The magnitude of America’s car accident problem is staggering. Every year there are more then 5 million motor vehicle accidents. Every day of every year 115 people die on our roads, that’s over 40,000 yearly or almost the same number who died in the Vietnam War. In addition almost 3,500,000 are injured and the economic cost directly resulting from these car accidents amounts to over $150,000,000,000 yearly.
If you have been injured in a preventable automobile accident, or have lost someone to a fatal mishap, you may be entitled to recover monetary damages from those responsible. To succeed in a claim against another driver, it is necessary to show that he or she was negligent, that is, failed to act reasonably and in a manner which respects the safety of other drivers. Litigation is intended to restore the injured person to the position he or should would have been in had the accident never occurred. While money can never compensate adequately for serious personal injury or death, an innocent party is entitled to just and fair damages to compensate so far as is possible for their injury and losses.
Legal cases are won or lost on the available evidence and the following information should be obtained and preserved for your attorney as soon as possible:
- The other driver’s name, address, date of birth, telephone number.
- The other driver’s license number and insurance company name and policy number.
- The name and badge number of the attending police officer.
- The names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses.
- Attend a doctor or hospital to document any injury.
- Make a detailed personal note about the accident as soon as possible.
- A diagram of street layout, position of vehicles and location of witnesses.
- Photograph the accident scene, damage to the vehicles and any visible injuries.
Common auto accident injuries include whiplash, head, brain injury, neck injury, back injuries, paralysis, and joint, bone, and muscle injuries. Auto accident victims should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they believe they are injured. Auto accident claims for damages resulting from injuries usually depend on medical records linking the auto accident to the injuries received. In general, auto accidents are handled through each party's insurance company, and settled fairly quickly. However, it is important to remember that insurance is first and foremost a business, so what is best for you is generally not in the insurance company’s best interest. Backed by a team of team of adjusters, investigators and attorneys, the insurance company’s objective is to minimize the amount of money that they pay out.
We advise our automobile injury clients on our “Golden Rules” of insurance companies:
- The insurance company is not your friend. As a business, insurance’s goal is profit. Their team works to eliminate payments or to pay as little as possible.
- The insurance company is always represented by an experienced car accident lawyer. Should you choose not to be represented by a qualified attorney, you will face the considerable resources of a powerful company without help.
- Insurance companies pay almost three times more money in cases where the victim is represented by a lawyer. This fact comes straight out of an insurance company’s training manual.
In some cases, accidents that result in personal injury or extensive property loss lead to lawsuits. Damages sought in those cases can include the cost of medical treatment, loss of property, and loss of wages.
If you are an accident victim, you may be too overwhelmed by physical and emotional trauma to even think about your rights, responsibilities and the future. We make your interests our priority. Do not settle for less than fair compensation.
Hiring an attorney does not mean that your case will take years to be settled or require that you go to court. With Sam Levine, your case will probably be settled favorably in months, not years. Few of our clients have ever appeared in court.
