One interesting fact about Jonesboro is that multiple scenes from Smokey and the Bandit were filmed here in the city. However, while movies about car chases can be entertaining, reckless driving is no laughing matter in real life.
If the actions of a negligent driver have caused injuries, you could be facing months of pain, expensive medical bills, car repairs, and lost income. But when the at-fault driver and their insurance adjuster might blame you, or the insurance adjuster could undervalue your claim, how can you secure the compensation you need to recover?
A Jonesboro Car Accident Attorney Could Help With Your Claim
As if dealing with a car accident and a trip to the emergency room isn’t stressful enough, you now have to figure out how to recover compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Meanwhile, the insurance adjuster is combing over the policy and the police report, looking for any reason to deny your claim or pay less than its worth.
If your plan is to call the insurance company, we recommend holding off until you speak with an attorney. This is because, unfortunately, conversations with an insurance adjuster often do more harm than good: even when you speak thoughtfully, the adjuster may twist your words to suggest you had some fault in the accident—which can cost you some or all of your settlement!
The best solution is to contact an experienced car accident lawyer in Jonesboro. At the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, we offer free consultations; we’ll review your accident details, answer your questions, and help you understand the options for pursuing compensation.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident?
We know the moments following a car accident can be stressful, scary, and hectic. However, taking specific steps can help you protect your legal rights to compensation:
- Pull over in the first safe place you see. Avoid leaving your car on the road unless it’s too badly damaged to drive, in which case you should turn on your flashers to warn others.
- Consider if you might be injured. Sometimes, injuries don’t cause pain or other symptoms right away. Look yourself over to see if you have any bumps, bruises, or cuts, and be aware that pain or symptoms may appear later.
- Call 911 to report the accident and let them know about any injuries.
- Unless the 911 operator has instructed you to stay in the car, it’s a good idea to exchange insurance and contact info with the other driver. Don’t discuss fault. If the other driver is agitated or argumentative, return to your vehicle and wait for the authorities. The police are required to get their contact and insurance information when they arrive.
- Most drivers are conscientious enough to stick around and cooperate with making a police report. However, if the other motorist refuses to give their information and takes off, don’t follow them. Get the car’s license plate number and description to pass on to the authorities.
- Take photos of the damage to your car, the other vehicle, the road, and the surrounding area, as well as your injuries. Pay particular attention to any damage on your vehicle, even if it seems minimal. People often have “sticker shock” when they find out how much it costs to fix what looks like a small scratch or dent. Also, photograph any debris or skid marks on the road.
- When the police arrive, answer their queries honestly but briefly. You don’t need to volunteer additional information and shouldn’t speculate about fault, especially if you think you caused the collision. When it comes to car accidents, people are often incorrect in their assessment of fault.
- Get medical attention for any injuries, even if they seem minor. As we discussed earlier, some injuries are more noticeable after time has passed. It’s a good idea to see a healthcare provider so they have a record of your injuries if you feel worse later and need more treatment. Visiting a provider also allows you to address any injuries that are more serious than they seem. If you develop any new pain or symptoms over the next few weeks, ask your healthcare provider if they might be related to your accident.
- Speak with an experienced car insurance attorney as soon as possible after your accident.
What Happens When the Other Driver Thinks You Are at Fault?
Our team spends considerable time investigating accidents and searching for evidence of fault because the drivers disagree about how the accident happened. Even when the other driver admits fault, their insurance company can still blame the injured party under comparative negligence laws.
What Is Modified Comparative Negligence?
This is a system for dealing with personal injury claims used in many states, including Georgia. Because there are often situations where both parties contribute to an accident, modified comparative negligence allows an injured person to recover their damages minus the percentage of fault they had.
So, if you were 20 percent responsible for the accident, you could recover 80 percent of your damages. However, you must be less than 50 percent at fault, or you can’t recover anything.
Who Decides How Fault Is Apportioned in a Car Accident?
People are sometimes surprised to learn that fault is usually decided by one or more car insurance companies. When both parties attempt to make a claim on the other’s insurance policy, each insurance company will assign an adjuster to the claim.
Neither adjuster will be eager to pay for the other party’s claim, and they will negotiate with the other carrier over who pays for what. It’s important to understand that both adjusters are focused on paying as little as possible, not ensuring you get the settlement you deserve.
The insurance adjusters will look at key evidence in the case, starting with the police report. Sometimes, people ask us if the police report determines fault.
