2 Reasons You May Need An Attorney After You Have Been In A Car Accident
After you have been in a car accident, you may be healing from an injury and dealing with medical bills along with filing an insurance claim. These circumstances can bring up legal difficulties you need help with. Here are two reasons you may need to hire an attorney after you are in a car accident.
Denied Insurance Claim
Your insurance company is in business to make money, so they will review and confirm all insurance claims for validity before they pay out any settlements. If your insurance company finds your claim is not valid for any reason, they can deny it. This can put you in a difficult financial situation where a car accident attorney can help, as after a car crash, you may have medical bills and car repair bills that need to be paid.
There are several reasons you claim may be denied. After a car accident, you may encounter a dishonest insurance adjuster working for your or the other party's insurance. An adjuster who is withholding or tampering with evidence can cause your claim to be denied. If you encounter this situation, before you hire an attorney, it is recommended to write a letter to your insurance company claiming their adjuster has been working in bad faith. Then, if they don't respond to your letter with a claim reevaluation, you can contact a car accident attorney to represent you in your settlement claim.
A second reason for claim denial can happen if the insurance company feels your irresponsible actions caused the accident. They may claim the accident could have been avoided had you been driving safely. In some states, if your insurance company can determine you are partially at fault for the accident, they will reduce their settlement payout to you by the percentage of your responsibility in the accident. And other states have laws which allow an insurance company to deny your entire claim if they find you at fault at all.
A car accident attorney can take your case of a denied claim with the insurance company to ensure you claim is paid as your insurance contract states. Just because an insurance company decides your claim falls within a policy exclusion does not mean it is true.
Delayed Injury Head Concussion
If you have been in a car crash that bumped your head or body enough to jar your brain from the movement, you may have suffered a concussion. A concussion is a traumatic head injury that can bruise your brain and can also damage your brain's nerves and blood vessels, leading to further problems. If you suspect you have a concussion, it is important to seek medical treatment right away. Doing this will make sure there is a medical record of your injuries for insurance claim purposes, and will help prevent any problems with your concussion injury later on.
After a concussion, you may experience symptoms, such as feeling off-balance or notice a disturbance to your vision. Some symptoms may not show up for several days or weeks. You may experience trouble sleeping, irritability, personality changes, memory and learning problems, and depression.
If you have experienced problems from a car crash concussion, it may be helpful to hire an attorney to receive compensation for your injuries as medical costs can be high. The cost for the initial treatment of your brain trauma averages at $162,194 per patient and the average length of stay is nine days. Then, your hospital rehab can cost an average of $59,862, which lasts for approximately two weeks.
Then, rehabilitation for a serious traumatic brain injury can cost anywhere from $600 to $8,000 per day. After you have been released from the hospital, you may need outpatient rehabilitation, which can last for weeks, months, or even years. The cost of outpatient rehab is anywhere from $600 to $1,000 per day. But most attorneys who take your case won't require you to pay them a retainer fee until they win your case.
Consider hiring a car crash attorney for these two reasons after you have been in an accident.
