Car accidents can leave you with expensive medical bills, lost earnings, and serious pain and suffering. Depending on your car insurance, you might find your case more complicated. In any case, our lawyers can help you get the compensation you deserve.
When working with a car accident lawyer, we represent your interests before insurance companies and courts, fighting for your needs first. If the insurance company refuses to pay what they owe you, then we can file your case in court and take them to trial.
For a free review of your case, call The Reiff Law Firm’s car accident lawyers at (215) 709-6940.
What Medical Care Do I Need After a Car Accident?
If you were hurt in a crash, you should always call 911 and seek immediate medical attention. It can be hard to know what care you need, especially if adrenaline is masking your injuries. Plus, some injuries are not obvious until the next day, especially whiplash.
Get the EMTs to assess you and recommend further care. If they want you to go to the hospital for a work-up or immediate care, go with them.
In the following days, you might need surgeries or other procedures to help you recover. In the following weeks and months, you may even need to see specialists, get physical therapy, and even seek psychiatric care.
In any case, you should get medical care immediately to create medical records as proof of your injuries. You should also follow through with all recommended care to avoid accusations that you made your injuries worse or that they were not that bad.
How Long Does a Car Accident Claim Take in Hellertown, PA?
How long it takes between your accident and the day you finally get paid can depend a lot on how serious your injuries are and how expensive they are.
Insurance companies are often willing to settle quickly for mild to moderate injury cases because it is not much money to them. However, when your injuries are more serious or more expensive, they will often balk.
Insurance companies might hold back damages, offer low-dollar settlements, or otherwise shortchange you. Often, the only way to convince them you are serious is to take them to court.
Taking a trial to its conclusion can take upwards of 6 months, but your own insurance might cover some of your damages and expenses in the meantime.
Do I Need to Go to Trial for a Car Accident Claim?
Insurance can handle your damages in some cases, but car accident claims often see insurance companies refuse to pay or acknowledge their driver’s fault. However, some rules might prevent lawsuits in every case.
Pennsylvania has a choice no-fault system, where “limited tort” policies block your ability to sue. If you meet the threshold to sue or you have a “full tort” policy, then you can go straight to court whenever you need to.
Once in court, the at-fault driver’s insurance might offer a fair settlement. However, if it is missing any damages you need, we might need to go to trial to recover.
Ultimately, many cases do settle, but our car accident lawyers are not afraid to go to trial when needed. At trial, the judge and jury decide your case instead of the insurance representatives, helping ensure higher fairness and accuracy.
How is Fault Determined in a Hellertown Car Accident Case?
You might be afraid that it will be hard to tell who was at fault in your case or that you might even be blamed for the crash. The way fault is determined, you can often pin the case on the proper parties and even get compensation when you are partially responsible.
For a driver to be at fault to any degree, they must have violated a legal duty to cause the crash. If you did everything right, you cannot be blamed.
Instead, drivers will be liable for any of these kinds of violations:
- Speeding
- Running a red light/stop sign
- Reckless driving
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Falling asleep at the wheel
- Failing to yield
- Failing to look out for other cars.
If you were also violating a traffic law, it is possible the court could find you partially liable. However, 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102 requires you to be more than 50% at fault before you can be barred from damages.
Any share of fault under that will simply reduce your total damages. For example, if you were 10% at fault in a $100,000 case because you were speeding, you could still recover $90,000.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident?
Immediately after a car accident, there are five key steps you should take:
Call 911
Calling 911 gets the police and EMTs to respond to the crash, as well as a fire truck, if needed. They can secure the scene, direct traffic, start writing a report, and get you the medical care you need.
Get to Safety
You should avoid moving the cars if you can until you can take pictures and get the officer to start their police report. However, you should get to a safe location to avoid a secondary crash, especially if you are on a dark backroad.
Get Medical Attention
Your highest priority is your safety and recovery. If you need to go to the hospital to seek treatment for serious injuries, go with the ambulance. Do not try to stay and collect evidence if it would jeopardize your health.
Collect Evidence
If you can stay, collect all of the following evidence:
- Photos of the crash, damage, and injuries
- The name and contact info for all drivers and witnesses
- Vehicle info for all cars in the crash
- Insurance info for all drivers
- Notes on lighting, weather, and road conditions.
Our attorneys can use this, plus other info we can collect later, to build your case.
Call a Lawyer
You should never pursue damages without help from an experienced injury attorney.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in Hellertown, PA Today
For a free review of your case, call The Reiff Law Firm’s car accident lawyers at (215) 709-6940.
