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Personal Injury Law – Auto Accidents
Car accidents have become very prevalent in our society as the number of vehicles on the road continues to rise each year. The human population in the United States alone has grown exponentially throughout the last several decades, increasing the number of cars seen on the highways and roads. Due to the natural congestion and higher speeds that vehicles can sustain on roads, there has also been an increase in car accidents throughout the country. Luckily, cars have become safer with new inventions and innovations that prevent the occupants from getting injured in the even of an accident. Even with the advent of such safety measures, thousands of people are involved in car accidents every year, and there are still many fatalities. While the overall trend shows that there are fewer fatal car accidents, there are still hundreds of thousands of car accidents every year that cause personal injury or property damage. More on this webpage
Minor Motor Vehicle Accidents
This is where car accident attorneys become very important for people who have been involved in a crash. After you have had a car accident, a lawyer or attorney can help fight for your rights to claim all of the benefits you are entitled to. If you are the driver at fault, a car accident attorney will also be able to defend you properly to make sure that your rights are not taken advantage of. For many less serious fender benders, it may not be necessary for personal injury lawyers to become involved. Generally, the two drivers can work out an agreement with the help of the responding police officers and their insurance companies so that the damage will be fixed and everyone can continue on their way. The cars may only have slight damage, and the occupants will be in good health without any serious problems caused by accidents. While it may not be a pleasant experience for either party, minor auto accidents can often be resolved quickly and without the need for a car accident attorney.
Severe Car Accidents Require Legal Advice
However, more serious vehicular accidents often require the input of a trained car accident lawyer. Car accidents have been proven to be the number one cause of unnecessary death in the United States, which means that many people will end up suing the other parties involved and bringing their cases to court. If you are involved in a serious car accident that either disables or kills any occupants, it is possible to bring your case to court using a car accident attorney. They will be able to review your case and details of your accident to help prove that the car accident was not your fault and that you deserve monetary compensation. Without the aid of a trained legal adviser, such as a car accident lawyer, it will be difficult to prove your case to a jury and win a verdict. Accident attorneys have the skills needed to help win your case or at least get it settled out of court, making a painful car accident much easier. Monetary compensation will never bring back your loved one that was killed in the car crash, but an attorney will be able to make your life easier to move on with your life.
Of course, suppose you happen to be the cause of a serious accident that caused another driver, passenger, or bystander to become injured or killed. In that case, you will also need legal advice from a vehicle accident attorney. You can be certain that the other parties involved will want to press charges in order to get all of the justice they feel they deserve. Car accident lawyers will be able to represent you fairly and help show a jury or judge why you should not be held responsible for the full set of actions that happened. Often, a good car crash attorney can reduce the sentence or fines to only a fraction of what the prosecution demanded. Even if you are not entirely at fault, the other people involved may try to take advantage of you, making it important to be properly represented with a lawyer.
Occasionally, it is difficult to immediately tell whose fault it was that caused the car accident and this is when a lawyer becomes especially important. In a small vehicle accident, the policemen responding to the accident will be able to use their basic deductive skills and knowledge of traffic laws to determine who is at fault. This will get recorded and relayed to the proper insurance companies of the responsible parties so that the damages can be covered. If the accident is much more serious, such as involving a death or serious injury, a deeper investigation is needed to determine exactly the cause of the accident. The police officers will have to take pictures of the scene, take measurements of where the cars came to rest, and collect as much evidence as possible. The case will then be escalated to the proper legal authorities who will fully investigate the case and determine the cause of the accident and who is at fault.
How it Works
Every party involved in the car accident will need to hire an attorney and they will be responsible for representing their client in a court of law. Generally, there will be prosecuting and defense sides, with the prosecutors pressing charges against the other parties. It is the job of the prosecuting accident attorneys to build a case against the other people to concretely prove that they caused the accident and should be held responsible through fines or jail time. On the other hand, the defense lawyers defend their clients accused of causing the car accident and prove they did not cause the problem. There have been cases where the prosecutor has actually been at fault and the defense has proven that their client did not do anything wrong. Even if the defendant is guilty, car accident lawyers can help to reduce the sentence and make their fines more manageable. More on this webpage
Accident lawyers will often hire expert witnesses to analyze the crash and testify in court about who caused the vehicle accident. Expert witnesses are often professional engineers who have years of experience analyzing accident scenes and determining the cause of the collision. They can look at tire marks, surveillance cameras, traffic light timing, and the angle of the cars after they have come to rest to determine how fast they were traveling and where they were coming from. Forensic engineers can be extremely helpful to car accident attorneys because they can prove or disprove a theory using scientific facts. Often times, the evidence presented by these expert witnesses is able to either convict or free the defendants.
Once both sides have analyzed the data and evidence, they will present their findings in a preliminary hearing to determine if the case is suitable for a full civil or criminal court case. The prosecuting attorneys will present evidence trying to prove that the defendant caused the car accident and they they should either pay a certain amount of money or be sentenced to jail or some other form of punishment. The defending car accident lawyers will then present evidence showing that their client is not at fault and that they should not be held accountable. The judge will then decide if the case will be thrown out or taken to a higher level, but more serious cases that involve death or serious injury will usually be escalated to the next level.
As an alternative, some cases are settled before they go to court. Settling means that the attorneys from both sides discuss their evidence and agree to certain terms on behalf of their clients without the need to go through extensive court hearings. Going to trial is often a long and arduous event that is also very expensive. If one side concedes that the accident was their fault, or the evidence is overwhelming and there would be no way to get out of it, the two parties may settle out of court. This generally ends with the defendant giving the prosecutors a certain amount of money to pay for the damages from the car accident, but this allows them to avoid the hassle of going through full court proceedings.
Where to Find Car Accident Lawyers
When looking for a car accident attorney, you will want to find one that is in your area and easily accessible. Lawyers and attorneys are generally quite expensive but can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost lawsuits and can drastically affect the outcome of any civil or criminal suit. It is recommended that everyone find an accident attorney after they have been in a serious car accident in order to protect their assets and family. And, if you have been severely injured in an accident, personal injury lawyers can help get you the justice you deserve.
Some attorneys work on a wide variety of legal cases and are able to represent you in any case that you need, whether it is a foreclosure, divorce, or car accident. These lawyers are generally easier to find and there may be several in your area that will be able to help you. While these attorneys can help navigate through the legal tape, it is usually better to find a lawyer specializing just in car accident cases. These car accident attorneys work on car crash cases regularly and know all the details of winning a case. They may also have special knowledge of accidents and have extra resources to call on if the case is especially difficult.
When hiring a lawyer, looking online or using the Yellow Pages in your local area is best to find a car accident lawyer that will properly represent you. If there are several law offices in your area, feel free to shop around to find the attorney that best fits with your personality. It is important to find someone you can work closely with for an extended period at a reasonable price.