A negligent driver’s split-second decision can leave you struggling with pain, medical bills, lost income, car repairs, and more challenges. But while you’re going to doctor’s appointments and physical therapy, using up your paid time off and possibly unpaid time as well, the other driver’s insurance company is working to save money—at your expense.
They could claim you caused or contributed to the accident, undervalue your damages, or both. How can you make sure you get the car accident settlement you deserve?
Contact a Newnan Car Accident Attorney Today
Relying on the insurance company to pay your claim doesn’t always work out, but fighting the insurance company on your own can be challenging. The best solution is to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer who can investigate your accident, gather evidence, and establish a strong case.
Our team will also learn about your injuries and losses and correctly calculate the value of your claim, and then we’ll work to achieve a fair settlement.
If you or a loved one have been hurt in a car accident, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. We’ll evaluate your case and advise you of your options for pursuing compensation.
Attorney Ali Awad and his legal team have over twenty years of combined experience helping injured people and their families get the settlements they deserve.
What Are Some Common Difficulties With Filing an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident?
Insurance companies want you to believe that filing a claim and getting a check is as simple as snapping a few pictures with your phone and hitting Send. However, many people experience challenges with actually recovering their damages from the at-fault driver’s insurance company for several reasons.
Here are some common issues:
“It’s Not My Fault, It’s Your Fault!”
You could be blamed for causing the accident by the other driver, their insurance adjuster, or both. Disputes about fault are at the heart of many car accident cases we handle.
Unfortunately, people who call the insurance company to argue their side may unintentionally make things worse when the insurance adjuster picks apart everything they say. An innocent comment might be misinterpreted to indicate fault, for example.
Luckily, you don’t have to deal with the insurance company yourself to fight the insurance company’s inaccurate view of your contributions. An experienced legal team will study photos captured at the scene, review collision videos (where security, doorbell, or dash cameras are available),
consider witness testimonies, and examine data retrieved from each car’s event data recorder (EDR). Next, we’ll construct a compelling case to establish that the other driver is responsible for the collision.
Although we’re always prepared to argue your case at trial, our attention to detail and careful planning allow us to settle most cases out of court. Once the insurance company representatives understand how strong our case is, they are usually willing to make a reasonable settlement offer.
“It’s the Other Driver’s Fault…but Also Yours.”
A car accident doesn’t have to be the fault of only one driver. We frequently see situations where both drivers took actions that contributed to the collision.
Georgia law accommodates these circumstances with modified comparative negligence statutes, under which each driver is assigned a percentage of fault. You might be 10 percent responsible, while the other driver is 90 percent at fault, for instance.
If you are 50 percent or more responsible, you can’t collect damages from the other party (although you may be able to collect from your own insurance, depending on what kind of coverage you have). When you are less than 50 percent at fault, you can recover from the other party but will lose your own percentage of fault from the final settlement.
If you’re wondering who decides the percentage of fault, it’s usually one or both insurance companies. Not surprisingly, we sometimes see cases where the insurance adjuster’s estimate of fault seems out of line with the facts of the case, or the insurance adjuster may believe the injured person had a small percentage of fault when they contributed nothing at all to the accident.
It’s easy for an experienced car accident lawyer to notice these discrepancies. However, the average person usually has no reference point for what a reasonable estimate of their contributions should be.
Some people incorrectly believe they were entirely at fault for an accident and are relieved the insurance company wants to pay them anything at all. For this reason, it’s beneficial to speak with a lawyer to ensure your percentage of fault is calculated correctly.
If it isn’t, we’ll work to show the insurance adjuster how little you had to do with the collision.
“We’d Like to Offer You…”
Settlement offers can be disarming. It seems like you’ll get your settlement, and everything will be fine. But watch out—many first offers from the insurance company severely undervalue your damages. Here are some common issues:
- The insurance company offers to pay for your current bills, but you may still need more treatment in the future. We always make sure our clients are finished with medical treatment and that all their bills are covered before settling a case. Or, if you suffer severe injuries and need long-term care, we can estimate your future expenses.
- The insurance company decides some of your treatments are unnecessary. You and your doctor should decide what treatment will work best for you. If the insurance company rejects one of your bills, we’ll work to show the treatment is needed.
