After getting hurt in a car accident, the best way to secure compensation is through a car insurance claim. The process can seem confusing at first, so it’s important to know what to expect during the insurance claim process and why it benefits you to call an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. At Kemmy Law Firm, our highly-skilled and sympathetic legal professionals are here to help so you get the most out of your insurance settlement.
844-334-4388Don’t accept a first offer or less than what you deserve. Contact us online or call (210) 750-1019 to schedule a free, no-risk consultation.
Every car accident claim is unique. When both fault and the injuries involved are straightforward, the insurance company might settle in two or three months. But the more complex, contentious, or serious the crash, the longer it’ll take to investigate and negotiate an acceptable settlement.
In addition, if the insurance company does not offer a fair amount, you may need to file a lawsuit and go through discovery, In this case, it might take about a year to resolve your claim.
Your auto insurance policy requires you to notify the insurer within a reasonable amount of time. How much is a reasonable amount of time? It depends on what your policy says and the circumstances, which is why we recommend notifying your insurer as soon as possible.
You’ll want to tell your insurance company:
When you call the insurer, ask for the name of the person you talk to. Write down their name, the date and time you called, and the claim number they give you.
If you were seriously injured in a crash, then you probably went to the emergency room. Always go to your follow-up appointments, see any necessary specialists, and stick to your doctor’s treatment plan.
You need to follow the doctor’s orders to try and recover as quickly and as much as possible. If you don’t continue with your medical care, the insurer can try to use this against you.
Make sure to see a doctor even if you didn’t sustain obvious injuries. Schedule an appointment with your family physician or go to an immediate care clinic that accepts your insurance. A doctor might notice signs of an injury you didn’t, like a concussion or even broken bones.
After the accident, and an officer will complete and file the accident report. You can go online or call the police station to get a copy of the report. Your insurer will need a copy to move forward with your claim. You also want to review it with your attorney in case there are discrepancies between what you remember and what the report says.
After you initially notify the insurance company of the crash, they’ll assign an adjuster to your claim. When that adjuster reaches out, you don’t have to give an in-depth description of what happened or answer questions regarding fault. You can stick to the basic facts. Don’t speculate about why the crash happened or who was responsible.
We recommend you don’t answer the insurance company’s questions about the crash and your injuries right away. Instead, tell the adjuster you’re not prepared to make a statement or answer questions until you’ve learned more about your injuries. You can schedule to talk with the insurer another time.
Your insurer will give you a list of auto repair shops they work with. You don’t have to go to a business on that list. You can choose whatever mechanic you want, even if insurance is going to pay to repair or replace the vehicle. Have your car towed to a mechanic you trust.
You can dispute the cost of repairs or whether your vehicle is a total loss. Your insurer might not agree with the mechanic about how long or much it’ll take to repair your car. Or, you might not agree with how much the insurer says your car is worth. The insurer wants whichever option costs them less. Partnering with a car accident lawyer helps you get your car repaired quickly or get the most compensation for a totaled vehicle.
As you move through the insurance claim process, you might start to have questions or concerns. We realize most people don’t call a lawyer the day after the crash. But in the days or weeks after the accident, we hope you’ll consider consulting an attorney experienced in local car accident claims.
You’ll never be on equal footing with the insurance company. They handle car crash claims daily, and they’re good at paying as little as possible each time. By hiring an aggressive lawyer, who knows how the process works, you have someone to champion your best interests, even if that means filing a personal injury lawsuit and taking the at-fault driver to court.
At the Kemmy Law Firm, we have a long history of protecting clients from large insurance companies looking and securing the best possible results.
By hiring an attorney, you’ll benefit from a thorough and independent investigation into the crash. Your lawyer will collect all they can about what happened and why, including the police report, photos, and video footage, the vehicle assessment, and eyewitness statements.
If you were part of a complex or contentious accident, we may hire an accident reconstruction expert. This professional will take all the data and use mathematical formulas to determine how fast the other car was moving, whether the other motorist braked, or the angle at which the other car collided with yours.
It’s important to find and review the evidence because the insurance company might not be convinced the other driver was at fault. Your lawyer can submit information regarding fault to improve the likelihood of your insurer deciding in your favor.
Do you know how much your car accident claim is worth? If you haven’t talked with a lawyer, you probably don’t have the right figure in mind, and your insurer isn’t going to tell you. Insurance companies want to pay as little as possible on a claim. The law might entitle you to more than the initial settlement offer.
Our car accident attorneys will add up all of your out-of-pocket expenses related to the crash, including all your medical bills. If you were seriously hurt or disabled, we’d calculate your future medical costs. We’ll calculate the amount of income you’ve lost while out of work. Then, we’ll address your pain and suffering. Your non-economic damages might be worth the same or more as your economic damages.
Once we know as much as we can about who caused the accident and the value of your injuries, we’ll send a demand letter to the negligent motorist’s insurance provider. In some cases, we can wrap your case up quickly when the at-fault driver and their insurer are eager to settle.
You don’t usually need to go to court for minor car accidents. But when you’re seriously hurt or disabled in a crash, you need to recover all the compensation possible. The best way to do that is to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Once you file the complaint and serve the defendant, the next step is discovery. This is where you can demand information from the other side through depositions (out of court interviews), interrogatories (questions), requests for admissions, and demands to produce documents. We can learn a lot during discovery that prepares us for settlement negotiations or trial.
Discovery typically takes months to complete. If the defendant and their insurer aren’t forthcoming with information, it’ll take us longer to compel them to answer our discovery requests. But once we have all of the information, we’ll prepare for settlement negotiations. We might use mediation to negotiate a fair car accident settlement.
If we can’t reach an agreement, though, we’re prepared to take your case to trial. At trial, we’ll present the evidence to the jury, ask them to find the defendant at fault, and ask them to award you full and fair compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial injuries. The jury will decide in favor of you and the defendant. If you win, the jury also decides how much compensation you get.
At the Kemmy Law Firm, we have considerable courtroom experience and never shy away from taking large insurance companies to trial to get our clients what’s right. Let us assess your unique situation and help determine if this is a route you should take.
Dealing with an auto insurance provider is never as easy as it should be. An adjuster is usually looking for ways to minimize the insurance company’s costs. They might want to help, but they aren’t looking out for your best interest.
When you work with an experienced car accident attorney at the Kemmy Law Firm, you have someone putting you and your needs first. You have someone who knows the law, won’t be intimidated by an insurer and their legal team. All of this improves the likelihood of you getting the maximum settlement possible.
To talk with us about how we can help you through the claims process after a car crash, call (210) 750-1019 or contact us online. We offer free initial consultations, and we accept personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis. There are no upfront fees and you owe nothing unless you recover compensation.
Get a free consultation. We do not charge up-front fees, and you owe nothing unless you recover compensation.
When you work with us at Kemmy Law Firm, you are working with a family run firm with more than 50 years of combined experience. We are dedicated and successful trial attorneys practicing in West TX, Hobbs, NM, Midland-Odessa, and across the Permian Basin. Our team handles everything from catastrophic injury claims to complex business matters. We are here to fight for you. We dedicate our time and attention to your case and use every resource available to maximize your claim and obtain the best possible outcome.
