Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers

No matter how careful of a driver you are, many car accidents occur every day and can happen to anyone at any time. When you get in a car accident, in addition to the immediate stress, there can be several questions that arise. These include addressing any injuries you may have, understanding car repairs you may need, and trying to figure out how you will afford all of the unexpected costs of the aftermath of auto accidents. Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers understand your concerns.

Having a car accident lawyer you can trust to help you through the process is essential. A good lawyer will help you not only with your insurance company but can represent your case for personal injury claims in a court of law.

Contact a Bloomington car accident lawyer today at 317-401-8626 or use our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.

The Importance of Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers

Car accident claims often come down to having a clear picture of who was at fault in an accident. Fault can be hard to determine. A car accident lawyer can help you gather evidence for your claim including talking to witnesses, locating any footage of the accident, and even utilizing expert witnesses who can speak to the different aspects of auto accidents.

What Should You Do After an Accident?

If you have just been in a car accident, the most important thing to do is check if you or anyone else is injured. You should also call emergency services immediately.

Once you have done both of those things, you should gather as much information as you can. This includes taking photographs of the vehicles involved as well as the surrounding area.

Aspects like broken glass on the ground can be important, as can posted signage around the area of the accident. For example, if signage specifically says to yield to oncoming traffic and the other driver did not, then you have clear evidence that they went against traffic laws.

In addition to taking photos, you can also get the contact information of any witnesses and make notes of surrounding businesses.

Security camera footage is valuable in personal injury and accident cases. If you are unable to gather this evidence, your Bloomington car accident lawyer may gather it on your behalf. Auto accident personal injury attorneys can talk to businesses about obtaining their security footage as well, as this can be hard for individuals to obtain on their own.

When police have arrived at the accident scene, clearly state what happened and avoid statements of guilt. For example, it might feel natural to assign blame to yourself on some level and to say something like “I should have been paying more attention.”

However, any statements of self-blame can be used against you by insurance companies and by the other driver if your personal injury case goes to court. Police reports and accident reports can be used as evidence in an accident case.

Your car accident attorney can accompany you while you make any formal statements to the police.

What Information Do You Need from Your Doctor?

Whether you have injuries that need immediate care or not, being checked out by a medical professional after a car accident is vital. Some injuries may not be immediately apparent, and it is important to catch them before they worsen.

Common injuries from motor vehicle accidents include: neck injuries, back injuries, bruises, cuts, and abrasions. Emotional distress can also have a long-lasting effect on car accident victims.

If you have injuries, a doctor will be able to run diagnostic tests and examine you to determine the best course of action for your recovery. After an accident, if you are making a personal injury claim, compensation for your medical expenses after what health insurance covers is often a large portion of what you may be asking for.

This compensation for medical bills can cover treatment for major injuries like diagnostics, exams, any surgeries or recovery treatment (such as physical therapy), and even mental health appointments addressing the trauma and stress of the accident.

Your doctor can provide you with your records of medical care, as well as documentation of any treatment plan you have set in place. These are important pieces of evidence for your claim as well as for your health insurance provider.

How Soon Should You Talk to a Lawyer?

The best time to talk to a personal injury lawyer or auto accident attorney is immediately following your accident. The second best time is as soon as you know you have a claim to make.

A personal injury attorney can help you file your insurance claim, gather evidence on your behalf, talk to witnesses, deal with representatives from your insurance company, and represent your car accident case in court to see that you receive fair compensation for vehicle damage or other property damage.

An experienced personal injury lawyer from a reputable law firm like Crossen Law Firm goes above and beyond filing paperwork. We work to see that you have the best chance of having a claim approved. We are also there for you at a time when you are stressed and possibly in pain, so you may not be able to best represent yourself to your insurance company and any authorities who need a statement.

Personal injury cases can be hard to prove, so having a car accident lawyer on your side is beneficial. At Crossen Law Firm, we uphold the highest standards of professionalism to ensure your trust in our legal expertise.

What Compensation Can Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers Help You With?

Compensation for personal injury cases can include economic and non-economic damages such as:

Economic damages:

• Medical bills (current and future)
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property damage (vehicle repairs or replacement)
• Transportation costs (rental car, public transit)
• Home modification expenses (if needed due to injuries)
• Rehabilitation costs
• Prescription medication expenses

Noneconomic damages:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium (impact on marital relationship)
• Permanent disability or disfigurement
• Mental anguish
• Inconvenience

Remember that the specific economic and non-economic damages awarded can vary based on the details of various car accident cases.

The Role of Witnesses in Car Accidents

While it may be easy for the person in an accident to know exactly what happened, it can be hard to prove that that was exactly what happened. Eyewitness accounts are often an essential component to ascertaining what occurred during car accidents.

Witness can be a broad term as it encompasses the following:

Your Passengers

• Passengers in your vehicle can be important witnesses as they can corroborate what you were doing at the time of the accident.
• They may also have witnessed the actions of the responsible parties leading up to the accident. However, they will be considered a biased witness.