- Your offer ignores or undervalues some damages you may or may not have considered. One of the first things we do is review all possible damages with the client so we can correctly calculate their claim’s value. This also allows us to see if the insurance adjuster has overlooked anything. For instance, you have a right to seek compensation for your pain and suffering, but the insurance company may not figure this into your settlement, or they could undervalue it. Most people have no idea how to value pain and suffering because, unlike most damages, it doesn’t come with an invoice for a specific amount. Insurance companies have several formulas they might use, including the Multiplier Method, in which you are assigned a number to be multiplied by your economic damages. If the insurance adjuster chooses a lower number, you may not receive all the compensation you deserve.
Not all insurance company offers are insufficient, but it can be difficult to know what you’re looking at if you aren’t an insurance expert. We recommend reviewing the offer with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney before making a decision.
If it’s a fair offer, we’ll tell you, and you can accept. If not, we can negotiate for a more equitable resolution.
What Happens When an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver Hits You?
When this happens, you should always make a police report, even if the other driver promises to pay your bills out of pocket. In Newnan, you can file a report online.
Remember that the other driver has no idea how much your costs might be, and you have no way of knowing if they can pay. A police report allows you to make a claim on your uninsured/underinsured motorist policy (UM/UI).
This is optional coverage in Georgia, and if you don’t have it, seeking compensation will be more challenging. In some cases, your lawyer may be able to sue the driver or a third party, but this is not always a good option.
For this reason, we highly recommend buying UM/UI coverage.
What if You Can’t Prove the Other Driver Is at Fault?
People often think they can’t prove what happened in a car accident before they talk to us. Fortunately, our investigative team is highly skilled and frequently uncovers more evidence in the accident, such as:
- We encourage everyone involved in an accident to take pictures of the damage to both vehicles, the roadway, and the surrounding area. However, we know people sometimes get distracted or are too severely injured, so if you didn’t take pictures, we can help with this task. We’ll take photos of your vehicle damage and injuries, and we’ll return to the accident scene to photograph anything that might be of interest.
- Video evidence. One of the wonders of modern technology is that video cameras are everywhere now—dashcams, doorbell cameras, security cameras, traffic cameras, etc. If you contact us quickly after your collision, we have a good chance of recovering a video. But the longer you wait, the more likely it is that a video of the crash may have been deleted already.
- Event data recorders or EDRs. Sometimes called “black boxes,” these devices record a number of data points about a significant event like a collision. Do you think the other driver was speeding when they hit you? We can request their EDR data to learn how fast their car was going, what direction it was moving in, and the driver’s actions.
- The roadway. One reason photos are helpful is because they may allow us to see what the road looked like immediately following the collision. Longer skid marks could indicate the driver was speeding, while shorter ones might mean the driver tried to stop but had little time to do so.
- When collisions happen, pieces of both cars are often dislodged. Sometimes, studying where debris ends up can give us clues about the position of the cars when they collide.
- Witness testimony. When examining the crash scene, we often talk to people who live or work in the area to learn if they saw anything. Witnesses who are not present when police arrive might still be able to speak about what happened in the crash.
If you’re not sure you can prove the other driver was at fault, please talk to an attorney right away. In many situations, we can find evidence to show the other driver was at fault.
Occasionally, there are accidents where we simply can’t find enough evidence to build a strong case. If your accident occurred in a more rural area of Georgia, for example, there might not be any nearby cameras or witnesses.
If our best efforts don’t yield anything conclusive, we may consider other options for recovering damages.
First, we’ll look at your insurance policy. If you have Collision and Medical Payments (MedPay) policies, you can use these no matter who is at fault.
This is also a good option if you made a mistake and caused an accident (but please check with an attorney first to ensure you were indeed at fault).
If you don’t have these optional policies, you may be unable to recover compensation. In rare cases, you might have a third-party claim against someone who isn’t the other driver—the maker of a defective seatbelt, for example.
Your lawyer will explore all avenues for pursuing damages. However, the best solution is to invest in a robust insurance policy covering many situations beyond those addressed by the required liability insurance.
How to Get Help From a Newnan Car Accident Law Firm
If you’re wondering what to do after your car accident or experiencing difficulties with a car insurance claim, please call the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. Our experienced legal team will review your case, investigate further if necessary, and lay out the possibilities for pursuing compensation.
There is no obligation, and we never charge any fees until we win or settle your case, so you have nothing to lose. Contact us today to learn more.
Attorney Ali Awad established the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm a few short years ago and has turned it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. With the help of his experienced legal team, he has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families.
When he’s not hard at work on a case, Mr. Awad posts educational videos about car accidents and other legal topics for more than a million followers on social media. Work with him today when you call (470) 323-8779.
