An auto accident is an event that changes people’s lives. In some cases, traffic accidents result in fatalities. In other cases, accident victims are left with severe, life-changing injuries. At the same time, every injured person needs medical care and this can result in very high hospital bills. At some point, you may wonder: do I need a Henderson auto accident lawyer to help me understand my legal rights and obligations?
In this article, we will explain why discussing with a personal injury lawyer is one of the top priorities you should have, on a par with making sure that you receive proper medical attention for your injuries. In the aftermath of the crash, you may not be aware of the legal and financial implications. Without legal advice, you may stand to lose a lot of money or even be blamed for the accident, although you were only partly at fault for it.
How Can a Henderson Personal Injury Lawyer Help You?
Any auto accident in the state of Nevada is covered by the personal injury laws from the point of view of civil liability. The law is clear: a person who was injured and suffered economic losses due to another person’s negligence has the right to pursue the responsible party for financial compensation.
While anyone can read these laws, including the contributory negligence principle, it takes an experienced attorney to:
Gather Relevant Evidence in Support of Your Case
If you want to file a car accident claim or a personal injury lawsuit, the burden of proof rests solely with you. This means that you have to demonstrate that:
- The liable party owed you a duty of care
- They breached their duty, causing the car accident
- You suffered bodily injury and property damage in the accident
- You incurred economic losses as a result of these injuries.
An experienced auto accident attorney will seek all the relevant evidence that proves all of the above, from the police report prepared at the accident scene to eyewitness testimonies. If necessary, the lawyer can hire expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction experts, to recreate the circumstances of the accident.
Prepare and File Your Personal Injury Claim
Insurance companies have specific rules and deadlines for filing a claim. You need to use the right template for the demand letter and add supporting evidence that justifies your claim amount.
In many cases, you will spend the first weeks after the car accident in the hospital or in a rehabilitation center. Thus, you are in no position to fill in documents and submit them. You may instruct family members to do it on your behalf, but they may make an error that will invalidate your claim.
Once you hire a Henderson injury lawyer, you give them the power to act on your behalf. The lawyer will comply with all the rules set by the insurance firm, as they have extensive experience in this procedure.
Estimate the Value of Your Claim
How much is your case worth? Do you know how much money to ask from the at-fault driver’s insurance company? If you ask for too much, your claim will be dismissed and you may also lose the sympathy of a jury in a future lawsuit. If you ask for too little, you will have to cover medical costs and other expenses out of your pocket, with no chance of further legal action to recover them.
A car accident lawyer knows all the types of expenses that are eligible for compensation in a claim. They will calculate these compensatory amounts with the view of getting the maximum possible amount of money allowed by law.
Negotiate Your Settlement With the Insurance Company
Here comes the most delicate part of a personal injury case: reaching a fair settlement with the insurance company. An accident victim is not in the position to engage in such negotiations. First of all, you are in pain, undergoing medical treatments, and, possibly, under the effect of painkillers and other medicines.
Secondly, you do not know the Nevada personal injury laws and how to interpret them in your favor. The insurance adjuster you would have to deal with knows all these laws and will use any little loophole to reduce your claim amount or even deny your claim.
Represent You in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
In some cases, insurance companies believe that they have a high chance of winning a case in court, so they refuse to settle. When they notice that the auto accident victim is not represented by a personal injury attorney, they will apply delay tactics before they finally offer you a lowball amount or dismiss your claim.
By that time, it may be too late to file a lawsuit, because the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in the state of Nevada is two years from the date of the accident. An experienced auto accident attorney will not allow this to happen. When negotiations seem to go nowhere, they will advise you to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Auto Accident Lawyers Work on a Contingency Fee Basis
Many people delay the decision to contact a personal injury attorney because they do not believe that they afford one. The law industry understands the predicament of personal injury victims: they are already in debt, incurring medical bills, while their wages stop coming in.
For this reason, most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they do not charge upfront fees. Once they win a settlement or jury award for their client, they take a portion of it (sometimes a fixed amount, in other cases a percentage) as their fees.
Contact a Henderson Auto Accident Law Firm With Proven Results
At Christian Morris Trial Attorneys, you will find a team of attorneys with a combined experience of 30 years working for insurance companies. We know exactly how they are trying to minimize the settlement amount you are entitled to receive and how to counteract these tactics.
We founded our personal injury law firm in 2003 with the mission of helping all the victims understand their legal rights and pursue the liable persons for financial compensation. We believe that everyone deserves justice and we fight for it with all our dedication, experience, and know-how.
If you were involved in a car accident, you need to know your legal position, rights, and obligations as soon as possible. You do not have to worry about paying an upfront fee, so schedule a consultation with our Henderson injury lawyers as soon as possible. Call 702-410-6329 today!