If you have been involved in a car accident, you may be wondering if you have an accident case. You may be wondering who is responsible for the damages you have suffered. The only way to know for certain if you have valid personal injury car accident case is to speak directly with an experience personal injury attorney. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can evaluate the facts of your particular case and advise you as to whether you should proceed with a claim.
There are a number of things that an experienced personal injury lawyer will consider when evaluating your case. First, he will consider when the accident happened. This is important as there are statutes of limitations that govern how long you have to file suit after an accident. These statutes of limitations can vary from state to state and can change depending on the type of injuries you have suffered or the type of defendant that you wish to hold responsible. Although usually longer, the time within which you must notify a defendant can be as little as six months. This is one reason why it is so important to seek experienced legal counsel immediately following an accident.
Your experienced personal injury attorney will also evaluate your case to determine who was responsible for the accident. In many states, more than one party can be held responsible. In other words, the fault could be divided among all the drivers and/or additional defendants (like the City or a vehicle manufacturer). Negligence (fault) is a legal concept and can have differing definitions from one state to the next. Additionally, the division of negligence among defendants can be very complicated and require an enormous amount of evidence and research. You can help your attorney by providing all the details of the accident that you can remember, including things that may not seem important to you such as road conditions at the time of the accident.
Lastly, your experienced personal injury attorney will evaluate your damages. Again, “damages” is a legal term that is used to cover all injuries you have suffered as a result of the accident. Damages can be monetary – but don’t have to be. Obvious damages are things like the cost to repair your vehicle, medical bills and ambulance charges. Something else that you may not immediately think of as being part of a damage claim is time off work – not just immediately following the accident but for doctor appointments, attorney appointments and other appointments directly related to your accident. Some states also allow you to recover punitive damages, loss of consortium and other sorts of damages aside from actual damages. These damages are awarded for damages that are suffered over and above, or apart from, actual monetary damages. Again, the laws regarding these types of damages are complicated and vary from state to state so ask your attorney what the laws are in your state and as they apply to your specific case.
If you have been involved in a car accident and would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