It’s a crucial factor, but frequently, these reports are based on limited evidence at the scene and conflicting statements from the parties involved. The officer will give their opinion of what happened based on the available information, but this is an educated guess. If we obtain additional evidence, we can challenge the police report.
Aside from this report, the insurance adjusters will ask for the photos you took of your car’s damage. You might think the insurance company only needs these to estimate the cost of repairing the damage, but they could also be looking for indications of how the accident happened.
Unfortunately, this part of the process may be somewhat subjective. Sometimes, the adjuster may interpret the photo evidence in ways that don’t accurately represent what happened.
How Can a Lawyer Help You Prove Your Case?
We’ll investigate the accident thoroughly and compile additional evidence. Our investigators will visit the accident scene and look for nearby cameras—today, we often find security or doorbell cameras in the area.
If we arrive soon after the collision, we may be able to recover video of the accident from one of the cameras. Additionally, we’ll talk to people in the area to learn if they saw anything.
Sometimes, we might find witnesses who weren’t present when the police arrived but can speak to what happened. This may be helpful in situations where video evidence isn’t available.
Finally, we’ll consider electronic evidence. If you believe the other driver was distracted before the crash, we can request their phone records.
Modern vehicles also contain event data recorders, or EDRs, which capture data points right before and during a significant event (like a collision). From this data, we can learn how fast each vehicle was moving, what direction it was headed in, and what steps the driver took (if any) to avoid an accident.
How Does the Insurance Company Interpret Evidence in a Car Accident Case?
Some evidence is more concrete than others, but in many cases, there is room for an insurance adjuster to make their own interpretation even when the facts are clear. For instance, they might think you’re 30 percent responsible for the accident because you were going ten miles over the speed limit.
But what if the other driver was going 20 miles over the limit and also ran a red light? Is 30 percent really a fair estimate, or would 15 or 20 percent be more accurate?
The average person has no idea how to calculate these percentages and will often accept the insurance company’s decision. But if you have an attorney on your side, we’ll fight for a fair accounting of both drivers’ contributions so you can get the best settlement possible.
In some cases, we may find that a client is assigned a percentage of fault when they didn’t contribute to the crash at all. In others, their contributions may have been overestimated.
What Should You Do When the Insurance Company Makes You an Offer?
Receiving an offer from the insurance company is often a relief. Most people feel their difficulties are almost over, and they can put the car accident behind them now. However, the initial offer might not be sufficient to cover all their damages.
It’s essential that you understand what is and isn’t included in your offer before you make a decision. Calculating the value of an insurance claim is challenging.
A knowledgeable attorney will inquire about your injuries, your bills, your lost income, and other ways the accident impacted your life. We’ll work to ensure all your expenses are recovered, including the cost of future medical care, out-of-pocket expenses for physical therapy, etc.
Sometimes, an insurance company’s offer might not take all these losses into account. The insurance adjuster may also overlook or undervalue other damages that the injured person doesn’t think to request in their claim.
For instance, pain and suffering might be calculated using the “Multiplier Method,” in which economic damages are multiplied by a number the insurance adjuster assigns. This number is between 1 and 5, and the adjuster should select it based on the severity of your injuries.
We sometimes find this number is a little low based on the client’s considerable pain and difficulties, and we will work to get a better valuation.
If you’ve received an offer from the insurance company—especially if it arrives quickly after your claim—we strongly recommend reviewing it with an attorney. We’ll establish an accurate valuation of your claim and help you understand how that number compares to the offer.
If the offer seems unreasonable, we’ll negotiate with the insurance carrier for a better deal.
What if the Insurance Adjuster Is Pressuring You to Sign an Offer?
This is concerning behavior. Your insurance adjuster should want to make sure you understand the settlement agreement before you sign anything.
If they press you to hurry up and sign the document, it’s crucial that you speak with an attorney before you do anything. The adjuster may be hoping you’ll accept a lowball offer before you figure out what your claim is really worth, and once you sign the agreement, they have no further obligation to pay your damages.
How Can You Learn More From a Jonesboro Car Accident Law Firm?
If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. Whether you’ve received an offer from the insurance company or haven’t filed a claim yet, we’ll review your accident details and help you understand the options.
There is no obligation, and if we take your case, you won’t pay us anything until we win or settle it.
Attorney Ali Awad founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm only a few short years ago and has since turned it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. He and his team have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families with a 99.5 percent success rate.
When he’s not fighting for clients in the courtroom or the boardroom, Mr. Awad posts entertaining yet educational videos about legal topics for more than a million followers on social media. You can work with him when you call (470) 323-8779.
