Yes, you should get a lawyer for a car accident to help you recover compensation from the at-fault driver. Without a lawyer, you will have to handle every aspect of the case on your own. That means proving the cause of the accident and building a strong evidence file against the at-fault driver. It also means calculating your post-accident expenses and losses and negotiating with the at-fault driver and their insurance company.
When you hire a lawyer to represent you, they take care of all these details for you, which can let you focus your time and energy on getting better. A Boca Raton car accident lawyer can also prevent you from miscalculating your damages or accepting a smaller settlement than you deserve.
Get a Car Accident Lawyer on Your Side as Soon as Possible
The state where your accident occurred will determine how much time you have to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. In most cases, your case will be settled out of court. Your lawyer will still be prepared to file your lawsuit, though, to protect your right and ability to go to court if a fair and acceptable settlement is not forthcoming.
Waiting too long to hire a car accident lawyer can create a potentially costly risk to your case. Your lawyer will explain the statute of limitations in your state, its impact on your case, and the steps they take to file your lawsuit on time.
A Lawyer May Review Your Case and Represent You at no Cost
Many personal injury law firms will accept your case on a contingency fee basis. They will cover all of the upfront expenses of building your case. You will pay no out-of-pocket costs and no hourly attorney’s fees. Instead, you only compensate the law firm after they recover damages for you. If you are not awarded financial recovery, you will owe no legal fees at all.
Your Lawyer Can Build a Solid Evidence File for You
Building a strong case file is key to pursuing the driver who caused your accident and to proving the value of your recoverable damages. Your evidence file will include:
- Medical records
- Written prognosis
- Medical bills
- Proof of income
- Car accident report
- Injury photos
- Accident scene photos
- Accident reconstruction
- Witness statements
When you get a lawyer after a car accident in Flordia, they will handle the time-consuming task of collecting evidence for you. Your lawyer will also organize your evidence and submit it to the at-fault driver and their insurer on your behalf.
What You Need to Know About Negligence and Financial Liability
The actions of the at-fault driver and the way two vehicles collide determine a car accident’s type. You should consider hiring a lawyer after an accident that can make financial recovery complicated, including muti-vehicle and hit-and-run collisions. A lawyer will also fight by your side after a:
- Dangerous roadway accident
- Distracted driving accident
- Drunk driving injury
- Head-on collision
- Rear-end collision
- Rollover accident
- T-bone accident
- Rideshare accident
- Wrong way driver accident
Proving the driver who caused your accident is responsible for compensating you means proving the following legal elements of negligence:
- Duty of care: The at-fault driver’s responsibility to drive in a safe manner
- Breach of duty: The at-fault driver’s failure to meet their legal duty
- Causation: The actions that caused your accident, i.e., distracted driving
- Damages: The costs of your accident injuries and related expenses and losses
The evidence collection your legal team compiles will document these facts and allow you to seek damages.
A Lawyer Can Explain the Damages You Can Recover
Recoverable damages can vary widely, even between two people injured while riding in the same car at the time of the collision. The lawyer who handles your case will determine its value based on the following:
- Economic damages: These include past, present, and future medical bills, rehab and therapy bills, assistive medical devices, and treatment-related travel expenses. Lost wages, including full and part-time income and loss of the ability to earn in the future. Property damage, total loss, and diminished property value.
- Non-economic damages: These include physical disability, impairment, and disfigurement. Physical pain and suffering and mental and emotional anguish and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Wrongful death damages: These include the costs of your loved one’s funeral and burial, loss of their financial input, and loss of their domestic support. Loss of consortium, society, companionship, and guidance.
The case file your legal team builds for you will include the paperwork that proves the monetary value of these damages.
Your Lawyer Can Explain Your State’s Filing Deadlines
Like every state, yours will impose a limit on the amount of time you have to file your personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Complying with the statute of limitations is mandatory but can be confusing on your own. Your lawyer will explain the filing deadline that applies to your lawsuit and what happens if it is not met.
They will also explain how some factors of your case—the injured party’s age and the at-fault driver’s actions—might alter the statute of limitations.
Your Lawyer Will Represent You if Your Case Goes to Trial
Most car accident cases will not go to trial. However, if an acceptable settlement cannot be reached in your case, your lawyer will take the at-fault party to court. They will:
- Conduct depositions and interrogatories
- Prepare evidence and exhibits for court
- Learn more about your case via discovery
Your lawyer will present your case to a judge or jury and keep fighting for the financial compensation you need and deserve.
Our Legal Team Will Review Your Case for Free
If you or a loved one were injured, or a loved one was fatally injured, in a car accident, you could be entitled to financial compensation. Rather than take on a large insurance company alone, you should get an Estero car accident lawyer to help you seek compensation after a car accident..
At GED Lawyers, we fight hard to recover damages for every client we represent. Get started on your case by calling our no-cost, no-obligation case review team today.