Imagine as you drive your car down the road, someone suddenly pulls out in front of you, and you accidentally hit it. This results in the driver in front of you suffering from a physical injury that needs immediate and costly medical care. If the driver suddenly pulled his vehicle in front without the right of way, then all the liabilities for the damages will rest on them.
If this is your first time getting involved in a car accident, you might not know what to do.
If the other vehicle that pulls out in front of you does not have the right to do so, the driver will be considered at fault. In that case, you have the right to request a personal injury claim. Their car insurance company must cover all the expenses ranging from physical therapy to medications.
But there are essential procedures you should follow if you are involved in car crashes.
File an Accident Report
Make sure to call the police and tell them you have been in an accident. Request an accident report and the officer will perform an initial evaluation on the scene and will begin to determine who is at fault. You will need an accident report to serve as your evidence that the accident really happened. You can also use it to prove your reasons in requesting a personal injury claim.
The report must cover all the evidence to prove the incident, such as the investigating officer's perspectives on the scene and other accident-related evidence.
T-bone and left-turn car crashes can pose serious injury to the victim. Thus, make sure to request an ambulance to be sent to your location if your accident was severe. T-bone or side-impact collisions and left-turn accidents happen because of a driver's negligence, such as running a red light, texting while driving along the road, driving at the maximum speed, or operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol. If the other driver is running a red light, then all the liability for the T-bone accident will rest on them.
If you also experienced a physical injury, make sure to get it checked immediately. Other forms of physical injury look light at first but could become worse after several days. When you get immediate medical care, you should not have to worry about it getting worse.
Document The Accident and Collect Evidence.
Documentation and evidence are necessary to support your personal injury and insurance claim. The documentation includes pictures of your damaged vehicle, medical bills, medical records, etc.
These mentioned documents will support your claim. Aside from that, you must keep in touch with the at-fault driver's insurance agency to file a claim.
The statements of people that witnessed the incident are also essential to show the value of your PI claim. The witness' statements must be written to give you enough information in consulting with your attorney. This written document will also help to prove how the incident happened.
Maintain Proper Care
Recovering from physical injuries takes time. Thus, you need to maintain proper medical care. Do not worry about your mounting medical expenses because the other party's insurance agency will cover these expenses. After all, your main goal is to recover so you can get back to work as soon as possible.
The following is the list of common damages that result from car accidents:
Permanent disfigurement and/or scarring
Possible loss of wages in the future
Future medical expenses
Lifelong disabilities
Inability to enjoy the quality of life
Pain and suffering
Property damages
Expensive medical costs
Who Is At Fault: Contributory Negligence
When the defendant also files a PI claim against the other driver involved in the accident, there is a possibility that both parties are sharing the same fault amount. This situation tends to happen in rear-end collisions.
Other states call this process contributory negligence. In a scenario like this, the plaintiff will not receive any Des Moines auto accident claims if it is proven that they are also at fault for the accident. Virginia and other states enforced a law wherein even 1 percent of fault determination might cause the plaintiff not to receive any compensation at all.
Who Is At Fault: Comparative Negligence
Some states use comparative negligence. Comparative negligence requires a comparison between the fault amount set by the two parties. In some cases, the plaintiff does not have any fault at all, making the fault amount determination easier.
Different states use different forms of comparative negligence. In Mississippi, comparative negligence allows the plaintiff to receive compensation even if it was determined that they are also at fault. In other states, if the judge finds the plaintiff at fault for more than 50 percent, they cannot claim any compensation.
Rear-End Collisions
Collisions involving the back-end of a car is a common cause of most road problems. This kind of accident contributes to 500,000 injuries and 1,700 deaths annually. This happens when the other driver's vehicle collides with the back-end of another car. Back-end collisions occur because of the other drivers operating their car too close to the car in front of them. This accident may also happen when the other driver is distracted by their phone while a car pulls out in front of them.
Since Des Moines injury law requires all drivers to follow other cars with enough space between them, the driver who followed the car, which resulted in a back-end bump, will always handle the liability of damages.
Head-On Collision
A head-on accident is a deadly type of car accident that may happen due to negligence. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that this type of accident contributed to more than 50 percent of the overall passengers' deaths back in 2017. A Head-on collision, as its name suggests, happens when the front bumpers of two vehicles collide.
There are different causes of head-on accidents. These include the driver who pulled their car into a road going the wrong way, a driver who caused a car crash resulting in their and other vehicles being pushed or rolled into the oncoming traffic lane, a driver who uses their phone while driving, and those who switched into the oncoming traffic lane after leaving their own roadway.
Single-Vehicle Accident
This type of accident happens when only one vehicle has suffered from damages due to a mishap while driving. Let us give you an example to know more about single-vehicle accidents. While driving on the road, you suddenly noticed that your car brakes aren't working. You decided to swerve your car off the road to avoid an accident. In this situation, you can blame the manufacturer of your car's brakes. If you have done recent work on your car, the shop that fixed your car's brakes will absolutely receive all the liability.
Filing a Claim When Another Vehicle Pulls Out in Front of You
Filing a claim is the best way to cover all your medical expenses from an accident while treating your injuries. You can file a claim for different types of road accidents, especially when other cars or a driver suddenly pulled out in front of your car.
Although the driver behind you will most likely be at fault, their lawyer or insurer will also file an allegation against you for being partly at fault. We recommend you not accept the fault straight away and let your lawyer handle this situation when this happens. It would be best to call the police for a legal investigation. As the police investigate the scene, you can also call your lawyer to ask for legal advice.
Conclusion
If you are a driver and get involved in a car crash, contact a personal injury lawyer since they are more knowledgeable than you about traffic law.
Contact a trusted lawyer to help guide you through your case and file your personal injury claim. An attorney like Tom Fowler Law will get you the justice you need.
Remember, if you are not liable for the accident, ask for the help of your lawyer.