parties and negotiate settlements with them.
Car accidents are not just about physical damage, they can be very emotional as well. An experienced car accident attorney can help you through the process of claiming compensation for your damages, so you can focus on healing and moving forward. They will work on a contingency fee basis, which means they only get paid if you win your case.