Car Accident Claims

A car accident is a stressful enough situation. If you’ve ever been in a fender-bender or a single-car accident, you know that to be the truth. But what about serious car accidents that involve 2, 3, or even more cars, such as a pile-up on the highway?

It’s hard to know what to do to stay safe in these situations, so we’ve put together these tips to help you deal with even the most difficult multi-car accidents.

1. Don’t Move Your Car After The Accident (And Don’t Get Out)

While there are some rare exceptions to this rule, the police usually must determine who was at fault and caused a “chain reaction” leading to the accident.

This is the reason that you generally shouldn’t move your car after an accident without police permission unless it is necessary to do so for safety reasons. It is generally best not get out of the car until emergency services personnel like EMTs, the police, or fire department have secured the scene, and informed you that it is safe to do so.

2. Take Photos And Video Of The Scene

Determining fault and liability in a multi-car accident can be nightmarishly complex. Because of this, we recommend taking photos and video of the scene, if possible. If you have a smartphone, take it out and take photos of your car from every angle, and take photos of all other cars involved in the accident, as well as a video of the scene, if possible and safe to do so.

3. Get Insurance Information From All Other Available Parties (And Provide Your Own)

The majority of work determining fault will be done by your respective insurance agencies. Get the insurance information of all other involved parties, so that you will be able to report the incident and the details of the accident.

4. Give a Report to the Police

Once the police arrive, give them a report of the accident, and be honest and truthful about the circumstances surrounding the incident. However, you do not have to admit fault.

They should give you information about how to get a police report when it is finalized.

5. Contact a Car Accident Lawyer

You must report your accident to your insurance adjuster as soon as you can. Doing so will help speed up the process, particularly if multiple insurance companies are involved. Additionally, you should speak with an experienced car accident attorney ASAP. Despite what you may think, the insurance companies are not looking out for your best interests. Insurance companies are looking to minimize the amount they pay out to injury victims. Speaking with a St. Louis car accident attorney will go a long way in ensuring your legal right to compensation is protected after an accident.

Follow These Tips To Get Through An Accident!

A multiple-car accident can be very stressful, but with these tips, you can stay safe, and ensure that you do everything you can to streamline the process of reporting and filing an insurance claim.

Once you sign a settlement offer you absolve the insurance company from any liability going forward. Here’s what you should be aware of before accepting a settlement offer.

If you are in an auto accident in Missouri, then the at-fault driver or their insurance company is responsible for paying for any resulting damages and injuries. The problem is that although an insurance policy is meant to ensure that someone is compensated wholly, that is not the insurance company’s number one priority.

A settlement is an offer that an insurance company will make to those who are injured in an accident to stop the case from escalating to trial.

It is an amount that is meant, not to make sure that the victim is compensated to the fullest, but to limit the insurance company’s losses by offering the least amount possible.

If you are offered a lowball settlement price, and you think that taking it would be settling for less than you are entitled to, you are probably right.

Do You Know How to Calculate Non-Economic and Economic Losses?

Unless you are an expert in car accident injury law, you may not understand how to calculate both non-economic and economic injuries. Economic injuries might be easier to figure out. They are a combination of all the medical treatment and lost revenue you have due to your injuries. Non-economic damages are different. They are not concrete like economic damages.

How to Calculate Non-Economic Damages

To figure out how much your injury is worth, you have to know how to use either the multiplier method or the per diem method of calculation. If you don’t calculate your injury correctly, you will not know how much they are worth and you could end up not getting all that you deserve.

To ensure that you get all that you are entitled to for your car accident injuries, it is an excellent idea to speak with a St. Louis car accident attorney. Using your medical bills and other documents, your attorney can come to a quantitative amount of what your experience related to the accident is.

Since non-economic damages are not concrete and include pain and suffering and emotional distress, there is going to be a lot of wiggle room between what the insurance company thinks your anguish is worth and what a St. Louis car accident lawyer defending you thinks it is worth.

If an insurance company offers you a settlement, and although you don’t feel it is enough, you are tempted to take it, don’t. Having a lawyer look over your claim is the best way to ensure you are getting the full amount you deserve.

Once more, if you do sign it, then you absolve the insurance company from any liability going forward.

