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After you’ve been in a car accident, time is of the essence when it comes to protecting your rights. You can increase your chances of recovering compensation by acting fast and taking the right actions. A car accident attorney can assist you in protecting your rights.
When you work with a car accident attorney from The Thumbs Up Guys, you can be confident in your case. Our lawyers strive to ensure we protect your rights and the compensation you’re eligible for. Read on to learn more about what you can do to protect your rights after a car accident.
Contact the Police and Your Insurance Company
The first thing you should do after a car accident is call the police and inform your insurance company of the accident. When the police arrive, they will collect evidence and compile it into a police report along with their observations of the accident. You should tell the truth about how the accident occurred in as much detail as possible.
By calling your insurance company, it will make the insurance claims process much easier because the insurance company will be able to connect your accident to your claim when you file it. If you don’t contact your insurance company, they may have issues processing your claim, giving them an excuse to delay your claim.
When you contact the police and your insurance company, you protect your rights by alerting law enforcement and your insurance company before someone else does. This way, there’s a record of your report that both can reference.
Receive Proper Medical Treatment
The next thing you should do after a car accident to protect your rights is to seek medical help from a professional. By doing so, you can get a diagnosis of your injuries and discover if you have any invisible injuries that could worsen over time. Preventative care can help treat any injuries you have and stop them from worsening as time goes on.
Getting the medical treatment you need can help protect your rights by getting documentation of your injuries in relation to the accident. Later on, you can use your medical records as evidence in your case.
Receiving medical treatment is essential to your potential car accident case. In some cases, if you don’t take action and seek medical attention immediately, a lawyer may refuse to take on your case. This may be due to the loss of medical evidence or a suspicion that you don’t have genuine intentions.
Collect Evidence
Another way you can protect your rights after a car crash is to collect evidence at the scene of the accident. Strong evidence gives you a higher chance of winning your case with the maximum compensation. By collecting evidence, you document what happened through verifiable objects involved with your claim.
There are many pieces of evidence you can showcase to prove your claim. The most common evidence in a car accident is:
- Pieces of debris
- Police report
- Photos and videos of the accident
- Witness testimonies
- Photos of your injuries
- Medical records
- Bills from the accident
By having this evidence, you can build a strong case to prove the other parties are at fault for your injuries. You protect your rights and also yourself against the other party accusing you of being at fault for the accident.
Documenting Your Damages
As you collect evidence, another way you can protect yourself is to write down what damages you’ve suffered. Common damages car accident victims suffer include:
- Medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Loss of consortium
- Car repairs
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- Physical therapy
- Funeral and burial expenses
The key to determining what damages to document is to think about how the accident affected your life. If you have suffered financially, write down in detail what it was that you lost and how much. These are called economic damages.
Or if it wasn’t a financial loss, but a long-term effect on how you live your life, describe the pain or loss you suffered. These are called non-economic damages.
How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help Protect Your Rights
Of course, hiring a lawyer is the most effective way to protect your rights after a car crash. They can advocate for you and defend you against any opposition. Common ways a car accident attorney can protect you after a crash include:
Filing a Personal Injury Claim
One of the first actions our lawyers can help you take to protect your rights is to file a car accident claim. They can ensure you file within the state’s statute of limitations with all the proper paperwork.
Once you submit your claim, you are one step closer to recovering compensation. Keep in mind that depending on your case details, you may have more or less time to file. Therefore, we recommend you file your claim as soon as possible.
Negotiate a Settlement
When talking to the insurance company, the at-fault party, or your own, you should always have a car accident attorney by your side to protect your rights. Our attorneys are aware of the insurance company’s tactics to deny or devalue claims and can prevent you from becoming another victim of them.
Our lawyer will remain calm when the insurance claims adjuster tries to accuse you of exaggerating your injuries or having a fault in the accident. Then, we’ll use evidence to back up your claim. If you had met with the insurance company alone, you may have felt pressured under the insurance claims adjuster’s accusations and acted in a negative way.
Insurance companies look for any negative emotion as an excuse to pin the blame on you. So by acting out, they could significantly decrease your settlement out of suspicion. But when you talk with the insurance company with a car crash attorney accompanying you, you have strong negotiating power and a high chance of receiving maximum compensation.
Taking Your Case to Court
If you and your lawyer are unable to reach a settlement agreement that matches your financial needs, we can take your case to court. However, it’s important to remember that there are risks of going to court, such as there’s no guarantee that you’ll walk away with money as you would in negotiation.
But our lawyers are experienced in court and can protect your rights and advocate for you from the point of discovery to winning the case. When you choose The Thumbs Up Guys, you’re getting what you see on our TV commercials: dedicated lawyers who are well-versed in personal injury law and willing to fight for you.
Learn More About How You Can Protect Your Rights After a Car Accident
Protecting your rights after a car accident can be difficult when you’re in pain. But when you turn to The Thumbs Up Guys, we can help you with all the tasks mentioned above while you rest and recover from your injuries.
Call us or fill out the contact form on our website to learn more about how to protect your legal rights and rights to compensation after a car accident.
