When Should I Contact an Attorney After a Car Accident?

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To hear statistics tell it, you will experience an auto accident at least three to four times during your driving years.

This is not often enough to enable you to feel confident about the next steps to take after a car accident, but it is just often enough to make each occurrence a highly stressful one.

And if you haven't been involved in an auto accident as of yet, these same statistics suggest you are likely overdue. Unfortunately, car accidents are on the rise in the same way the number of vehicles on the roadways are on the rise. With more traffic comes more traffic-related accidents, plain and simple.

So when should you consider contacting a Los Angeles accident attorney after being in a car accident? In this post, learn the guidelines we recommend.

13 Urgent Reasons to Contact An Experienced Auto Injury Attorney

The severity of the accident itself isn't always the best determinant of when to contact an experienced auto injury attorney for help.

Instead, examine the severity of the impact the accident has had on your life.

Here are 13 reasons drivers contact our firm for help after a car accident.

1. The other driver hires an attorney.

When the other driver involved in the car accident takes that step forward to hire an attorney, it is time to get serious about protecting yourself from being held unfairly at fault and thus liable for expenses related to their vehicle damage and health needs.

2. The issue of who is at fault in the accident is unclear.

If your insurers are hamstrung duking it out over whose fault the accident was, this can push pause on the claims payout process and thus your recovery process. It can also put you in a stressful position going forward since California is a "fault" state when it comes to process car insurance claims.

4. You have been declared at fault in the accident.

Because California is a "fault" state, you may find it much harder to get driver insurance at all or to afford your auto insurance premiums once you have been declared "at fault" for a car accident.

5. There has been a fatality due to the accident.

Anytime there has been a fatality as a result of a car accident, you want to contact a personal injury attorney asap.

6. There has been a serious injury due to the accident.

In the same way, if anyone has been seriously injured as a result of the accident, it is time to call on a personal injury attorney for expert legal guidance.

7. The other driver does not have auto insurance.

If you have been part of an accident where one or more driver(s) involved does not have an active auto insurance policy, things can get expensive for you very quickly. This is always the right time to seek guidance from an auto insurance accident attorney.

8. The accident occurred within the boundaries of a construction zone.

Not only do fines increase to double or even triple when a car accident occurs inside a construction zone, but points and penalties on your driver record often increase as well. This is also a situation when establishing that the accident was not your fault can be critical to maintaining your driving privileges and getting affordable auto insurance in the future.

9. The police report is inaccurate to your detriment.

A police officer's job includes being present at the scene of an auto accident and writing up an official accident report that describes what occurred, who was involved and other key details of the crime (because an auto accident is considered a crime scene).

But when the police report is filed and it turns out there are important inaccuracies, this can have extreme consequences for you as a driver in the future. If contacting the police to have corrections made does not work out in your favor, your only other recourse is legal recourse.

10. You feel your personal legal rights are being violated.

California may be a strict state when it comes to driver safety, traffic law and auto accidents, but that doesn't make the laws unclear. If you begin to feel like your rights are being violated by how the accident claims processing is proceeding, it is time to reach out to an experienced auto injury attorney who can set things to rights again.

11. Your insurer balks at paying out your claim.

Whether or not you are declared to be at fault for the car accident, you are going to need medical attention and your vehicle will likely need repairs. You may need a rental car while your car is being repaired and you may also need other services as you heal after your accident.

When your insurer balks at paying out your claims and reasoning with them does not work, the next step is to take legal action to force your insurer to do the right thing. This can be especially difficult when you read the fine print of your policy only too late and realize you are not clear about what is covered and what isn't covered!

12. The negotiations are dragging on and on with no end in sight.

It is true that it can sometimes take weeks or months to sort out and resolve the fallout from a serious car accident. But you can often tell the difference between a genuine need for more time and deliberate stalling.

When your gut instinct tells you that one or more involved parties, whether it is the other drivers, their attorneys, their insurers, your insurer or some combination thereof, is sitting on the case, the best way to get things moving again is to hire a personal injury attorney of your own to speak on your behalf.

13. Anyone asks you to sign legal documents, final payments or personal/recorded statements as part of the auto accident proceedings and claims payout process.

Never ever sign anything without consulting an auto accident attorney first. You may inadvertently stack the deck against yourself when it comes to settling the claims.

If you have done this and are concerned about the impact, talking with an experienced car accident attorney can shed some light on whether the damage can be undone or corrected.

Do You Need An Experienced Los Angeles Accident Attorney?

After you have been involved in a car accident, even very minor injuries can take a long time to heal. If you had an existing injury before the accident, this can also set your healing process back by several weeks or months.

Yet while your life was impacted immediately for the worse, you may find your insurer is not so ready to pay out your claims as they were to take your premium payments. If you are dealing with another driver's insurance, things can get more complicated still.

If you need an experienced Los Angeles accident attorney, give us a call and get back on the road to healing and recovering your life.