If you have been hurt in a car accident, and it wasn’t your fault, it might be harder than you think to receive the compensation you deserve.

When someone else caused your injuries, it is their insurance carrier who is generally responsible for paying, but they usually don’t have your best interest at heart.

That is why, if an insurance company offers you a settlement, it is in your best interests to have a St. Louis car accident lawyer in your corner to ensure that you are getting all the money you deserve. It will be additional security not just for your immediate situation, but for any later bills or injuries that can prop up.

A settlement means that you agree to resolve your case, and the logistics of what you are entitled to, outside of a courtroom. Although there is a misconception about personal injury and car accidents, many of these cases are settled far before they advance to being heard by a trial or judge.

Often, the two parties can reach an agreement about what is fair compensation and avoid a timely or expensive lawsuit. Even if you do take your case to trial, there is no guarantee that you will either get more or even win.

Step one: the demand letter

If you are injured, and you feel as if your car accident injuries are not being fairly addressed or paid for by the other person’s insurance company, then the first step to take is to write a formal demand letter. A demand letter is a letter written to the insurer that gives you an opportunity to state your grievances, explain the specifics of the incident, and to describe all the damages and injuries that you have endured. It is also a time where you request a payment amount that would be suitable to settle your case without escalating the incident to a lawsuit.

It is best that you have a St. Louis car accident lawyer draft the letter so that it is clear, concise, and so that you aren’t underestimating the settlement amount. The other insurance company will likely want to get an independent medical evaluation to determine the honesty of your claim and to make sure that your injuries are as stated.

Negotiating the settlement

Once the demand letter is received, and both sides have had the opportunity to read it and respond, then the case might move into the settlement phase. There will likely be a lot of back and forth to the negotiations before an agreement is reached. If no agreement can be found, then the case might be moved to something called an alternative dispute resolution party or a mediator. They might help to find an agreement somewhere in the middle. If not, the case will have to be escalated.

Auto accidents are a leading cause of fetal deaths and serious maternal injuries, affecting nearly 93,000 women annually.

For pregnant women, being in a car accident is a scary thing to even think of. In addition to the injuries that they can sustain, their unborn child can also suffer a variety of injuries. Auto accidents are a leading cause of fetal deaths and serious maternal injuries, affecting nearly 93,000 women annually.

Expectant mothers who are involved in car accidents can face more serious damages and expenses compared to other injured people due to the increased cost of monitoring, and the need to treat the baby for any potential injuries. In this post, we will discuss some of the most common types of pregnancy injuries that can result from car accidents.

Miscarriage: This is probably the most tragic outcome of a car accident. The baby is well protected in its amniotic fluid, but when the stomach or uterus is punctured or the mother suffers a cardiac arrest, without breathing, a miscarriage can occur. Although miscarriages are rare in car accidents, it is still a possibility, so medical attention should be sought.

Birth defects: Premature birth or direct injuries to the fetus as a result of the car accident can cause birth defects. Premature or injured babies do not always develop serious disabilities, but the more serious the injuries or the earlier the baby is born, the higher the risk of injuries is.

Premature birth: Each year, 500,000 babies are born prematurely in the U.S. Premature birth is defined as the birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation. A car accident can put excessive stress on the mother’s body and cause premature birth.

High risk pregnancy: High risk pregnancies are the ones that involve complications with either the mother or the baby. They need careful and constant monitoring and observation. Some pregnancies are considered high risk because of some pre-existing medical conditions. A high risk pregnancy can develop after the pregnant women suffers health conditions due to a car crash.

Placental abruption: This is a serious condition in which the placenta completely or partially separates from the uterus before the baby is born. Placental abruption occurs in one in 150 pregnancies. Any abdominal trauma sustained by the mother in a car accident can increase the chances of placental abruption.

Fetal trauma: Almost 82 percent of the fetal deaths are a result of car accidents. Fetal trauma from a blow to the mother’s abdomen, lack of oxygen and some other injuries and infections can have long term and even life threatening consequences.

Coup and countercoup injury: When a moving object hits the head while stationary, a coup injury may occur. On the other hand, countercoup injuries occur when the moving head hits a stationary object. These injuries are quite common in car accidents. While the mother is more likely to suffer these injuries, the baby can also get injured. In this case, the injury is known as shaken baby syndrome.