A car accident is a terrifying experience, especially when you or your loved ones suffer injuries. Unfortunately, the trauma and distress often continue long after the dust settles on the accident claim when car accident victims encounter the complex legal system for their car accident claim. Serious car accidents result in damages to the victim, including property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. In fault-based insurance states, navigating a claim requires proving the at-fault driver or other negligent party liable for damages. Meeting these legal requirements can be challenging while you’re also dealing with painful and potentially life-altering injuries, medical appointments, and emotional trauma.
Many crash victims turn to car accident attorneys to handle their accident claims for them while they focus on their physical recovery. But when is it the right time to hire a Frisco car accident lawyer?
Timing Your Car Accident Claim
The timing of a car accident claim is critical to maximizing the compensation you recover. If you file a claim immediately after an accident, you may not yet have a full understanding of the entire scope of the economic damages involved. For instance, it’s important to know if you’ll require further medical treatment, surgeries, procedures, or rehabilitation to reach the maximum physical recovery from your injuries. How much time will you have to take off from work? Are your injuries temporarily or permanently disabling?
Often, insurance companies take advantage of car accident victims by offering low settlements immediately after a car accident before the victim knows the extent of the damages they’ll suffer. This type of settlement requires the accident victim to sign away their rights to a lawsuit. By hiring an attorney before speaking to insurance companies after an accident, you can direct all communications with the insurance company to your lawyer who will protect your interests and carefully calculate your current and future economic damages as well as an amount of compensation for your pain and suffering.
While it’s important not to accept a settlement too early, it’s also critical not to wait too long before hiring a car accident attorney.
When Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
In fault-based insurance states like Texas, it’s important to hire an attorney to protect your rights and best interests against the insurance company of the at-fault party. If someone else’s negligence or recklessness behind the wheel caused the accident, they are liable for damages. Unfortunately, insurance companies often take advantage of the state’s comparative negligence laws to assign car accident injury victims an undue percentage of fault to minimize the amount of compensation they pay out on a claim. For instance, in a $100,000 car accident claim, if the insurance company finds the injury victim 25% at fault for the accident, they only have to pay out $75,000. A car accident lawyer knows when to anticipate this common tactic and protect their client’s interests to maximize their compensation.
It’s a good idea to hire a car accident attorney in the early days after the accident so they can do the following:
- Protect your rights against profit-protecting insurance companies
- Investigate the accident to determine the liable party
- Document evidence of liability
- Carefully calculate your damages
- Make a compelling case for your compensation with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
This process must take place within the state’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims so the court won’t dismiss the claim should it require a trial. Typically, car accident cases only go to trial when insurers fail to offer an acceptable settlement amount or wrongfully deny a claim.
Most personal injury claims are resolved outside of court through a settlement, but an experienced car accident lawyer is also a strong litigator who is ready to take the case to court within the two-year time limit if required.