With the frequency of car crashes increasing every year, it is important to know how to protect your rights after a car crash. The following article will help guide you through the process that is already hard on its own, so, here is how you can protect your rights after a car crash.
Protect Your Rights After A Car Crash
1. Get a car accident attorney
It is very important that you get in touch with a car accident attorney as soon as possible after the collision. This way, they can start work on your case right away and make sure that all evidence is still presentable.
Make sure to do some research on local attorneys before making any decisions, and read reviews from previous clients if possible. This is because they have experience in the local area. This means that you are not just working with a lawyer who is learning on your case as it goes, but rather someone who has worked on many cases similar to yours before.
For instance, if you live in South Carolina, you can get a car accident attorney in North Myrtle Beach or some other city that is closer to you.
A local lawyer also knows better than anyone else how important time can be when dealing with car accident cases, so they will do everything possible to move things along as quickly as possible.
2. Meet with the insurer and get a medical evaluation
After you have sought out legal representation, it is time to meet with the insurance company. Personal injury cases are based on the idea of negligence, so it is important to be able to show that your injuries were directly caused by another party who acted negligently.
This means you will have to meet with the insurer and discuss what happened in order for them to determine whether they should accept or deny your claim. It is key to get a full medical evaluation from a doctor after a car crash. If you do not have any doctor available in your area, then try to find a doctor willing to travel.
This way they can take a look at all of your injuries and determine if there is permanent damage done or other things that need tending to.
3. Get all paperwork together
If you were involved in a car crash, then there are probably many papers that you have been given during this time. It is important that you gather these documents before anything else happens because they are necessary when filing an insurance claim or suit against another party.
For example, if you are filing a suit against the person who was at fault for the accident, keep track of their driving record. This means keeping copies of tickets and accidents they have been in before because it can help you win your case if this person has a history of risky driving habits.
4. Don’t speak with the other party
After you have gathered your documentation and spoken to the insurance company, there is one thing that you should never do: speak with the other party. You may think that it would be helpful or necessary to reach out and make sure they realize what has happened as a result of their actions, but doing this can actually hurt your case.
If you speak with them about anything related to how your injuries were caused, they will most likely use those conversations against you in court, since it shows that you acknowledged that their actions had something to do with the injuries that were caused.
Instead of trying to talk things out right away, speak with an attorney first, so they can figure out the best way to handle any conversation with the other party moving forward.
5. File the claim
Once you have gathered all the information that you need and had a full medical evaluation, it is time to move forward with your claim. The first thing you need to do when filing a lawsuit for damages caused by a car crash is written out an official letter of intent. This letter needs to contain your personal details such as name and address, along with the other party’s details such as their name and address.
Next, add in the date, time, and location of the accident. Finally, end the letter by detailing everything that has happened up until this point in order to support your claim. Documentation is important when you want to be able to keep track of everything that happens throughout your case, as well as stay organized.
The best way to do this is by keeping a file for your case that you can use to keep all the necessary paperwork together.
The law has many steps that need to be taken in order for you to get the compensation you deserve, so it is important to understand that this will not happen overnight.