Other Drivers

• If your accident took place where other cars were, there may be other drivers who can explain what they saw happen. This type of witness can be difficult to track down if they did not stop after the accident occurred.

Passengers in the Other Car

• As with other drivers, their passengers can also be witnesses. In some car accident cases, they may be even more likely to have seen what was happening as they were not focused on driving at the time. They may have witnessed driver negligence or distracted driving.

Bystanders

• When an auto accident occurs near sidewalks or a business, there may be bystanders who can act as witnesses for your car accident claim. They are often considered highly credible witnesses as they have gotten a first-person view of the motor vehicle accident, often from a different angle than drivers would. This is why it can be important to get contact info from anyone nearby after the accident.

Surveillance Videos

• As mentioned before, surveillance footage from nearby houses or videos can be one of the best pieces of auto accident evidence you have. Video footage will show exactly what happened without the danger of being biased. It can often show who the at-fault driver was during an accident.
• The one issue is that some footage may only catch one angle of an accident, so obtaining footage from multiple businesses can often give a more complete picture.

What Can You Do If You Were Unable To Talk to Witnesses?

If you were unable to talk to any witnesses following your accident, you can contact the police department. The police officers at the scene should have talked to witnesses and gathered their contact information.

Your car accident lawyer can also talk to the police on your behalf to obtain this information.

When To Reject a Settlement Offer in a Car Accident Case

You may be anxiously awaiting a fair settlement offer in your car accident claim, especially if you have medical expenses and medical payments looming. However, a car crash case settlement can be less than the fair compensation you deserve, and, in those cases, you may want to reject the settlement offer.

Are Settlement Offers Negotiable?

When offered a settlement, you are not required to immediately accept it. A car insurance company is likely to offer you the lowest amount they can at first. Your Bloomington car accident lawyer will be able to look through the settlement with you and advise you about what you are entitled to when making your decision.

How Do You Reject a Settlement Offer?

Settlement offers need to be formally rejected. It is best to do so in writing, so you can be clear and have a record of what was said. Your Bloomington car accident attorney will be able to write this on your behalf.

Once a settlement has been accepted or rejected, verbally or in written form, it is considered legally binding.

When Should You Accept an Offer?

There are a variety of components that go into whether you should accept an offer, including:

• Severity of your car accident injuries
• Insurance coverage of the at-fault driver
• Whether you are receiving ongoing medical treatment for serious injuries
• Whether you will have additional lost wages for recovery and treatment
• And more

A car crash can be devastating physically and financially, so it’s important to understand any ongoing costs when deciding if you will accept a settlement offer.

Car accident attorneys and your legal team can help you determine if a settlement is a full and fair compensation for the extent of pain and suffering that the car crash has incurred for you.

What Happens Once You Accept a Settlement?

Once you have accepted a settlement from an insurance company, you and your law firm will review all documents that the insurance company has provided. If you are satisfied, you will sign and date the documents and submit them back to the insurance company.

Payment can then be issued. Settlement proceeds will go toward medical care payments, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Additionally, your experienced attorney will be able to collect their fees from the settlement funds to cover the legal services that they provided to you.

Bloomington Car Accident FAQs

What Are Common Tactics Insurance Companies Use To Devalue Your Claim?

They may ask you to provide a recorded statement about the accident. Because they often reach out immediately following an accident, you may still be processing what happened. This can lead to a statement that is unclear or inconclusive. A skilled lawyer can help you practice what you should say for this statement.

Additionally, they may purposefully delay responding to your claim. An insurance company will know that the pressure from medical expenses and lost wages may be putting you under more stress, so they may try to wait you out on paying a claim in your auto accident case. While medical insurance may cover some of your bills, an insurance company may still assume that other costs can be burdening you.

They may also ask you to allow them access to your medical records. While this may seem like they are trying to verify your medical costs from the accident, they may also be looking through years of your records. They do this so that they can point to any pre-existing issues that could have exacerbated the extent of your bodily injury from the accident.

How Long Do You Have To Seek Medical Attention After a Car Accident?

As mentioned before, not all injuries are immediately apparent after a car crash. Some injuries may take days or even weeks to appear, and it is never too late to go to the doctor for these accident injuries.

However, when an injured person has obvious injuries after a car wreck, medical care should be administered immediately. If you delay seeing a doctor, an insurance company may try to claim that it means your injury was not as serious as you claim.

Contact Experienced Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers at Crossen Law Firm

When you’ve been in a car wreck, it can be challenging to return to your normal life. Contacting a Bloomington car accident attorney can help. Our law firm can help accident victims navigate the stress and legal complexities of a motor vehicle accident. We offer our legal services on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t pay unless we recover compensation for you. We understand the challenges you face and are here to offer compassionate support and dedicated legal counsel.

If you’re the victim of an auto accident, wrongful death, or other injury case, contact our firm for a free consultation. With over 20 years of experience, our car accident attorneys are here to help. Leveraging extensive research and proven strategies, we confidently navigate through the intricacies of the law to advocate effectively on your behalf.

Call Crossen Law Firm today at 317-401-8626 to get in touch with Bloomington Car Accident Lawyers or fill out our online form.