When Should You Hire an Attorney for a Car Accident?
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Car accidents can disrupt your sense of safety and security, jeopardizing your health and well-being in an instant. Motor vehicle crashes kill more than 100 people in the US every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2019 alone, emergency departments treated 2.5 million people for motor vehicle crash injuries.
If you are in a car accident that causes serious injuries, damages your vehicle, or prevents you from working for a time, you may be eligible for compensation. See a doctor right away if you suspect you are injured. Waiting to see a physician and receive treatment can hinder recovery. Contact a lawyer the day your accident occurs or within a few days. By getting help early on, you can make an informed decision about the necessity of hiring a lawyer, the strength of your claim, and the potential for compensation.
Holding careless drivers responsible for compensation can help you return to the security you experienced before the accident. Many drivers who receive compensation for car accident injuries can manage the expenses from the collision. The personal injury attorneys at NST Law will evaluate the circumstances of your car accident to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.
What if my car accident was minor?
Even if an accident seems minor and involves hardly any visible damage, the collision can cause future events that will be a heavy burden. All types of accidents have the potential to jeopardize your health, your vehicle, and your finances. If your injuries are not identified and treated following the collision, then you may be responsible for paying for treatment and other related expenses.
A minor car accident can have a lasting impact on your life. You may think you walked away unscathed and that your vehicle sustained only cosmetic harm. The expenses from hidden injuries and delayed vehicle damage can be as costly as visible damage. Hidden damages leave drivers vulnerable and unaware of potential danger. Untreated injuries often lead to chronic or long-term pain. Vehicles needing repairs are more prone to accidents – putting the driver at risk.
Hidden Injuries
While drivers may walk away without open wounds or broken bones, it may not be until hours later that they begin to feel the full impact. Internal bleeding from seat belts or airbags may appear days after the accident. Common hidden injuries include spinal injuries, whiplash, and PTSD. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of PTSD, according to a 2006 article in Depression and Anxiety. The article which studied MVA victims noted that the development of PTSD was not linked to the severity of physical injuries from the accidents.
Whiplash symptoms include:
- Tiredness
- Shoulder pain
- Limited range of motion
- Blurry vision
- Aches or muscle stiffness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Trouble sleeping or difficulty waking up
- Trouble swallowing
- Headaches- may also be indicative of blood clots in the brain or concussions
A National Institute of Health crash test study demonstrated how drivers could be injured even when the car is not damaged. The study found that drivers can produce injury symptoms following a vehicle velocity change of 2.5 mph. In contrast, vehicle damage may not be apparent until a velocity change of 8.7 mph. Slow drivers can still suffer from neck, head, and spinal injuries.
Hidden Vehicle Damages
A damaged part can cause problems leading to another accident. While there may not be any visible damage after the collision, your car may have issues such as these:
- Alignment issues put extra stress on the vehicle, impairing steering, wearing down the tires, struts, and shocks.
- Electric damage can cause your battery to drain quickly so that your engine will not start.
- Broken transmission components can cause leaking and disturb accelerating and shifting.
- Broken latches may make opening doors difficult but indicate more significant problems, such as a damaged bumper.
This type of unnoticed flaw can impair your vehicle and increase the chances of mechanical problems and collisions.
Communication With the Other Driver or Insurance Companies
You may have trouble resolving financial disputes following your accident. You may struggle to coordinate payments and confirm accident details on your own. Managing information from the police report, medical bills, auto shop invoices, and insurance estimates can quickly become overwhelming.
The other driver or insurance company may challenge the information you provide. You and the driver may have conflicting views on who is liable and the damages. Without a legal team to investigate the collision and advocate for you, you may not receive adequate compensation. Resolving your accident dispute may provide the finances for auto repairs, medical bills, and other related expenses.
You might be eligible for compensation for your losses
Expenses following an accident can be enormous, but you shouldn’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket due to someone else’s negligence. Depending on the details of your case, you may be eligible for compensatory damages (payment) for the economic and non-economic costs resulting from your auto accident.
