There are times when you might get in a car wreck, even if you do everything right. Maybe you feel like you’re the safest driver in the world. You never drink and drive, you don’t let your cell phone distract you, and you never make unsafe turns or lane changes.
Despite all that, some vehicle comes out of nowhere and plows into you. That can be a scary situation, and the first thing you’ll need to do is figure out whether the crash hurt you or one of your passengers. After that, you will have to start picking up the pieces so you can resume your life.
You may feel like contacting a car wreck attorney makes sense at this point. Some lawyers make a great living doing just car accident cases, and that might be the person you want on your side.
If you do hire a car wreck lawyer, there are some particular things you want them to be able to do for you. Let’s talk about some of those now.
Negotiate with Your Insurance Company
Car accidents can become situations where you must do battle with your insurance company. That may sound hyperbolic, but there are some insurance companies that will do everything they can to avoid paying you what you’re due through your policy. These insurance companies are for-profit business entities, so it makes sense they would drag their feet on paying you.
Your lawyer should be able to verbally spar with the insurance company representatives if the situation calls for that. They should be able to threaten them with legal action if they have to.
Your lawyer might have to negotiate with the other driver’s insurance company as well. If they need to threaten to take them to court, they should not back down from that. You need a combative lawyer sometimes who is not afraid to challenge insurance companies that try not to pay, even if they have a legal requirement to do so.
Defend You Against the Insurance Company
Your attorney should also be able to step in and threaten legal action if your insurance company tries to blame you for what happened, even if it’s clear the other driver was at fault. It’s unfortunate to think that an insurance company might do something like this, but it is not all that uncommon.
Your lawyer should not hesitate to haul your insurance company in front of a judge and provide evidence that shows the other driver was clearly at fault if that’s what it takes to get them to pay you. If they keep posturing, your lawyer should be ready to make a court appearance, or several of them, if that’s what it takes to solve the problem.
Determine Causation
Your lawyer should have the resources to determine causation, liability, and fault, which all amount to about the same thing from a legal standpoint. If they determine you caused the accident, they should be honest about that with you, since lying to you about fault won’t help your case. However, if you’re sure the other driver caused what happened, your lawyer should have the resources to prove that.
That often means having investigators standing by who are already on the payroll and can get right to work figuring out what happened on the day or night in question. They can look at store or traffic camera footage. They can hunt for any witnesses who were there that day.
They might contact police officers or medical personnel who can weigh in on what they saw when they got to the crash site. The more evidence and the more testimony the investigators can provide, the better your lawyer can establish that you did not cause what happened.
Keep You in the Loop Regarding What’s Happening
Your attorney should also make a solemn pledge to you when you hire them that they will keep you directly in the loop if anything happens regarding your case. If they want to take you on as a client, and you trust them to represent you, that’s a relationship which comes with some responsibilities on their part.
They must be ready to inform you if the other party wants to settle or if there is some new evidence that comes to light. They need to be able to reach out to you quickly via phone call, text, email, or whatever other method you’ve agreed will work best.
Your lawyer can’t keep you in the dark because sometimes when something happens with your case, further events can snowball quickly. You need up-to-the-minute information, and they should have no trouble providing that for you.
They Need to Be a Shoulder on Which You Can Cry
Your attorney also needs to be able to support you emotionally a little bit sometimes. They are not your spouse or partner, so you can’t confide in them every time you’re feeling uncertain following a car accident. However, they should at least be able to comfort you somewhat if you’re feeling like things are not going your way.
The legal process after a car wreck can frustrate you, and sometimes it can feel like the whole world is against you. Dealing with hostile insurance companies and an unrepentant driver who hit your vehicle is not the easiest thing in the world.
Your lawyer should be a source of quiet confidence who can tell you that they’ll pull you through this okay. They need to remind you sometimes that there’s light at the tunnel’s end.
The best lawyer is a people person, and they shouldn’t ignore you when you’re feeling bleak. They can prop you up and reassure you that you’re going to get through this ordeal, and everything will work out just fine.
If you don’t sense during your initial meeting that your lawyer can do all of these things for you, you will probably want to go with someone else who can.