Lawsuits are one way for victims of wrong-way accidents to get compensation. But other methods can secure compensation for your damages, which may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other harm.
You do not have to fight for a financial recovery after your accident. You can focus on the recovery process while your car accident attorney fights for the compensation you deserve.
You Deserve Fair Compensation for a Wrong-Way Accident
Car accidents always come at a cost. While it is not always immediately clear what that cost is, you can rest assured that your collision has impacted you in economic and non-economic ways.
If you hire a car accident lawyer, they may secure money for your damages via:
- An insurance claim
- A lawsuit
Your attorney may first attempt to secure compensation through an insurance claim, as auto insurance exists to cover victims’ damages.
However, a lawsuit may become necessary if:
- Liable parties lack insurance
- The circumstances of the accident do not fall under insurance coverage
- The amount of insurance provided does not cover the cost of your damages
- You have certain damages that insurance does not cover
- The insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement
You do not have to worry about any insurance claim or lawsuit details. Your attorney will deal with insurers, negotiate a possible settlement, and advise you whether a lawsuit is necessary.
Reasons to Hire a Wrong-Way Accident Lawyer After Your Collision
Car accident victims may have several reasons for hiring their attorney. Some of the leading cases for relying on a car accident lawyer are:
Your Health Requires Your Attention
You should receive a comprehensive examination after your accident.
Your doctor may advise that you:
- Rest
- Receive certain treatments for your injuries
- Undergo ongoing diagnostic testing and imaging
- Avoid physical and psychological stress
These recommendations are at odds with handling the legal process. If you even attempt to begin your own case, you may have to handle both physical and cognitive demands that place your health at risk.
Your existing symptoms may get worse, and you can even develop new health problems if you fail to follow your doctor’s guidelines.
You Don’t Need the Stress of an Insurance Claim or Lawsuit
While we often think of physical injuries from car accidents, victims often suffer psychological and emotional harm, too. In some cases, this harm qualifies as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Just as much as you may need physical rest, you may also need psychological rest. If you immediately begin dealing with an insurance claim or lawsuit after the accident, psychological decompression may be impossible.
You May Lack Relevant Experience (Experience a Lawyer Does Have)
The typical car accident victim has not handled many insurance claims or lawsuits, if any.
If you lack experience in these areas, you may:
- Fail to accurately estimate how complex your case will be or what exactly the case will require of you
- Be unfamiliar with the specific challenges (such as an insurer’s bad-faith tactics) that may lie ahead of you
- Find yourself confronting insurance and legal terms and procedures that you are unfamiliar with (and find difficult to navigate)
- Spend significant time trying to learn the ins and outs of your insurance claim or lawsuit
- Fail to present a strong case
- Fail to obtain the compensation you deserve
As you can see, pursuing compensation without the right legal representation involves significant risk.
A Law Firm Can Ease Your Financial Burden (In Multiple Ways)
Some people assume that hiring a car accident lawyer is costly.
Actually, hiring a law firm may ease your financial burden by:
- By covering the entire upfront cost of your case
- By providing services that you may not otherwise have access to (such as expert services and expert testimony)
- By tying their fee to your financial recovery (the law firm will only receive a fee if they secure compensation for you, and the firm’s fee will come from your settlement or verdict)
Having a law firm pay the cost of your case is a welcome prospect for many car accident victims. Money can be tight after a collision, especially if the accident victim cannot work after the accident.
You Face No Direct Financial Risk in Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer
Under no circumstance will you pay a reputable car accident lawyer out of your pocket. If the firm succeeds for you, it will receive a modest portion of your financial recovery. If the law firm does not secure compensation for you, you are not responsible for paying the firm.
Your Attorney Will Lead Every Step of Your Insurance Claim or Lawsuit
When you hire a car accident lawyer, you will have an entire legal team representing you—the lawyer, paralegals, and perhaps experts. With a whole team building your case, the law firm can handle every detail.
You can rest and care for your injuries while your legal team:
Responds to the Accident Scene (Time Permitting)
Depending on when you hire your car accident lawyer, they may respond to the scene of your accident.
Even if your attorney can’t get to the accident scene (perhaps because the scene has been cleared), your lawyer will seek:
- Eyewitness accounts that may support your account of the accident
- Video footage of the collision or events leading to the collision
- The police report from the responding law enforcement officer
- Photographs of vehicle damage, which can help tell the story of the collision
- An expert’s reconstruction of the accident
Each accident presents different evidence. A dynamic attorney will secure all available evidence and piece the evidence together to create a compelling case.
Documents Your Accident-Related Damages
Your lawyer will secure all available proof of your damages, which may include:
- Medical bills
- Your doctor’s diagnosis of injuries
- Images of your injuries
- Invoices for vehicle repairs, temporary transportation, and other property expenses
- Mental health experts’ diagnoses of your pain and suffering
- Past income records to prove how much income you have lost post-accident
- Any other proof of your economic or non-economic damages
Documentation goes hand in hand with your lawyer’s settlement calculation. As your attorney argues for the compensation you deserve, they need proof of your damages.
