You take your personal safety seriously. You are especially careful when you get behind the wheel of a car. Your priority as you drive is to keep yourself, your passengers, and your fellow drivers free of harm. Not everyone thinks as you do. Some people will never understand why disregarding traffic rules, engaging in distracted driving, and driving erratically lead to accidents. If you were injured in a car crash caused by such a reckless person, you have legal options.
Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer
You should always have yourself examined after a car accident. Even if you are conscious, alert, and mobile after the crash, you should go to the emergency room and allow a qualified physician to check you out. They may detect internal injuries that you can neither see nor feel.
As you recover from the accident, you will no doubt be contacted by the insurance company of the person who caused it. This may be done through a phone call or in-person. If they know that the other driver caused the accident, they may offer you a settlement immediately. You should sign no document or make any statement until you have consulted with an attorney. In fact, you should never meet with representatives of the other driver without your attorney present.
It is the aim of all insurance companies to pay out as little as possible. The other driver’s insurers will attempt to buy you off with a low settlement offer in the hope that you will take the money and not pursue the matter any further. If your injuries are minor and you are offered a sum of money that covers all your losses, then your best option may be to take it. However, if you have been seriously injured, it may be best for you to reject their offer and demand more adequate compensation. If the insurance company responds in the negative, then you should pursue a lawsuit.
The Impact of a Serious Accident
A severe accident can turn your world upside down. You will have to spend a long time in the hospital. You may have to undergo a succession of critical surgeries to save your life and make you well again. These procedures may be followed by physical rehabilitation therapy and the need to take prescription drug medication. The bills will continue to pile up and your medical expenses will accumulate. While you are on your back you will not be able to earn the money necessary to service them. Even when you are ready to go back to your job, you may have to reduce the number of hours you work. In the worst instance, you may be forced out of your livelihood altogether.
The strain and stress of the situation on you and your family may become extreme. However, you should not have to shoulder the burden on your own. The people who caused it should bear some of the financial responsibility for it.
How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim
An attorney, such as the ones found at murphys-law.com.au, can help you get the money you are entitled to. Personal injury lawyers are specialists in this area of tort law. The attorney you work with will have handled cases similar to yours and will have the experience and expertise to achieve an outcome that is favorable to you.
Here are 7 effective ways to win your personal injury claim:
- Proving the historical recklessness of the other driver
Your attorney will review the police report of the accident and then go beyond it. They will put their own professional investigators on the case. One of the first things this independent investigation will look at is the history and driving record of the person who caused the accident. If they have points on their license or have had their license suspended because of traffic violations, it can be used against them in the lawsuit.
- Proving the unfitness of the driver
Your lawyer will also trace the movements of the driver before they got behind the wheel. If there is evidence that they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, your lawyer will find it and use it to argue that they were in an unfit state to drive on the day in question.
- Getting witness statements
Your lawyer will also track down people who witnessed the accident. The police may have missed some of them or failed to interview them. There may also be people who are unwilling to speak to the police but do not mind talking to a civilian.
- Getting witness video
One of the accident witnesses may have captured the entire accident on their mobile phone. The police may have overlooked them, but if such a person and their footage exist your lawyer will find them and get the video.
- Employing accident reconstruction simulation
The marks, dents, and debris left in the aftermath of an accident tell a story of how it unfolded. Experts can use this evidence to develop a simulation of the accident. Your lawyer will engage the services of an accident reconstruction simulation expert. These simulations are admissible in court. The one put together for your case may confirm your version of events.
- Introducing expert testimony
Your lawyer will also get medical experts to make statements explaining the nature and extent of your injuries. Such statements will also describe the debilitating effects of the accident and how they effect your ability to work and earn a living.
- Using the law
Finally, your lawyer will use the law itself. They will put together the available evidence to show that the accident was the fault of the other driver, that it has caused you serious injuries, and that you are entitled to a specific dollar amount in compensation. If the case presented by your lawyer is sound and forceful enough, the respondent may want to settle rather than go to court. This will put your lawyer in a position to demand a compensation package that is commensurate with all that you have suffered and lost.
