Many people who have been injured as a result of car accidents due to someone else’s negligence or other wrongful conduct often ask whether or not they really need a lawyer to represent them. Accident victims are forced to deal with hospitalization, medical treatments, missed work, and lost income. In many instances, a victim also has to deal with ongoing pain and injury.
To help you through this difficult time, the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer, Ltd. has put together a short book, 5 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid in Your Personal Injury Case, to help you after your accident. For more information, speak with our experienced attorneys. An Arlington Heights car accident lawyer can help you through this difficult time. En español
Do I Need to Contact an Arlington Heights Car Accident Attorney?
In car accidents involving a more serious or permanent injury, an individual may need to consult a lawyer to even the playing field with the claims representative or defense attorneys. Claim representatives have specialized training and experience and are closely supervised to operate within strict insurance company guidelines. Sometimes, insurance adjusters will go to great lengths to keep an injured car accident victim from hiring an attorney to represent him or her.
Remember, even if your car did not sustain serious damage, a victim can still sustain serious injuries. Accidents cause injuries with lingering effects every day that make it hard for victims to live the lives they led prior to the accident. If an injury has been sustained, an individual may need to consult a car crash attorney who has experience handling these situations.
As is often the case, free legal advice from family and friends is easy to come by. However, car collision cases can be a lot more complicated than they may appear on the surface. For over thirty years, the Arlington Heights car accident attorneys at the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer, Ltd. have helped people like you to secure fair compensation for their injuries.
Steps to Take After a Car Accident
- Be safe. Make sure that you are safe and that all people involved are safe. Don’t step out into traffic. Traffic an extremely dangerous place.
- If there is dangerous or serious situation at hand, do what you can to help or get help.
- Call the police. If anyone is injured, call 911 and make sure an ambulance is on the way.
- Document what just took place.
- Take detailed notes. Get license plate numbers. Take pictures of everything.
- Seek immediate medical attention. Tell a doctor about all of the parts of your body you may have injured, not just the parts that are hurting the most.
- Don’t admit any liability at this time. Responsibility will be sorted out later when all of the facts are reviewed.
- Get witness information – names and phone number, specifically. Document a description of witnesses.
- If the police arrive, get any information on getting a copy of the police report. Take note on what agency the officer is with. Record information on the vehicle the officer is in.
- Don’t leave the scene of the accident until the police have arrived and the necessary information has been obtained. If the police are not coming then make sure you have all of the above information before leaving.
- If tow trucks are involved, get all necessary information on the drivers, trucks, and towing companies. Find out where they are taking the vehicles.
- Contact an experienced personal injury law firm for help.
- Do not give a statement to the adverse driver’s insurance company without talking to an attorney first.
A competent attorney at the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer, Ltd. in Arlington Heights could ensure all the above steps are followed before negotiating with insurance companies.
Communicating with Auto Insurance Companies
After an automobile accident in Arlington Heights, an individual’s first call is typically to their insurance company. However, insurance companies work to minimize the amount they pay to injured people, so hiring an experienced Arlington Heights lawyer offers you the best chance of getting the money you deserve after a motor vehicle crash.
Insurance adjusters have been known to “advise” injured persons (claimants) that they do not need a lawyer. They tell their customers a lawyer will only cost them more money than the insurance company would gladly pay to them, and that they (the insurance claims persons) will take care of the claimant and see to it that they receive every penny of compensation that they are legally entitled to. But the insurance company is motivated to do only one thing, which is to settle your claim as cheaply as possible, preferably with you coming away believing that the adverse insurance company took good care of you.
Insurance companies and defendants generally fight cases and do not make quick, easy settlements, except in very small cases. Although insurance companies in some cases do admit fault in a car accident, they almost always aggressively contest the nature and extent of the injuries suffered by the innocent victim. An insurance company will find every way imaginable to avoid responsibility for the full extent of a victim’s injuries. Special expertise is required to gather the evidence necessary to prove the full impact of a victim’s losses.
Identifying All Available Car Insurance Policies
For example, identifying all available auto insurance coverage in a motor vehicle accident case is not a simple matter. In the case of an uninsured or underinsured driver, a number of different policies from other drivers involved in the accident and from their relatives may provide coverage.
Experience in the personal injury field is required to accurately identify potential policies that may provide coverage, as well as determine how the various policies properly interrelate to provide coverage. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, call the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer, Ltd.
Fatal Car Accidents in Arlington Heights
In 2015, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, nearly 50 more people have died in car accidents so far, compared to the same period last year, which is an increase of about eight percent. The sudden loss of a loved one creates a traumatic and emotionally draining situation. But putting aside the emotional devastation, the question leads to loved ones wondering if negligence was involved in the fatal car accident. Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, family members of the deceased may bring a legal action against the negligent wrongdoer that caused their loved one’s death.
Distracted Drivers
When you’re driving to work or to a party, it seems like everyone has one hand on the wheel and the other on their phone. Between texting, Facebooking, and just calling people, we have more distractions in the car today than ever. And with these distractions, more car accidents occur. According to the Department of Transportation, in 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
Call an Arlington Heights Car Accident Attorney
At the Law Offices of R.F. Wittmeyer, Ltd., for thirty years, our Arlington Heights car accident lawyers have handled nearly every type of auto wreck and helped victims with nearly every type of injury, including neck, head, and brain injuries. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, please contact an Arlington Heights car accident lawyer today for a free consultation.