Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney
If you have recently been involved in a car accident, dealing with the legal and administrative issues from it is probably the last thing you feel like doing. Navigating insurance claims and court procedures can be overwhelming at the best of times – never mind when you’re also trying to work through the physical and emotional trauma of having been in an accident.
However, with an excellent car accident attorney by your side, you won’t need to face these challenges alone.
Why Do I Need A Car Accident Attorney?
Thousands of car accidents happen every day across California and the US. Thankfully, most of them do not result in serious injuries or vehicle damage. When the only consequences are minor dents and scrapes, you and the other driver may decide to go your separate ways without taking any legal action, or share insurance details and let the insurance claims process run its course uncontested.
Unfortunately, some car accidents will leave you with significant bodily injuries, serious mental distress, and considerable vehicle damage. In the worst-case scenario, you may lose a loved one. In these circumstances, it is strongly recommended that you contact a car accident lawyer as soon as you are able to following the accident.
The sooner you contact an attorney, the quicker they will be able to give you advice on how to preserve or build evidence of your injuries and vehicle damage, how to communicate with the other driver without jeopardizing any claims you may have, and how to engage with your and the other driver’s insurance company about the accident. Seeking the advice of a car accident lawyer quickly is especially important when the other party is denying their liability.
If you have not been directly involved in a car accident, but have lost a loved one to an accident, you may wish to consider pursuing a wrongful death claim. If you were a dependent of the person who passed away as a result of the accident, pursuing and winning a wrongful death case could make a material difference to your financial position, helping you cover medical bills and funeral expenses.
While no amount of money will ever replace your loved one, a wrongful death settlement can certainly lessen the financial burden you will face as you begin to navigate life without them.
How Can A Car Accident Attorney Help Me?
Once you are well enough to attend a consultation, your lawyer will help you assess the legal prospects of your claim, gather crucial evidence to support your case, and prepare the necessary filings and documentation to submit to the insurance companies and the court.
In personal injury cases in particular, the evidence-gathering process must be meticulously undertaken. You will need to build a case that proves you are entitled to every dollar of damages you are seeking. This can be done by providing evidence of medical bills and lost income, or calling an expert witness to attest to the long-term medical and psychological impacts of your injury.
Your car accident lawyer will also liaise with insurers on your behalf, prepare for trial proceedings, and represent you in any settlement negotiations that take place. Many people do not realize that most car accident cases are settled out-of-court. You may wonder why having a lawyer represent you is so crucial if your case is unlikely to ever make it to trial; this underestimates the pivotal role that lawyers play in the negotiation process.
Insurance companies are known for offering car accident victims a low settlement. If you are unrepresented, their lawyers are likely to take advantage of this, and may overwhelm you with complicated legal jargon and paperwork in an attempt to convince you that your claim is worth less than it is. With an experienced car accident lawyer by your side, nobody can pull the wool over your eyes. Your attorney will fight for you in negotiations to ensure that you receive fair compensation.
Common Types Of Car Accidents
The type of car accident you are involved in will determine the kind of car accident attorney you are looking for. For example, some attorneys have expertise in hit-and-run claims, whereas others may specialize in ride-share accidents.
Here are some of the most common types of accidents that require legal representation:
Collisions And Miulti-Vehicle Collisions
As far as serious car accidents go, collisions – whether head-on, T-bone, or rear-end – are the most common. Most car accident lawyers will be familiar with running standard collision cases.
However, where multi-vehicle collisions are involved, you will want to look for an attorney who has additional experience in this area, as determining causation and attributing liability in multi-vehicle collisions (for example, pile-ups) can be particularly complicated. For example, your lawyer may need to work with an accident reconstruction expert to prove liability of the other parties.
DUI Collisions
If you are involved in a DUI collision, you’ll want to ensure you have suitable legal representation. While evidence is always important in car accident claims, in DUIs, it’s everything. Your legal representative will ensure that there is proper evidence preservation, commission toxicologist reports. They will work with forensic experts and accident reconstruction professionals where necessary to build a case for the other party’s liability.
Hit-And-Runs
Hit-and-runs are particularly traumatic for the affected party. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run, you probably have no idea how to go about fighting for your rights, because you don’t even know who to sue! In these circumstances, it is important to hire an attorney who has strong investigative skills and who will ensure that the police or law enforcement officials are doing their jobs properly (in California, hit-and-runs are a crime with serious penalties). Hiring an attorney who is familiar with the police’s investigative processes will be an advantage.
Ride-share Accidents
Recently, some car accident attorneys have begun to specialize in ride-share accidents – that is, accidents that occur when a passenger suffers a personal injury while being driven by an Uber, Lyft, or other ride-share app vehicle.
Ride-share accident cases are particularly complicated because of the multiple parties involved, and the complex legal relationships between them: the ride-share company, the ride-share driver, the ride-share company’s insurer, the other party to the collision and their insurer, and you (the passenger)!
Determining liability in these cases is challenging. Usually, when an employee causes an accident while acting in the course of their employment, their employer is liable.In ride-share cases, the driver is an independent contractor, so these rules don’t apply.
However, there may still be grounds for seeking compensation from the ride-share company’s insurers if you were injured in a ride-share accident or assaulted by a ride-share driver. If you have suffered a personal injury while making use of a ride-share app, you will definitely need an experienced attorney to represent you in the complex legal proceedings that will follow.
What To Look Out For When Hiring A Car Accident Attorney
Choosing an attorney can be a tricky decision, particularly if you’ve never had any reason to engage legal services before. When hiring a lawyer, you first want to ensure that you are selecting someone who has plenty of experience in the relevant legal field, a deep knowledge of the type of law applicable to your case, and a track record of success.
You should feel comfortable with your lawyer; it should be immediately apparent in your first consultation whether they have excellent communication and organizational skills, are approachable and professional, and that their ethics are beyond reproach.
Make Use Of A Car Accident Attorney Referral Service
Many people can’t afford to hire attorneys from high-profile legal firms. Thankfully, there are many excellent solo practitioners and smaller firms out there – but locating them can be difficult! This is where Real Deal Attorney’s lawyer referral service comes in use for hundreds of Californians. We have developed an extensive database of reputable attorneys who have been vetted against stringent criteria for your peace of mind.
We know that after suffering a car accident, you will be overwhelmed with information. Our lawyer locator service is here to make life just a little bit easier by helping you find a skillful, experienced attorney you can trust. Contact us at (424) 367-1271 today to find out more about our service and give your case the best chance of success.