Pursuing a car accident injury claim can be a complex and difficult process if you go it alone. Insurance companies are reluctant to pay out the compensation you deserve because they’re looking out for their bottom line instead of your health. That’s why it’s of utmost importance to hire an experienced car accident attorney to help you navigate the process.
If you’ve been in a Louisiana car accident, you could be badly injured, facing thousands of dollars in medical expenses, and left unable to work due to your injuries. You don’t have to face these challenges alone. Call Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation about your car accident.
Understanding the Car Accident Claim Process
Thankfully, the vast majority of car accident injury claims—about 95% of them—are settled before they go to trial. However, even if a claim is resolved before going before a judge, it can still take months to come to a final agreement. To be fair, a settlement must fully account for all of your damages, including future medical expenses, accounting for your future lost wages, and more. If you settle too quickly, you might end up on the hook for these losses.
We understand our clients’ longing at reaching a resolution of their case. However, the car accident claims process is not one to rush, and there are no shortcuts. We work diligently to guide your case through each step of the process:
1. Initial Investigation
The plaintiff or victim has the burden of proof in a car crash claim. That means that it’s up to you and your lawyer to prove that the other party acted negligently and caused your injuries, which means that we must start by collecting evidence.
When we begin collecting and compiling evidence in your car accident claim, we’ll review the police accident report, obtain copies of your medical bills, and track down and interview eyewitnesses. We’ll also talk to the emergency personnel that responded to your accident, as well as other medical experts and accident reconstruction specialists to get a complete picture of the events that led to your crash.
To increase your chances for a fair settlement down the line, make sure to collect your own evidence at the scene: take pictures, get witness contact information, give your statement to the responding officer, and get examined by first responders, even if you don’t feel injured. These simple steps can be of great help when we’re performing our investigation and crafting our demand letter to insurance.
2. Demand Letter
Once we’ve collected the needed evidence, and you’ve completed your medical treatment, we can set your claim’s settlement value. This value serves as the starting point for settlement negotiations and will include the total value of your damages.
If the evidence in your claim is strong and the insurance company has no legal defense, your claim could be settled quickly. However, insurance can usually figure out some way to ask questions about the evidence, and insurance companies have other defenses to bring to the table, including comparative fault and others.
These questions and issues are usually employed as an excuse to delay the process as much as possible, in a bid to avoid paying out a fair settlement. Filing legal paperwork is usually enough to force an insurance company to negotiate, but in some cases, your claim will move to litigation.
3. Early Litigation
Many insurance companies refuse to immediately negotiate, instead filing procedural motions to throw the victim’s claim out of court. If we have any evidence whatsoever, the judge will probably overthrow these motions, and early litigation will begin in earnest.
Discovery is the process of sharing evidence between the plaintiff and defendant’s teams in order to have a fair trial. During this time, you’ll probably have to submit to a medical examination and give a deposition. We’ll also provide the evidence we’ve collected, and insurance provides theirs.
Once everyone’s cards are on the table, negotiations will continue and we may come to an agreement. However, if talks stall or break down, your claim will proceed to court.
4. Late Litigation
If settlement talks stall or break down, most Louisiana judges refer a case to mediation. Mediation is a legal process in which both sides negotiate in good faith in front of a court-appointed mediator. During this process, insurance can’t use any cheap tricks or tactics to wriggle out of paying. Usually, mediation will result in a fair settlement for all parties.
If mediation doesn’t work, however, we’ll argue your case in front of a judge. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are skilled litigators with years of experience in court, so you can be confident that we’ll do our best to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries and other damages.
Insurance Company Tactics
Remember: insurance companies are in the business of making money for their shareholders, not paying their clients fairly for their injuries. Because of this perverse incentive, insurance companies employ a number of tactics designed to minimize your claim and save them money:
- Outright claim denial: Insurance companies deny claims for a multitude of reasons, hoping that you’ll give up and go away. However, claim denial is only an initial salvo in the battle for your fair compensation, so don’t fret. Call Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys today if your claim has been denied.
- Delaying your claim: Your insurance may also try to delay your claim to run down the clock of Louisiana’s statute of limitations. These delays can put victims in desperate situations and lead them to make snap decisions or mistakes, all of which benefit the insurance company.
- Early settlement offers: Your insurance may call you soon after your accident with an initial settlement offer. Even if the offer seems pretty fair, it’s probably a fraction of the compensation you need to fully heal. However, if you take this early settlement, you’ll waive all rights to further pay-outs down the line when you discover further damages. Do not accept any settlements from insurance until you contact a lawyer.
- Shifting blame: Under Louisiana’s comparative fault system, each party in an accident can be responsible for a portion of the liability. Insurance companies use this system to try and shift blame to you, either by arguing that you violated traffic laws, drove distractedly, or otherwise contributed to the accident.
- Downplaying your injuries: Finally, insurance companies will try to downplay the severity of your injuries, or that you were injured before the car accident or as the result of some other event. This is why it’s of utmost importance to attend every doctor appointment and prescribed therapy appointment after your accident—if you don’t, insurance can argue that your injuries aren’t as bad as you claim.
Factors Affecting the Settlement Value of Car Accident Claims
Along with trying to predict how long your car crash settlement will take, one of the hardest questions to answer is one of the most common: How much is my car accident settlement worth? Of course, the answer to this question is highly dependent on your situation, including your injuries, the extent of damage to your car, and other factors. Some of these factors affecting your settlement’s value include
- Vehicle damage
- Medical bills associated with your car accident injuries
- Expected costs of medical treatment you’ll need in the future as you continue to heal
- Pain and suffering, both mental and physical, that are associated with your injuries, the accident, and the course of your medical treatment
- Personal property damage, such as the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged computer or other personal property that was in the car at the time of the wreck
- Car rental costs: Most insurance policies allow for reimbursement of car rental costs while yours is getting repaired
- Other out-of-pocket expenses, including the costs of the ride home from the scene of the accident and others
The Importance of Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer
After an accident, you’re dealing with a lot—pain from your injuries, mounting medical bills, an inability to work, and a new way of life. Trying to wrestle with insurance to receive fair compensation is a whole job in itself, and you should be focusing on healing.
For this reason, hiring an experienced car accident injury lawyer in Louisiana is of utmost importance after any car accident. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys have been practicing law in Louisiana for over 30 years, and we’ve helped thousands of victims regain normalcy after their accidents.
Give us a call today for a free consultation about your case. We’ll start collecting evidence right away, and we pledge to work tirelessly on your case. In fact, if we don’t win your case, you won’t owe us a dime—that’s the G Guarantee®.
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