Legal Options to Take After Getting Hurt in an Accident

Accidents are often very traumatizing to all the parties involved. The injuries, loss of property, and possible loss of life during accidents could have far-reaching effects on all the parties concerned. Many people are often unaware of what to do after an accident and what remedies to pursue. This article aims to remedy that.

Before deliberating on the legal options to take after getting hurt in an accident, it is essential to emphasize that all legal options come secondary to the safety precautions you need to take after being in an accident. The first safety precaution is to ensure that you seek medical help for your injuries. In some accidents, the health issue may not be apparent to the naked eye. Therefore, going to a doctor will be the best way to ensure that the doctor can give you a clean bill of health. Only after seeing a doctor should, you consider your legal options.

Settling the Case

The first option you have after an accident is settling the claim with the insurance service provider of the other party. After you file a claim with the insurer, they can opt to give you an out-of-court settlement which will cover any medical expenses you may incur due to the accident and any other damages you may demand from them. This will avoid going to court since most court cases, especially personal injury cases, take a long time to conclude.

However, it is essential to note that in most cases, the first settlement offer an insurance provider can give is often too low for you. Remember, insurance providers are in business, and in business, the aim is to make the most profit possible. Therefore, you need to seek the services of the best personal injury lawyer in Huntsville who can be in a position to secure the best settlement for you. 

Litigation

If you do not reach an amicable settlement with the insurance service provider, you may need to file a suit in court, where the court will adjudicate the matter. Going to court is advisable when the lawyer feels that the settlement offer the insurer has given is too low and may be increased in case you go to trial. However, you need to understand that trials can go either way. Therefore, your lawyer must be confident of your chances of success before going to court.

Trials are good options since juries are impartial and receive guidance from the judges on what evidence they should disregard and which elements they should listen to. Additionally, juries are triers of fact. Thus, if the court awards you damages in case of personal injury, the defendant cannot refute the jury's finding on matters of fact upon appeal. 

Jury trials are also vital since your lawyer can seek additional damages. For example, economic damages speak to all the financial losses you may have incurred due to the accident. They include medical expenses, loss of income, and future loss of income. Additionally, there are non-economic damages, including mental suffering, stress, and physical pain. Lastly, the court can grant punitive damages in instances where the defendant was so reckless that the court sees it fit to punish them.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

As stated above, court cases take a protracted time. On average, a personal injury case can take up to a year to conclude at trial without factoring in the appellate process. Thus, if you are pressed for time, you may need to consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve your conflict with the person responsible for the accident.

Popular dispute resolution mechanisms involve negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations. These conflict resolution structures are advisable as they are totally in the control of the parties involved. The parties determine the date of all the meetings, the resolution of the dispute depends on the terms the parties agree to, and the enforcement depends on the parties themselves. As such, it is an ideal option for parties that are willing to come to a speedy resolution of the dispute.

Points To Note

Attributing fault is critical to any personal injury dispute. Therefore, you should always collect all forms of evidence that will help bolster your case in case you need to go to court. Evidence could include videos or pictures of the scene of the accident, medical documents from the hospital, and police reports.

Remember, both parties sometimes can bear fault through a contributory negligence principle. A pedestrian could be entirely at fault in cases of personal injury accidents if they were jaywalking or simply negligent on the road. Thus, you will need a lawyer to compound all these elements before proceeding to take legal action. Consult a lawyer as soon as possible.