Car crashes can be one of the most traumatic events a person can experience in their life. It is not uncommon to sustain immediate and long-term injuries, along with extensive damage to your personal property.
Once the accident scene is cleared and any potential injuries have been addressed, though, you may find yourself asking a lot of important questions: Who was at fault? How can I pay my medical bills? Is there anyone that can help me? The whole process can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know what to do first.
That’s why working with an experienced car accident attorney can help you navigate the steps you should take if you’ve been involved in a wreck. In this blog, we outline five key ways an experienced law firm can support you if you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto accident.
1. An Attorney Is Emotionally There for You
One of the most important ways an attorney can support your claim is by serving as an advocate. Your lawyer should support you every step of the way, from the initial consultation until any potential settlements or verdicts, ensuring that you are taken care of and compensated for any damages or losses you may have endured.
Your lawyer should support you every step of the way, from the initial consultation until any potential settlements or verdicts, ensuring that you are taken care of and compensated for any damages or losses you may have endured.
Our law firm has an experienced team of empathetic personal injury attorneys ready to hear your story and help you understand all your options. We also want to emotionally support you as you heal, providing legal advice for a wide range of complex issues you may be dealing with, including:
- Organizing medical bills and liens
- Navigating the claims process
- Communicating with automobile and health insurance companies, which frequently have large legal teams and vast resources to tap into
2. An Attorney Is a Legal Expert
You should find an experienced lawyer with the ability so they can help you with relevant laws and regulations you may not know anything about, from personal injury and wrongful death claims to property damage and liability issues, so that it doesn’t negatively affect your case evaluation.
For example, Alabama has a two-year statute of limitations to file a wrongful death claim after a victim’s passing. If an estate representative fails to meet this deadline, the family loses the right to compensation. Wrongful death cases take time to properly prepare. If you wait too long, it may compromise your case and prevent you from getting the justice you deserve.
Related: 5 Things You Need to Know About Alabama Wrongful Death Claims
3. An Attorney Will Investigate Your Wreck and Preserve Evidence
Unfortunately, your word is not enough in a car accident case. Instead, you need evidence that documents the accident, explains your injuries, and outlines your damages. This may include:
- Medical records and bills
- Paystubs and information about your lost income
- Police reports and witness statements
- Video footage and photographs from the crash scene
- Electronic data from a commercial vehicle’s black box or logbooks
- Cell phone records and texting data
- Long-term care recommendations from your doctors
- Insight from expert witnesses
While photos of your injuries and police reports are relatively easy enough to obtain yourself, an experienced attorney will help you compile the harder-to-get evidence.
Cell phone records, for instance, can serve as a critical piece of evidence in a distracted driving car accident. The driver often will resist giving up their text and phone records. However, a skilled attorney can issue a formal request, called a subpoena, to access them.
Related: 3 Ways a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help After a Car Accident
4. An Attorney Will Compile Witness Testimony Under Oath
A personal injury lawyer can make a big impact during a deposition, where a witness testifies and has their statement recorded under oath. Typically, this involves:
- Swearing-in of the witness, who may be an eyewitness or an expert
- The lawyer that scheduled the deposition asks the witness questions
- The other side’s lawyer then asks a list of questions, sometimes called a “cross-examination”
These statements can help you understand all the factors that contributed to your crash and how much your case is worth. Your lawyer also can prepare you to testify, educating you about the process and common tactics used by defense lawyers to you won’t be caught by surprise.
RELATED: Why You Need to Understand Evidence’s Role in Your Injury Claim
5. An Attorney Will Fight for Fair Compensation
Medical bills. Lost income. Pain and suffering. All of these items, and more, can add up in a hurry. And odds an insurance company will try to convince you to accept a settlement that is too low. Your lawyer can help you understand the full value of your claim by considering the full scope of your case, including:
- The severity of your injuries
- The likelihood of making a full recovery
- Current and future medical needs
- The strength of your legal arguments and chances of winning at trial
Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys: A Proven Track Record of Results
If you’ve been in a car crash in Alabama or Mississippi, the team at Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys is here for you. Since 1986, our law firm has helped thousands of car accident victims get the compensation they deserve through insurance settlements or personal injury claims. For example, in one case when a driver was using a cell phone, we reached an $8.5 million settlement. In another, we settled on $3.5 million for the victim of a truck driving incident.
While cases can settle out of court, that may not necessarily be your best option. We are not afraid to fight for your claims and try cases when the insurance company is being unreasonable.
We will meet with you in your home or at the hospital. Whatever it takes to lessen your stress or ease your worries, we strive to treat all our clients like family. Andy Citrin even once officiated one client’s wedding in a bedside ceremony in USA Health University Hospital only a few weeks after he nearly died in a motorcycle accident.
Related: Kenny’s Story: Andy Citrin Wins Big for Injured Motorcyclist and Officiates His Wedding
Contact Our Team of Car Accident Lawyers Today
Our law firm has offices in Mobile, Daphne, Foley, and Montgomery, Alabama, as well as in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Our lawyers are ready to handle a wide range of personal injury cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and more.
To schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys, please contact our team at 251-888-8888 or complete our online form. We will listen to your story, review all the details of your case, and give you the expert legal advice you need to rebuild your life after a serious motor vehicle crash.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
Andy is the owner and CEO of Citrin Law Firm, P.C. He founded the firm in 1995 with the goal of helping injured people put their lives back together. His passion for protecting injured people has only grown since he opened the doors of Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys, and he has a history of winning numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients.