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A car crash is an incredibly sudden occurrence, and it can change the course of your life just as suddenly as it happens. Injured drivers need medical attention and as a victim, you need to have all expenses covered. After all, it wasn't your fault that someone else displayed negligence and ended up potentially causing both bodily harm and physical damage.
The only question is, how do you balance getting care for your personal injury, managing the compensation aspect, and handling the frustration and other unwanted emotions you are likely feeling? Technically, you don't need to do it all on your own. That's why auto accident lawyers are here.
If you've found yourself on the victim end of a vehicle collision, then you need to retain the services of a Chesterfield car accident attorney. Powell Law Firm has a team consisting of some of the best lawyers in the St. Louis area. Schedule a free consultation today by calling (314) 470-1374.
What Are Your Priorities After an Auto Accident?
One of the worst things you can do after a car accident is to take the wrong series of steps, as you may end up jeopardizing the efforts of your personal injury lawyer. Here's a look at what those who may end up filing personal injury claims should do after motor vehicle accidents.
Medical Treatment
Nothing is more important following an accident than getting the medical treatment you need, especially since you don't know if you're dealing with severe injuries sometimes. You may feel fine and be suffering from internal bleeding. Apart from taking care of yourself, this course of action generates documentation such as medical bills that can be used by an experienced car accident lawyer to support your case.
Police Report
Once a car accident occurred, an officer is typically dispatched to the accident scene. One of the main elements of the said officer's legal duty is to collect statements from the parties involved in the auto accident. Do not neglect to give your statement if possible. If your condition rendered you unable to do so initially, ensure you visit the police station to get it done thereafter.
Evidence
When auto accidents happen, there's a lot of information that needs to be collected to support an injury claim. Being able to account for fault, the point of impact of the car collision, property damage done, etc. is very beneficial. To this end, you want to gather as many insights as possible including photos, contact information for witnesses, the driver's license number and registration information of the drivers involved, etc.
Calling Your Attorney
Once you can do so, you need to reach out to your personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Car accident cases are much better handled when law firms get involved in the earlier stages. This allows you to get the kind of direction you need to increase the potential of filing a successful personal injury claim.
How Car Accident Attorneys Help You
Why do you need a Chesterfield car accident lawyer to provide legal representation for your case? Here are a few good reasons.
Insurance Company Negotiation
After being a victim of a vehicle-related accident, the negligent party's insurance company may reach out to you with questions about your condition and may even offer some compensation. The firm is only attempting to subvert justice and prevent you from getting what you are truly owed with these kinds of settlement offers.
A Chesterfield car accident attorney knows how to deal with such companies, and through aggressive representation, can negotiate for fair compensation on your behalf.
Case Building
Winning personal injury cases is based on building a solid foundation. There are police reports, other drivers, and other cars involved, all of which present variables to deal with. Of course, there is your medical condition and whatever implications it has had for the course of your life.
A Chesterfield car accident lawyer is adept at collating information following car crashes to ensure your case is solid enough for you to be adequately compensated. Ensure that you support the attorney with information where necessary.
Legal Representation
As you seek compensation, there are many legalities involved that you may not even understand. Traffic laws in Chesterfield, MO may not be as clear-cut as you think. This is where a legal team demonstrates its value. Your car accident attorney is an extension of you.
You can think of it as having someone with extensive experience in the legal field acting in your best interest throughout the entire car accident claim process.
Guidance
Even after having handled the car accident scene element well, you can still jeopardize your chances of securing the compensation you deserve. Therefore, your Chesterfield car accident attorney continues to provide you with the necessary insights to ensure the best possible outcome for your case.
How Are Settlements Calculated After Car Accidents?
While you may be aware that your personal injury attorney is meant to help you recover a settlement after a car crash, you may not be familiar with how this is done or what goes into it. Under Missouri law, there are economic and non-economic damages. Here is a breakdown to assist you.
Economic Damages
These are damages that a dollar value can be used to quantify based on a cost that has been established and is calculatable.
Lost Wages
Car accidents often lead to injuries that render workers unable to complete their typical tasks. For example, because of aggressive driving on the part of the negligent party, you may have ended up with a spinal cord injury that renders you temporarily unable to use your legs. If employed as a driver, you would likely be missing out on your wages during your recovery time. A Chesterfield car accident attorney would assist you in recovering the amount missed.
Medical Bills
Medical records are a great indicator that car crashes necessitated treatment of a victim, which is something that a personal injury lawyer needs to prove. Additionally, it details the costs associated with your treatment, meaning that your car accident lawyer can help you to claim for past and future medical bills you must deal with.