The economic cost refers to the calculated expenses you are responsible for related to the accidents. Economic cost includes workplace productivity costs (lost wages), employer’s uninsured costs, administrative fees, property damage (vehicle costs), and medical costs. In 2019, the average economic cost for car accidents that do not involve death or disabling events ranged from $4,600 to $28,500. The same year, accidents with death or a disabling event had an economic cost averaging $98,400 to $1,704.000.
Non-economic cost accounts for qualitative factors. Non-economic costs include loss of consortium (relationships destroyed due to death or a significant injury), emotional distress, and pain and suffering. Pain and suffering refer to physical pain from injuries, missing events due to injury, time spent at the doctors, interruption of academics, and other types of trauma resulting from the collision.
While no amount of compensation can fully account for your losses, a favorable verdict can help handle the seemingly impossible expense you face after an accident. Even if your losses are minor and your injuries are temporary, your attorney can offer valuable legal advice to help you with your insurance claim
Major losses, injuries, and wrongful death after a car accident
Recovering from a severe car accident takes time, especially when suffering from financial burdens and debilitating injuries. If you cannot work temporarily or permanently, you may suffer from lost wages. You may need extensive medical care with prescriptions, doctor visits, surgeries, physical therapy, or medical equipment.
Major car accidents can cause life-altering injuries, such as:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken or fractured bones
- Burn injuries
- Loss of limb or amputations
- Laceration
- Internal injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
Speak to an attorney if you have experienced substantial losses because of injuries like those listed above. Your claim may include personal injury damages, such as medical bills, loss of wages, and pain and suffering. Property damages compensate for costs such as auto repair, vehicle replacement, and personal items. State laws determine insurance policy limits, financial responsibility, and statute of limitations.
State laws also designate who can sue for wrongful death in the event of a fatal collision. If you tragically lose a loved one because of another driver’s negligence, you may be eligible for compensation. Accidents with negligence may include speeding, defective vehicles, and distracted driving. For cases where the other driver exhibited egregious behavior, you may be able to seek punitive damages designed to dissuade defendants from repeating the same actions. Punitive damages also help set a standard for actions, discouraging other drivers from similar behavior.
How can NST Law help me after a car accident?
At NST Law, we can offer a complete case evaluation free of charge to inform you of your rights and legal options and determine if you’re eligible for compensation. Personal injury lawyers strengthen your case by having experts investigate the accident. We will evaluate who is at fault, manage documents such as the accident report from the police and medical information, prepare evidence, communicate with insurance companies, negotiate a potential settlement, and advocate for your case in court.
A car accident lawyer can improve your chances of obtaining compensation, holding the other driver accountable for the decisions that altered the trajectory of your life. Our personal injury lawyers at NST Law have experience obtaining favorable settlements and verdicts from car accident lawsuits.
- They represented a 14-year-old boy card accident survivor who suffered from traumatic injuries due to the accident. They won a jury verdict for the boy of $1,019,652.00.
- They helped a man who suffered severe injuries from an accident with an 18-wheeler. As a result of the head-on collision, the man had to be airlifted to the hospital. He received a settlement of $675,000.00.
- NST law team recovered a settlement on behalf of a 65-year-old man who died due to an accident with an 18-wheeler truck. They reached a settlement for the deceased’s wife in the amount of $6,301,713.00.
You can find an NST Law office near you when you contact us in Memphis, Jackson, TN, Jackson, MS, Little Rock, Tupelo, Jonesboro, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, Belleville, Knoxville, or Nashville.
Individuals considering reaching out to NST Law can expect compassionate care, accessibility, resourcefulness, trust, transparency, personalized service, and maximized pursuit of results. These six pillars direct how we engage with every injured person seeking compensation for their car accident claim. Following car accidents, individuals who hired NST Law shared their appreciation for the legal team, expressing thanks for expedience, organization, professionalism, communication with insurance companies, and obtaining settlements covering medical bills.