Personal injury laws provide help for victims of auto accidents and allow the victims to seek compensation from the at-fault driver. In these cases, the auto accident victims seek compensation for medical expenses, auto repair costs, and replacement for any wages they lost during their recovery. When starting an auto accident claim, the attorney must follow vital steps to build an effective case against the accountable party. The auto accident victims must have viable evidence to support their claim, and an attorney can help them present their case to the court. A judge and juror make decisions in these personal injury claims, and they calculate the monetary award for the victim, so that’s why you need a personal injury lawyer.
1. Help the Victim File a Legal Claim
Whenever someone becomes a victim of a personal injury due to no fault of their own, they may have a viable claim against the accountable party. Auto accidents cause serious injuries, and often the victims incur hefty medical bills and auto repair costs. After an auto accident, the victim must report the accident to law enforcement and get an accident report. The accident report identifies everyone involved in the accident.
When starting a legal claim for the auto accident, the claimant must collect their medical records and all invoices from their doctors. If they lost wages because of the auto accident, they can get financial records from their employer to show how much wages they have lost during their recovery. The victim will need at least three estimates for their auto repair costs. Victims who need to start a legal claim contact a laredo car accident attorney now.
2. File a Motion for Traffic Camera Footage
When it comes to traffic camera footage, it is vital for the attorney to file a motion to get any footage of the auto accident as quickly as possible. If they can get more than one angle, this could be beneficial to the case. When starting a legal claim, the defendant is notified of the lawsuit. Next, their legal team goes to work to try to find any action that helps them use comparative fault rulings to deem the victim accountable for the accident.
With comparative fault rulings, the court will assign a percentage to each moving violation committed by the victim. If they are more than 50% at fault for the accident, the court can deduct the percentage from the victim’s monetary award. The defense will find any way possible to discredit the victim’s case and avoid paying any monetary awards.
By getting the traffic camera footage, the claimant may gain footage that shows who caused the accident and what happened during the accident. It could provide them with a more credible case against the at-fault driver. If they can show that there weren’t any moving violations committed by the victim, the defense cannot use comparative fault rulings.
3. Gather Evidence About the Accident
In an auto accident case, the attorney must gather evidence about the accident itself. For example, they evaluate the sequence of events that lead to the auto accident and recreate it through a presentation. This helps the attorney determine if other factors could have caused the accident. For example, if the weather was bad and it was raining heavily, this could contribute to the accident. Snow and debris in the roadway could also contribute to the auto accident.
If the lines on the roadways were not well-defined, the drivers may have made an error in judgment and went into the wrong lane. The attorney must visit the location of the accident and make these distinctions. This could also prevent the at-fault driver from reassigning the blame to another party.
When the roadways are damaged and an auto accident happens, the city or county may be at fault if the conditions caused the accident. It is paramount to determine if these conditions are why the accident happened, and the at-fault driver was just reacting to the road damage. By making these assessments, the attorney answers vital questions about the case.
4. Depose All Eyewitnesses
The attorney reviews all witnesses that saw the accident happen. The law enforcement officers will collect information about the accident from these eyewitnesses. Any statements collected by the officers are accessible to the victim’s attorney as well as the defendant’s.
The victim’s attorney sets up depositions for all the eyewitnesses and collects information from the witnesses. They determine if the witnesses support the victim’s or the defendant’s view of the accident.
Witness testimony could sway the jury and the judge in an auto accident case. The attorney gets the information to support the victim’s claim when going to court. Testimony could be compelling and help the victim get the compensation they need from the at-fault driver.
5. Negotiate For a Better Settlement
Lawyers have the ability to negotiate with the defendant’s attorney and arrive at a settlement. Whenever a defendant presents an offer, they must contact the attorney and discuss it. The attorney advises their claim against discussing any offers with the defendant or their attorneys themselves. This could lead to a low-ball offer, and the defendant’s attorney will try to get the victim to commit to this lower offer if possible.
It is necessary for the attorneys to discuss these matters amongst themselves. When possible the attorneys will settle out of court, and the victim won’t incur additional legal fees to get compensation.
Personal injury laws outline vital elements of filing a claim against the party that caused the victim’s injuries. The type of personal injury claim defines how the victim presents their case to the court. It also outlines the statute of limitations and how long the victim has to start a claim.
An attorney follows steps to build the case and collect all the necessary evidence to support the victim’s claim. They secure the victim’s medical records and require three estimates for the victim’s auto repair costs. The attorneys review all details about the auto accident and determine the most effective strategy for presenting the case to the court.