If you or your loved ones have suffered from injuries, mental traumas, or property damages during a car accident, you deserve proper compensation.
To receive this compensation, you may need to negotiate with the insurance providers or the third party who is at fault. Unfortunately, they will do everything they can to minimize the settlement amount.
That’s where professional car accident lawyers in Oakland can help you. Here are a few ways the car accident attorneys can help you maximize your compensation.
Using the Knowledge of Oakland Personal Injury Laws
You may face many legal obstructions while filing a personal injury claim under the Oakland car accident law. You may have to deal with many legal terms and processes that you may not be familiar with.
Dedicated car accident lawyers have years of experience in studying and practicing law, and they are up-to-date with the latest regulation changes.
So, they can use their knowledge to help you deal with complicated laws related to damage evaluation, liability, and other factors of car accident cases.
Oakland’s car accident cases also follow comparative negligence rules to determine the liability of an unfortunate accident. So, the value of your rightful compensation might decrease a lot if you have some fault in a car accident.
An experienced attorney will help you decrease the impact of your percentage fault to maximize your settlement amount.
By Investigating the Car Accident and Gathering Evidence
The attorney you hire will investigate the car accident you were involved in and collect evidence to build a strong case. To do that, your lawyer will:
- Go to the accident site to investigate the scene, take photos and capture videos if necessary.
- Collect physical evidence like damaged vehicle parts or relevant debris.
- Talk with the eyewitnesses to find all the necessary details regarding the accident.
- Collect your medical records and treatment data to show how badly the accident has impacted your health and life.
- Gather copies of police reports and review them to determine clear fault and liability.
All this investigation and collected evidence will help your lawyer make the case strong enough to help you get maximum compensation.
Assessing the Right Value of Your Car Accident Claim
While preparing a car accident claim, you would probably ask yourself this question: “How much is my accident and injury case actually worth?”
Although each case is unique, Oakland injury attorneys can help you determine how much compensation you rightfully deserve. And once they calculate the rightful settlement amount, they will do everything to help you get it.
Your attorney can calculate the value of the settlement by:
- Checking your medical expenses that occurred because of the injuries you received from the auto accident.
- Calculating the total amount of your lost income.
- Evaluating the cost of your damaged property which may include your phone, laptop, car, or other accessories.
- Calculating other non-economic damages like mental stress, depression, or PTSD.
Through Negotiation with the Insurance Companies
You must have great negotiation skills to maximize the settlement value of your car accident claim. That’s why many successful injury or car accident attorneys are also skilled negotiators who can negotiate maximum benefits for you.
It can be quite intimidating to negotiate with the insurance providers or adjusters. The car accident lawyer will deal with them on your behalf and help you avoid saying anything that may decrease the final settlement amount.
Your attorney can write and submit the demand letters and engage in multiple rounds of negotiations with the insurance adjusters.
The lawyer will also show evidence and inspection results to counter all attempts to decrease your compensation from the insurance provider’s side.
By Offering Important Tips to Maximize Your Claim
You will want to do everything you can to get maximum compensation for the damages you’ve suffered during the car accident.
Auto accident attorneys will always provide sound tips on what actions to take and how to act during negotiations and trials to realize this goal.
Here are a few common tips car accident attorneys give to their clients to make sure they receive fair compensation:
- Never admit your fault or discuss the cause of the accident with a third party.
- Always look for medical attention after the crash even if you feel like you are fine.
- Never post anything about the car accident on social media.
- Always be cautious around the insurance adjusters and let the lawyer handle most of the communications.
- Trust your lawyer to settle your claim even if it takes a little longer than usual. Be patient.
By Representing You in the Court Trials
Although most car accident claims are settled without the court’s intervention, your attorney may initiate a court trial if he/she can’t get a fair settlement amount through negotiations.
If this happens, the lawyer will represent you in the trials to ensure you receive fair compensation.
Here is a list of things your attorney may do to represent you during the court trial:
- Your attorney will write a complaint letter stating your case and its goals to initiate the court trial.
- The attorney will file pre-trial motions to tilt the case in your favor before the trial actually begins.
- The car accident lawyer will prepare evidence, reports, and witnesses to present your case in the courtroom.
- Your lawyer will counter the arguments of the opposing side with effective use of evidence and witness testimony to persuade the court that you deserve fair compensation.
Final Thoughts!
An experienced Oakland car accident attorney will use their extensive knowledge of the law to:
- Gather evidence
- Calculate the correct value of your compensation
- Deal with the insurance adjusters on your behalf
- Provide you with effective tips to maximize the settlement amount
- Represent you in the trials if the negotiation with the insurance providers fails
They will do all of the above and more to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve to recover the damages you suffered because of the crash.