Determines How Much Money You Deserve
A car accident causing disabling injuries can cost an overwhelming amount in damages without even accounting for the non-economic cost of a collision. While you might know you deserve some compensation for your losses, you might have no idea how much to demand or accept.
Insurance companies underestimate claim values to pay out as little as possible. Never trust an adjuster’s assessment of your damages. Further, never accept a settlement offer without first discussing it with a car accident attorney.
Your lawyer’s concern will be accurately calculating your damages. The attorney will create a detailed record of those damages and assign a financial value to each. This record will determine how much money your lawyer seeks during settlement negotiations.
Conducts Settlement Negotiations
Attorneys negotiate financial settlements on their clients’ behalf. Though settlements are the most common way to pay car accident victims, your lawyer should only accept a settlement covering all your damages.
Reviews Settlement Offers With You (and Discusses the Possibility of a Trial)
As your lawyer receives settlement offers from insurers or other liable parties, they will discuss the offer with you. Your attorney may complete multiple negotiating sessions with liable parties, as those liable parties may fight tirelessly to avoid paying the compensation you deserve.
Completes Any Necessary Trial
If your lawyer completes every round of settlement talks without receiving a fair offer, they may proceed to trial. Your attorney will discuss this option with you so you are prepared and comfortable with the case strategy.
There Is No Excuse for Wrong-Way Driving—But Your Lawyer Will Determine the Reason for Your Accident
As part of their services, your attorney will gather all the facts about your wrong-way accident. Drivers drive the wrong way for several reasons, none of which is excusable.
Your lawyer will determine if a motorist struck you because:
- They were visually impaired: Every driver must only get behind the wheel if they can operate a vehicle safely. Those who drive while visually impaired put themselves and others at risk and can make mistakes like driving in traffic.
- They were intoxicated: Impairment is one of the clearest hazards of driving the wrong way. If a motorist is impaired by alcohol or drugs, they may be inattentive, unable to process their surroundings, impulsive, or otherwise hazardous.
- They were tired: A tired motorist is less alert. This may cause them to miss one-way traffic signals and cause a head-on accident.
- They tried to save time: One-way roads can be an inconvenience. Those in a rush may knowingly drive in the wrong direction on a one-way street. When these negligent drivers cause a collision, they are typically responsible for their victims’ damages.
- They were thrill-seeking: Believe it or not, some motorists drive the wrong way for thrills.
Your lawyer will document the liable parties’ negligence. This evidence may leave no doubt that the liable parties owe you compensation for your accident-related damages.
Your Lawyer Will Seek Compensation Covering All of Your Accident-Related Damages
Your attorney will evaluate all of your damages so they can seek the compensation you deserve. Those damages may include:
Pain and Suffering (and Other Non-Economic Harm)
While you likely have many financial expenses (like medical costs), a wrong-way car accident may also affect you in non-financial ways.
Pain and suffering is one of the most common types of non-economic damages, and can include:
- Physical pain
- Depression
- Anxiety, which may include a fear of being in a motor vehicle
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mood and personality changes
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Sleep problems
- Lost quality of life
Your lawyer may have a mental health expert evaluate you. This expert may help diagnose you, recommend treatment, and help calculate the cost of your future care.
Lost Income
If you can’t work after your car accident, you may receive compensation for:
- Lost income
- Diminished earning power
- Lost bonuses
- Lost promotions
- Lost benefits
- Any other work-related losses from your accident
Your lawyer will factor this into your settlement calculation if you have a long-term (or permanent) work absence.
Vehicle Repairs
If your vehicle was involved in a wrong-way car accident, your lawyer will seek compensation covering the repair or replacement. Your attorney will also evaluate the cost of temporary transportation and replacing any other damaged property.
Healthcare Expenses
Your attorney will include all accident-related medical bills in your case. Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries, these bills can stem from emergency services, surgeries, rehabilitation, and other medical services.
How Much Is a Wrong-Way Accident Case Worth?
The value of car accident cases can significantly depend on:
- The victim’s injury type
- The severity of the victim’s injuries
- Whether any injuries qualify as disabling
- The total monetary cost of the victim’s accident-related damages
- The extent of the victim’s non-economic damages, including pain and suffering
Every car accident warrants a conversation with a law firm. Never assume that your injuries are too minor or damages are not expensive enough to hire an attorney. Car accident lawyers seek fair compensation for all car accident victims, so complete free consultation with potential law firms today.
You Case Faces a Strict Deadline
Car accident lawyers usually face a deadline for filing their clients’ insurance claims and lawsuits. Hire a law firm as soon as possible to complete your case’s filing deadline. If you miss the filing deadline, you may be unable to seek compensation for your accident-related damages.
Once you hire a personal injury lawyer, they will create and file your case as soon as possible. They will then handle every other step in your case. Research local law firms and complete free consultations with respected local attorneys as soon as possible.