After a traffic accident,
people are often lost and scared. They usually forget about some important
information. If a crash happened, but not with your fault, and if you do not
have serious injuries, a car accident
attorney in New Jersey suggests you to start a procedure to get compensation for your losses
immediately.
Get the
Evidence of the Accident
First of all, it’s
good to know that, from the moment of the damage (immediately after the car
crash occurred), you have several choices. The easiest one for both sides is to
agree without any involvement of the police.
If you wish to get
a charge from the insurance company (but only to the amount specified by the
policy), you must fill the insurance claim on the spot. Police and ambulance
are not needed, although you might have trouble with proving damage.
Learn here how to
collect the proof of damage, just in case the insurance company asks for them:
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-property-damage-claim-527109.
If it is a severe
traffic accident, you must call the police and, if necessary, emergency. Both
services will do the investigation and thus provide evidence. After a few days,
you will receive a police record, after which you have to contact the insurer’s
home of the culprit.
If you suffered serious
injuries, you’d wait for a medical report too. Make sure that doctors identify
each of your injuries, with the emphasis on mental issues. You have the right
to ask for compensation for the fear, which people often ignore in such cases.
Dealing with Insurance Companies
Insurance companies
are obliged to cover the damage their clients made. However, if they would pay
any requested sum, they would have gone bankrupt. Their goal is that you, as
the claimant, agree to the compensation they offer. And they will do everything
they can to achieve this, so prepare well if you want to persist in order to
get fair payment.
The procedure for
the receipt of your request (which contains the proposal for remuneration) and
the delivery of evidence must be carried out. After that, insurance companies
have a certain deadline to pay the requested sum or to give a reason why they
denied doing that. In that case, the injured party has the right to start legal
action, or in layman’s term, to file a lawsuit.
Types of Car
Crash Compensation
If you choose to
charge your losses all by yourself, insurance companies will usually give you
money barely to cover the costs of ‘real’ damages – material damage. However,
if you hire a legal expert for car crash cases, you can get a lot more than you
asked for.
Medical
Costs
Regardless of the
severity of the injury and the length of the healing process, each victim has
the right to get coverage of all medical costs. And let’s be honest, the
medical treatment and medications are expensive.
Of course, the
priority is to heal all the wounds and recover; make sure to carry out all the
necessary examinations and therapies. Doctors will keep a proper record of all
costs, and you will have evidence for the insurance company.
Pain and
Suffering
Insurance houses
often ignore this item, as it can significantly affect the amount of
compensation (how it’s calculated, check on this source). Each court will
consider the decline in quality of life as a result of a car crash, and
especially if some mental conditions, like anxiety, happen after the accident.
Be sure to ask for an expert opinion and proof for your ruined health.
Lost Wages
If you have suffered
physical and mental pain after a car crash, your working ability can be
reduced. You can’t go to work and ensure your existence. If you manage to prove
that injuries prevent you from earning money for a normal life, you have all
the right on adequate compensation, which is based on your current earnings and
every lost opportunity to earn more.
Although
road safety is at a very high level, traffic accidents still occur and often
have fatal consequences. That is why all motor vehicles have mandatory insurance,
so it can cover any possible damage related to the car crash. Starting the
process of charging the damage can be exhausted, but that’s least you should
get.