Vehicular Damage
Car accidents also lead to property damage. Rear-end collisions, for example, may leave you needing to fix the back of your vehicle. A Chesterfield car accident attorney will help you recover vehicular and other property damage.
Non-economic Damages
These are not typically tied to a dollar value, but a Chesterfield car accident attorney can help quantify such entitlements.
Loss of Consortium
This is typically filed by a spouse of the injured party. Broken bones or other injuries may have led to an inability to meet marital requirements.
Wrongful Death
A family member of the deceased person would file this claim. It may also be counted as economic by accident lawyers in Chesterfield if the dead person was an income earner in the household.
Pain and Suffering
The primary concern here is the physical pain and mental anguish that you may be dealing with purely because of the car accident.
Typical Causes of Car Accidents in Missouri
You typically find that car accidents happen for a series of reasons. Here is a look at some of the most common causes associated with them.
Speeding
Missouri residents, as do people in other areas, are presented with speed limitations to prevent themselves from causing these types of car accidents. However, speeding still often happens and causes car collisions.
Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
Motorists are never supposed to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Mind-altering substances can contribute heavily to an auto accident, even given excellent road conditions.
Distracted Driving
Drivers are expected to pay attention as they use the roadway to get to their destinations. Doing so allows them to see red lights, other drivers, pedestrians, etc. However, accidents often happen based solely on a failure to do so.
Failure to Yield
Road signs and traffic lights are a big part of the driving experience. They are intended to advise motorists on how to proceed in certain areas. Unfortunately, people don't always focus on what the signs are saying, and even if they do, acting per the signals in the Chesterfield area doesn't guarantee that another motorist won't cause an accident by not doing the same.
A failure to yield is one of the primary such occurrences and can lead to an incredibly dangerous auto accident with dire consequences.
Mechanical Challenges
Sometimes a car accident has nothing to do with reckless driving on the day. The challenge could be mechanical. Faulty design may be to blame or the maintenance of a vehicle is poor. This may cause the vehicle not to work as intended, which constitutes an incredibly dangerous prospect.
The Implications of the Comparative Fault Clause
Your Chesterfield car accident attorney may advise you that Missouri is a comparative fault state. This is one of the reasons you must be extremely careful on the road to ensure that you never put yourself in a situation where you are a part of the reason an auto accident happened, even if you are the victim.
Think of comparative fault as a percentage of responsibility. One party can be completely responsible for a car accident. On the other hand, another party may bear some of the responsibility.
Should you be partially responsible for a car accident and seek compensation in Chesterfield, MO, your settlement is likely going to be adjusted downward based on the extent to which you are to blame.
Attributes of Good Car Accident Lawyers
Before you retain a Chesterfield car accident attorney to represent you in your case, you may want to know what kind of attributes you should be looking for. After all, the result of the case could determine the extent to which you can return to whatever normalcy was before the car accident happened.
Qualifications and Accolades
The last thing you want is to be dealing with an underqualified lawyer, especially given the severity of the situation. You should never be compromising on validating that the required credentials are present.
Remember that all attorneys who can legally practice must be called to the bar. Therefore, you can gather information from the state bar association to validate your car accident attorney's license to find the best St Louis car accident law firm.
Relevant Experience
While you want your Chesterfield car accident attorney to be qualified, it all falls flat without the relevant experience. Notice that the word "relevant" is used here. You want a demonstration of proven results in cases like yours.
Remember that attorneys have specialization areas much like doctors. You wouldn't visit a chiropractor for an ear infection. In the same way, you want to ensure that you are choosing a personal injury lawyer who specializes in practice areas that include car accidents.
Acknowledgment of Uniqueness
The experience that your personal injury lawyer has is not supposed to take away from the uniqueness of your case. Unfortunately, this is often the case. Even if there are elements of similarity between your case and another, the previous experience should be used to support your case only.
Instead, some attorneys may simply treat your case as a carbon copy, making every important decision the same way as before. What you need is a local Chesterfield car accident attorney who recognizes and acknowledges the individuality of the situation.
Adequate Communication
Communication is fundamental. This goes both ways. If you gathered a license plate number and insurance information at the scene, for example, you would want to provide the attorney with all of it.
On the flip side, your lawyer should always be keeping you in the loop with the various happenings in your case that you may not know or understand so you remain aware.
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Conclusion
Car accidents and their associated injuries can be a lot to deal with physically, mentally, and financially. It's the responsibility of the negligent party to compensate the other. It's one of the reasons uninsured motorists shouldn't be on the roadway.
Allow an experienced Chesterfield car accident attorney to help you get the settlement you deserve. Power Law Firm has helped a host of clients navigate personal injury cases successfully.
You can get a free case review to understand your situation and what potential plans of action there may be. Reach out today by calling (314) 470-1374!