What To Do if You Are Injured in a Car Accident?
Dealing with the aftermath of a car accident can be extremely stressful and overwhelming. If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident in Washington State, you may be wondering what to do if you are injured in a car accident? A Bellingham car accident personal injury attorney can give you peace of mind. During the free consultation, the injury lawyer will gather information about your accident and injuries and make an assessment of the true value of your claim. Should you decide to work together, your car accident lawyer will gather evidence, ensure you receive appropriate medical care, negotiate the maximum settlement possible for your case, and so much more. In this article, we will cover the top five things we think you should know if you’ve been injured in a car accident.
What To Do if You Are Injured in a Car Accident?
As personal injury lawyers, these are the top five things we want everyone who has been injured in a car accident to know.
- Insurance companies will almost always try to get away with a low-ball settlement
If there is one thing you need to know about insurance companies it’s that they aren’t in business to pay out fair settlements. Their priority is their bottom line, not their clients and certainly not the person injured by one of their clients. If you were injured by a negligent driver, you likely received a call from the at-fault insurer shortly after the accident claim was received to ask questions that will benefit them and/or to make a lowball settlement offer. It is important to seek legal guidance from a personal injury lawyer before speaking to an insurance adjuster and definitely before accepting an insurance settlement offer.
- It costs nothing to consult with or hire a car accident lawyer and you have a lot to gain
It’s generally wise to consult with an accident attorney, especially if your case involves injuries or complex circumstances such as disputed liability or a multi-vehicle accident. Even if you aren’t sure if you could benefit from the help of an injury lawyer, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Personal injury lawyers generally offer a free consultation and charge on a contingency fee basis, which means clients pay nothing out-of-pocket. Lawyers are compensated from a percentage of the injury settlement and a good injury attorney typically recovers settlements five to 20 times larger than the injured party could negotiate on their own.
- Be wary of ads from large, out of area law firms
There are many large personal injury law firms from big cities that advertise nationally or far outside their region with misleading advertising methods to give the impression that they operate locally while they actually don’t. They often use aggressive advertising methods on TV, radio, and online platforms that attempt to trick people into thinking they are local by using local area codes or generic city names. Some of these firms even rent virtual offices or shared workspaces to create a local presence while their personal injury attorneys physically work from distant cities or other states. When accident victims hire an out-of-town lawyer, their cases often face similar issues including lack of access to the actual attorney who is handling their case, inability to drop materials off in person, and rushed settlements. In addition, the distance approach can lead to long periods with no updates, missed opportunities, and a lack of firsthand knowledge about the evidence in your case.
- There are several things you should avoid after a car accident
After a car accident, your actions can significantly impact your ability to recover damages and protect your legal rights. There are several things that people injured in accidents should avoid doing:
- Never forget to call your insurance company to notify them of the accident
- Never forget to exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver
- Never forget to gather evidence at the scene by taking pictures
- Never lie to either insurance company or to the police officer about what happened in the accident
- Never admit fault to the at-fault driver’s insurance company, the other driver, or to the police officer
- Never post about your accident or injuries on social media
- Never talk to the at-fault driver’s insurance company without first getting legal advice from your own personal injury lawyer
- Never accept an accident settlement before reviewing the offer with your own personal injury lawyer
- Never leave the scene before insurance and contact information has been exchanged and the police have come to write the accident report
- Never skip a medical evaluation as soon as possible after the accident – even if you don’t think you were injured
- Never assume that you don’t need a lawyer
- It takes time to settle an injury claim
If you’ve been injured in an accident, it’s important to know that personal injury claims aren’t typically settled quickly. Even though lawyers can usually reach a fair settlement without going to trial, the negotiation process can still take quite a bit of time. It’s important to understand that when injury lawyers push too hard to wrap the case up quickly, the injured party may not end up getting all the money they deserve for their injuries. The time it takes to settle a personal injury claim can vary widely and depends on several factors. On average, it often takes one to two years to settle a personal injury case but more complicated cases or those involving catastrophic injuries may take two to three years if the at-fault insurance company will not agree to a reasonable settlement.
Seek the Help of a Bellingham Car Accident Personal Injury Attorney
If you or a loved one was injured in a collision because of the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Let an experienced car accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of the best car accident lawyer near me. Call the car accident personal injury attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing people injured in Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County, and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
