JULY 19, 2024
What questions do I ask an attorney about my car wreck?
After a car wreck there are many questions to ask an attorney about your car wreck. When hiring a car accident injury attorney, it is very important to understand what facts are important to your case. The valuation of a car wreck requires understanding the following:
- How much medical bills will the other driver pay for.
- How much property damage must there be to have a claim for pain and suffering. vehicle.
- Should I go to the emergency room.
- How much can I get for my wage loss.
- What is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and why do I need it.
- How much do you charge to represent a car wreck victim.
- How do I prove the fault of the other driver.
How Long Have We Helped Car Wreck Claimants?
Searching for an experience car wreck lawyer can be frustrating. Bull Attorneys Car Wreck Lawyers have handled thousands of car wreck claims since 1983. We help with everything like:
- Finding the best doctor to treat your injury.
- Help file your medical and wage loss claims under your Personal Injury Protection Benefits normally called PIP Benefits.
- Get police reports and take witness statements.
- Obtain video of the accident.
- File claims for your injuries and wage loss with the other driver's insurance company.
- File an immediate lawsuit when they make a lowball offer.
How Much is My Car Wreck Worth?
There is no exact rule to determine the value of your car wreck and injuries. However, the case value can be reasonably determined by studying:
- Liability and fault of the other driver.
- Proving the other driver is 100% at fault.
- Making sure you treat only with true medical doctors like emergency room physicians, orthopedists, neurosurgeons, physical therapists, and other medical providers.
- Evaluating the total amount of insurance under the other's driver's insurance policy and your insurance policy.
- Proving that your medical bills are reasonable and necessary and related to this car accident.
- Proving your total medical bills and need for future medical treatment.
- Proving your wage loss and future wage and economic loss from the car wreck.
- Writing settlement offers in a brochure that paint a picture of how bad your injuries are.
- Proving at trial that your injuries and losses are real.
- By understanding all of this, we can normally increase the compensation in your case to a fair amount of money.
What Can I Get for my Financial Recovery?
Once we prove your injuries are bad and they are permanent and study the insurance limits and medical records we can give you a real estimate of the financial value of your car wreck. No exact mathematical formula exists. However, the bigger the injuries and financial losses are the more you can get. The amount can vary based upon:
- Is your injury permanent or temporary.
- Do you have functional loss of movement.
- Do you have permanent scarring or disfigurement.
- Will you require back braces, prosthetics, or other medical aids to help you live out your life.
- Do your medical bills exceed $20,000.
- Can you return to work or are you permanently unemployable.
- The total insurance coverage available from all defendant drivers or companies looking to whether they have primary insurance coverage or additional insurance like umbrella and excess coverage.
- When all of these things apply to your case your recovery can be as high as the total of the insurance limits which can be from $25,000 to more than one million dollars depending upon the level of injury and financial losses.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Car Wreck Attorney?
The majority of experienced car wreck lawyers work on a contingency or percentage basis and do not charge anything unless they win. The costs to hire a car wreck attorney vary greatly from firm to firm and can be:
- Fair personal injury car wreck attorneys never charge more than one-third or 33.3% of the total recovery if suit is not filed.
- If a lawsuit is filed, then forty percent (40%) is the fair standard rate.
- Car wreck attorneys charging more than the rates stated above are gouging car wreck victims needlessly and unfairly.
- Many of our competitors started charging forty percent (40%) and then move up to forty-five percent (45%) and then fifty percent (50%). Just because a lawyer charges a higher rate does not make them the best lawyer. In fact, it means they gouge injured car wreck victims who are in need of excellent legal work at a reasonable fee.
We Are Hereto Help
Call for a free consultation 24/7
How Long Do I Have to File My Car Wreck Claim?
In Kansas, you have two years from the date of accident. In Missouri you have five years from the date of the accident. Other states have varying statutes of limitation.
In Kansas, an adult typically has a two year statute of limitations from the date of accident, per Kansas Statute 60-513.
In Missouri, an adult typically has a 5 year statute of limitations from the date of accident, per RSMO 516.120.
Minors may have a longer period of time, but as a practical matter you should not ever wait to hire a car wreck attorney because evidence becomes lost, memories of witnesses fade and as time gets longer from the date of the accident your case can weaken and be worth less.
What Happens If I Have a Back or Neck Injury from a Car Wreck?
Rear end car wrecks usually cause a back and neck injury from the impact that has a whiplash effect to your back, neck, and head. Some back injuries are worse than others like a spinal cord injury can cause lifelong injuries, pain, and suffering. Symptoms from a back injury can include:
- Muscle pain, spasms, and sharp pain.
- Disc injuries can lead to nerve pain and the need for spine surgery.
- Burning nerve pain from the back down into the buttocks and down the leg like sciatica.
- Loss of mobility and loss of range of function.
Paralysis either partially or whole to the entire body.
What Happens If I Have a Car Wreck and Someone Dies?
When the car wreck is bad enough to cause the driver or a passenger to die it is called a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and if the injured person lives for a period of time it is called a Survival Claim for Conscious Pain and Suffering. The types of damages that are recoverable are:
- Conscious pain and suffering.
- Loss of services from your loved one.
- Loss of guidance from your loved one.
- Loss of Assistance from your loved one.
- Funeral expenses.
- Mental anguish, suffering and bereavement.
- Loss of society, companionship, suffering and bereavement.
- Loss of marital care.
- Loss of filial care or attention.
Loss of parental care, training, guidance, and education.
How Can I Get a Free Consultation for My Car Wreck?
You can call the Bull Attorneys for a free consultation day or night seven days a week by calling 316-684-4400 link to phone. Your free consultation is unlimited so we can fully explain your legal rights to you.