Five Things to Do After an Accident
What to Do After an Accident
Tips From Our Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyers
Get Free Advice From An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer.
The Following Are 5 Recommended Actions, Provided By Our Law Firm:
Call Your Local Emergency Response Team
When you dial 9-1-1 at the scene of an accident, you are likely to receive attention from both medics and police officers. Having both at the scene of the accident can be greatly beneficial to the outcome of your case.
Don’t Talk About the Accident
It is very important that you do not apologize or speak with the other driver or their insurance company about the accident. Simply saying “sorry” can be misconstrued as taking the blame for the accident, resulting in a possible failure to pursue the financial compensation that you need.
Take Photographs of the Scene of the Accident
Make sure to document everything from the accident. From the damage to the vehicle or property to any injuries you may have, this will all be necessary down the line. It is especially important to document the injuries that you have sustained or ask a doctor to do so, as some injuries will fade over time.
Don’t Speak with the Insurance Adjuster
Anything you may say to the insurance agent for the other driver can be misinterpreted, both intentionally and unintentionally. If you accept an initial offer from the insurance company, it is highly likely that you will be unable to settle for a larger amount in the future if the cost of your accident is larger than you originally believed.
Speak with an Attorney Right Away
Talking to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible will be your best chance at finding a positive outcome in your case. Here at Ace Your Case, P.A., we understand that being involved in an accident can be a difficult time in a person’s life. Our firm is dedicated to providing personal service for every case, as we believe that this is the key to success. We will stand by your side during the entire process and we will push to find the best possible solution for you and your family.
over
10+
of Millions Recovered
Over 30 Years Providing Exemplary Legal Care
Not only do our Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys at Ace Your Case, P.A. truly care about each and every client that comes to us, but we also fight relentlessly to protect their rights against everything from bad faith insurance to other negligent individuals. Working on a contingency fee basis, we will never get paid unless we work tirelessly to obtain results on your behalf. Investigating each piece of evidence, witness, and critical information, our legal team is adept at handling any type of accident and injury case.
Â
We offer a free consultation to our potential clients so that we can help put their minds at ease and allow them to see why hiring an injury lawyer could be the best move possible. By contacting our office, you have nothing to lose, but potentially everything to gain in return. Do not hesitate as timing is everything with these types of cases. Call our office at (954) 807-4665 !
Our Firm Is Here To Help
Plantation Personal Injury FAQs
When Is It the Right Time to Call a Personal Injury Lawyer?
The right time to call is as soon as possible after your accident. There are many reasons why you need to begin the legal process as quickly as you can. The legal process may even begin without you, with many calls from the insurance company trying to either rush you or to pressure you to give a statement. They may try to catch you unaware and trick you into compromising your legal rights. Hiring an attorney could prevent this from happening.
Â
Equally important, as time passes from the time of your accident, the evidence that could help your claim can become harder to find. People might quickly clear the scene of the accident, and you may lose the ability to contact witnesses. The witnesses that you have may begin to lose their recollection of what they saw. When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they will get to work immediately to gather the evidence before it is lost.
Â
Calling a lawyer to get started on your case is a crucial step in the legal process. Knowing that you have someone on the job with the experience and tenacity to fight for you can give you at least some peace of mind during an undoubtedly difficult time.
How Do Insurance Settlement Negotiations Work?
An insurance claim is just like any other negotiation. You have a number in mind for what you think that you should receive for your injuries, and the insurance company has a much lower number in mind for what it wants to pay. Your insurance claim begins when your Plantation personal injury attorney files a demand letter with the insurance company. This is when the adjuster goes to work to try to save money for their bosses.
The insurance adjuster may outright deny your claim or question liability. They may come back with a settlement offer. When the number seems low, and it will, know that this is just their opening offer. Your Plantation injury attorney will likely reject the offer and respond with your own demand.
Eventually, you will lower your number, and the insurance company will raise theirs, and you could meet somewhere in the middle. This is a time-honored dance that personal injury lawyers have been doing with insurance companies since the advent of courtrooms. Even when you seem very far apart from the insurance company, most cases eventually will settle.
What Happens After I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is an early part of the claim process. Most cases will never go far enough to see the inside of a courtroom. Statistically speaking, a vast majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court. However, if your case does make it to court, you should expect going into it that the trial process may take one to two years to complete. The legal system is far from rushed, as courts and judges have busy schedules and full dockets.
In the short term, you can expect motions and attempts to obtain evidence. Many people associate a lawsuit with a trial, but that only happens after many months of the nuts and bolts of the legal system. The phase of your case that will take the longest time is discovery. This is when the two sides obtain evidence that the other has in their possession. At this point, you may even need to sit for a deposition.
Filing a lawsuit will not cut off settlement negotiations. As was previously mentioned, most cases will settle without a trial. If anything, litigation may give each side more incentive to settle. The two parties usually continue negotiating right up until the point when the jury is seated.
What Evidence Can Prove My Injury Claim?
Negligence is the basis of every personal injury claim. When you file a lawsuit in court, you have the burden of proof. It will be up to you to show that what you say is more likely than not to have happened. You need to back your claim up with evidence.
Â
Your Plantation personal injury lawyer will work to gather things that can backup your side of the story, including:
— Witness statements from people who say your injury or accident
— Pictures of the scene of your accident
— Security camera footage
— Expert witness testimony that could reconstruct the accident
— Maintenance logs of the area or vehicle involved
— Medical records that can help prove damages
Â
These are things that can be difficult to get on your own and piece together to tell the story of what happened. Injury lawyers in Plantation, Florida, know how to both get the evidence and use it to prove that someone else was responsible for your accident.
What if I Cannot Work Due to My Injuries?
Your personal injury damages include both economic and non-economic compensation. Economic compensation aims to pay you back for the actual money that you lost. This includes bills that you paid and earnings you lost. This specifically pays you back for lost wages from your job when you are unable to work. Since you would have worked, this is money out of your pocket.
Lost wages in a personal injury settlement are much broader than you think. Of course, this includes the time that you have already missed from work. It also encompasses time that you will miss from work in the future. You do not need to outright miss work to receive compensation for this. For example, if you were qualified for a promotion but cannot get it now because your injury limits you in the type of work that you can do, you can get compensation for the reduction in your earning capacity.
Lost wages are often a very contested part of your personal injury claim because you can bet that the insurance company will see things differently to try to lower its bill. They may dispute what your possible earnings are or use a lower rate of inflation to calculate what they may be in the future.
Hear It From Our Clients
“Ace Your Case Excellent Attorneys”
Personal injury attorneys Craig Posner and Eric Feingold are both excellent attorneys, but more importantly, they are excellent people. I have seen first hand their hard work and dedication to clients. I would not hesitate to recommend their services to others.
“Great Guys Who Take Their Job Seriously”
Great guys who take their job seriously. They took care of me when I had my accident and made sure I was walked through 100% of the way.
“Pleasure And Blessing To Have Ace Your Case Represent My Family”
It has been a pleasure and blessing to have Ace Your Case represent my family. They always kept me updated on our case. The staff was excellent they always got back to me on questions I had. I highly recommend them and will continue to use them if needed.
“Not Only Very Efficient But Caring As Well”
These lawyers are not only very efficient, but caring as well. I would not hesitate to refer them to anyone.
“I Highly Recommend Them!”
Big thanks to Eric and Doug for doing a great job with the handling of my auto accident. I highly recommend them!
Lates News & Articles
