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How to Build an Auto Accident Legal Claim

A lawyer from a car accident will consider every aspect of how your injuries have impacted you. This includes both future and present medical expenses, lost wages and emotional effects.

An experienced lawyer in preparing car accident cases and trying them is essential. Insurance companies are aware that lawyers who are willing to go to trial will fight for maximum compensation.

Traffic collisions

Traffic collisions are any accident which involve at least one vehicle. These accidents can include pedestrians, animals road debris, stationary obstructions like poles or structures. They can also occur on private or public roads. Traffic collisions may be intentional or unintentional. Examples of traffic-related crimes include vehicular homicide and vehicular suicide.

According to the NYC Open Data initiative car accidents are among the most frequent types of accidents that occur in New York City. The city maintains an online database of all motor car accidents. It contains information regarding the date and time of the collision, its location, and the extent of the damage.

It is crucial to report all traffic collisions even if they appear to be minor. If you don’t do so, you may lose your rights to compensation from other driver or the insurance company. Failing to report a collision can also lead to the suspension of your license or other penalties.

auto accident law firm pasadena is imperative to call the police and get photos of the scene after an accident, when you’re involved in an accident. You should also gather all of the information about the other driver including their insurance company. If you’re not able to find the other driver, you can claim the damage through your own auto insurance or a policy for a family member. You might also be in a position to file an insurance claim through the state’s special fund for those who have suffered catastrophic injuries, called the New York Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC).


At-fault driver citations

In states that have fault-based car insurance laws the insurer of the driver at fault covers medical and repair costs for all other drivers involved in the crash. You can still claim compensation for your losses. In these cases you must be able to provide evidence that the driver was negligent or reckless. A traffic citation is a good form of evidence for this purpose.

In most police communities officers are able to give a driver a citation in the event of an accident. If they believe that the driver caused the accident by committing a violation of the law the police will typically issue a ticket. The type of offense will also influence the insurance company’s determination of fault.

Certain states have “contributing factor” boxes on accident reports where officers can assign a percentage of the blame to the driver responsible for an incident. If you were struck by a car that went straight through a traffic light, and you could have walked out of the way but didn’t, you may be attributed some proportion of the blame for the crash.

An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you establish that the other driver did not fulfill their duty of care when they drove recklessly and not observing road rules. You may then seek damages to compensate you for your physical and mental injuries. If your losses exceed what your liability insurance will cover, you can bring a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

Counterclaims

After a car accident and the parties involved have a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit. These deadlines may vary between states, but a lawsuit filed in the appropriate time frame can be a powerful method of obtaining compensation for the damages and injuries that result from the collision. An experienced lawyer on your side can allow you to work with insurance companies to settle or take your case to trial.

One of the first steps you and your attorney will take to initiate the legal process is to submit a police report. This document is important because it contains a summary of what transpired, information and evidence collected at the scene witnesses’ statements, as well as more. It is often used by attorneys and insurance companies to determine the cause of the incident and the types of damages you might be entitled to claim.

After your attorney has filed the complaint, both parties will engage in a series of conversations referred to as discovery. This is the time when your attorney will seek the answers from the representatives of the defendant and get information on their version of events, including their assessment of the severity of your injuries. Your lawyer can also seek expert opinions to back up your claims and give credibility to the case.

Counterclaims are a common way for those who are who are responsible to tilt the scales their way. This can be especially common in states that have changed laws on comparative negligence, which requires victims to prove that they are less than 51 percent at fault for the accident.

Comparative negligence

To determine who is at blame for a car crash is often confusing and sometimes difficult. This is especially true in states with shared fault or common negligence rules. Comparative negligence laws permit an injured person to recover damages, minus their own share of the blame for the incident. If you are found to be 20% negligent, your claim will be reduced by 80%.

New York is a pure state of comparative negligence. Therefore, when your case goes to court, judges and juries will compare the degree of fault each party attributed to the accident, and will reduce the damage award by the same amount. Insurance companies also use criteria for evaluating comparative fault in the evaluation of third parties’ claims.

There are three kinds of comparative negligence that are: pure comparative negligence as well as modified comparative fault and contributory negligence. Texas is among the states that abide by the modified comparative negligence rule. Texas used to follow the traditional Joint and Several Liability Rule, which held each defendant/tortfeasor responsible for the entire amount the victim suffered in damages.

Your attorney will ask questions to witnesses, police officers and medical professionals who were involved in the crash through a process called depositions. These will help the legal team to build your auto accident case. Your testimony will help strengthen your claim.