Actions should taken after an accident advice by auto lawyer in usa

Not in all cases of an accident, drivers turn to a lawyer to prove their innocence or recover damages from the culprit or from the insurance company. It is logical that if the consequences and losses are minimal, then it is not profitable to involve a lawyer for full support of the case and pay for all lawyer services. In this case, a competent consultation of a qualified lawyer for an accident is sufficient.

According to the law, the costs of the plaintiff (victim) for legal assistance, in the event of a positive outcome of the case, are compensated by the defendant (the culprit of the accident). However, the court sometimes satisfies claims for compensation of court costs not to the fullest extent.

If the loss is small, I explain to the client the situation with the timing of the trial and the economic effect of the case won in the future. The client himself decides whether it is worth spending money on legal assistance or not. Or take other appropriate measures to minimize the damage from an accident and the legal consequences of a decision on guilt (innocence).

For minor accidents, you can contact a lawyer to competently draw up a statement of claim, form a legal position, determine the list and quality of evidence. Armed with documents prepared by a lawyer and advice on such cases, you can defend your position in court on your own if it is not possible to pay for the participation of a lawyer in the entire process.

Both in establishing the degree of guilt of the participants in the accident, and in matters of compensation for losses, the primary actions of the participants in the traffic accident when preparing materials by the police and conducting inspections (assessment activities, examinations) at the initial stage of the proceedings are of no small importance.

Auto Attorney’s Tips on First Steps After an Accident

Do not leave the scene of the accident;

Take a picture of the situation at the scene of a traffic accident (the location of cars, the nature of their damage, the trace picture – traces of skidding, traces of rolling wheels, scree soil, fragments or parts of cars, stains of technical fluids, etc.);

Do not agree with the administrative protocol – write about it in it, do not refuse to sign and receive a copy of the administrative protocol (this will not work);

Do not agree with the scheme of the accident – indicate this directly in it (despite the possible objections of the patrolmen);

Take pictures of the completed accident scheme on both sides – on the reverse side of the accident scheme, a list of car damages, data of participants in the accident and insurance companies of participants in the accident are indicated;

It is not possible to make a copy on the spot – get it from the police department (they are obliged to issue it);

Pay attention to the possible presence of video cameras in the area of ​​the accident. Take action to get the video. Keep in mind that videos have a shelf life and files are overwritten over time (no one archives them on purpose).

Accident Lawyer or Auto Lawyer

If you are a victim, do not delay filing an accident report with the insurance company of the culprit and at the same time apply for a payment (for an insurance period of 90 days for payment, it begins with the submission of an application for payment and all necessary documents).

Do not listen to the explanations of insurance employees that an application must be submitted after a court decision – in this way they “win” themselves for a couple of months.

If within 10 working days after the notification was submitted, the insurance company did not send an appraiser or an accident commissioner to inspect the damage, order an independent assessment and take a receipt for its payment. In this case, the insurance company is obliged to compensate for the cost of the assessment.

If a damaged car was picked up from the scene of an accident by a tow truck, take the receipt and documents from the evacuation service provider. Check that the receipt indicates: vehicle details, date, mileage and route. The insurance company is obliged to compensate for the costs of evacuation from the scene of an accident to a service station or parking lot – nothing more.

If you see that the insurance culprit is unreliable and there is reason to believe that they will pay less than expected, it is better to immediately order an independent examination. Even if the insurance company sends its appraiser, arrange so that the expert you hired and the insurance appraiser look at the damaged car at the same time.

Control what the inspectors write, especially the one sent by the insurance company.

Representatives of the insurance company, as a rule, have an attitude to look for reasons to apply the depreciation factor when calculating the amount of loss. And these are traces of previous accidents, traces of corrosion, deformation, etc.

At the same time, not any deformation is the basis for the application of wear. Insurers do not know about this or are silent. There is a methodology for conducting an auto-merchandising examination and it indicates the dimensions of deformations that can serve as a basis for applying wear – if they are less, then the use of wear is unlawful.

Choose an appraiser (auto expert) carefully to get a full report. Inconsistency of the appraiser’s report with the requirements of the relevant national standards and methods, abolish its strength of evidence.

Do not repair your vehicle after an accident until it has been inspected by the insurance company and an independent appraiser or auto forensic expert.

If you don’t want to wait for payment and are ready to repair the car at your own expense, check that the service station invoice for the items corresponds to the appraiser’s inspection report (prices may vary). Get a certificate of completion and a receipt for payment for car repairs after a traffic accident.

Receive a payment to the account of the service station, and if you have already repaired it for your money before payment, provide the insurance company with a certificate of completion and a receipt, otherwise the insurance payment will be net of VAT.

Do not believe the promises of the culprit to compensate for the damage later, in exchange for a receipt of no claims – first a refund, then receipts and everything else …

Do not carry out mutual settlements in a fuss and haste, without carefully inspecting the car and without assessing the loss. In addition to external and seemingly insignificant damage, there may be hidden defects – internal damage.

You may be promised to repair the car after an accident at your service station and offer to drive there. You leave the scene of an accident, then there will be problems with proving the amount of damage, the circumstances of the accident, and the question of leaving the scene of the accident is open. At least draw up a European protocol signed by all participants.

If you are the culprit of an accident, during the inspection, pay attention to whether all the damage is from your accident or there are others (reflect this in the act, if any) and see the recommendations above regarding wear.
Unfortunately, you can’t write instructions for all occasions, I hope I described the main points.

However, if an accident has already happened with the victims and you see that they are “weaving bast shoes” or, on the contrary, “draining” the case, or very serious losses, it’s better to delay and contact an accident lawyer, because in these cases the chances of coping yourself are reduced, because the power the opposition of your opponent and the lawyers he has hired will increase in direct proportion to the severity of the accident.