The days, weeks, and even months after a car accident are extremely difficult. You may be eligible for compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and other losses, but it is not easy to obtain.
During this time, you need compassion and personal attention from a Buckhannon car accident lawyer who will make sure your rights are always protected and help you obtain the fair settlement you are legally entitled to.
How Can a Buckhannon Car Accident Attorney Help?
You are not required to work with a car accident lawyer when filing your claim but having legal representation has many benefits. An attorney will handle all aspects of your accident claim, which includes collecting and preserving evidence for your case, ensuring you receive the best medical care, reaching out to experts when necessary, and negotiating with the insurance company representing the at-fault party. If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, a Buckhannon car accident lawyer will also be prepared to file a lawsuit and go to trial.
Many car accident victims are not familiar with the many tasks attorneys handle daily so, it is recommended to allow an experienced professional to take them on. Additionally, studies have shown that victims who work with an attorney obtain, on average, three times the compensation than individuals who do not have legal representation.
How Much is the Average Car Accident Settlement?
No one can determine how much your car accident claim is worth without first fully reviewing the facts of your case. However, the average car accident case is worth between $32,000 and $70,000 in the United States, and those figures are fairly consistent with claims filed in Buckhannon, and throughout West Virginia. Still, no two car accident cases are exactly alike and verdicts or injury settlements can range from a few thousand to millions of dollars.
The amount of damages you receive after a car accident depends on many factors. These include the nature and severity of your injuries and the medical treatment you needed to recover from them, if you had to miss work, the impact the accident will have on your life in the future, the degree of negligence the other motorist exhibited, and others. Our Buckhannon car accident lawyer can accurately value your claim so you obtain the fair settlement you deserve.
Damages Available After a Car Accident
Car accident claims are intended to compensate you for any loss you suffered during a crash due to the negligent actions of someone else. The compensation, legally referred to as damages, available in car accident claims is divided into economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses have a quantifiable dollar value and so, they are easier to calculate. Common types of economic damages include:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost wages, employment benefits, vacation pay, and sick pay
- Diminished earning capacity, if you cannot return to the same type of work in the future and must accept a lower-earning job
- Nursing assistance
- Property damage
- Physical rehabilitation
- Any out-of-pocket expenses
You must prove economic damages with invoices, receipts, and other documentation. Any future loss must also be documented with strong evidence.
Non-economic damages are not as easy to calculate because they do not have a concrete dollar value. The most common types of non-economic damages are as follows:
- Emotional distress
- Physical pain and suffering
- Permanent disfigurement or disability
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Defendants and the insurance companies that represent them often fiercely contest non-economic damages. It is important to work with a Buckhannon car accident lawyer who knows how to prove all of your losses so you obtain the full and fair damages you rightfully deserve.
Dealing with the Insurance Adjuster After a Crash
After a car accident, you may hear from an insurance adjuster representing the at-fault party.
Insurance adjusters act very friendly, and may even tell you they are prepared to do the right thing and offer you a fair settlement. They may even offer a settlement right away. Too many accident victims are happy to receive any compensation at all, and so soon after their crash. As a result, they sign the settlement offer, not realizing they are also signing away their rights.
Insurance adjusters are not working in your best interests. Insurance companies are big businesses and they are more interested in protecting their profits than they are in working in your best interests.
The settlement offered by an insurance adjuster is likely not going to be enough to fully cover the cost of your injuries. If you require additional medical treatment in the future, you cannot return to the insurer for more compensation. In the worst of cases, it can also prevent you from obtaining the medical treatment you need because you cannot afford it.
The insurance adjuster will also use your own words against you. For example, if you say you are sorry the crash happened at all, the adjuster will take these words out of context to show that you accepted responsibility for the accident and so, do not deserve compensation. For this reason, you should never agree to provide a recorded statement to the insurance company.
Instead, you should always direct anyone from an insurance company to speak to your Buckhannon car accident attorney. A lawyer will know what to say, and what not to say, to the insurer and protect your rights. Insurance companies are also known to offer settlements that are much more fair when accident victims are represented by an attorney.
Call Our Buckhannon Car Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation
A car accident can leave you with very serious injuries that can take months, or even years, to recover from. At Kaufman & McPherson, our Buckhannon car accident lawyer will fight for you. We can accurately value your claim and communicate with the insurer representing the at-fault party so you obtain the maximum settlement you are entitled to. Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation with our experienced attorney and to learn more about how we can help.
