How a Milwaukee Car Accident Lawyer Can Help

If you’ve been in a car accident in the Milwaukee metro, you need more than just medical help. Statistics show the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family after you’ve been injured in a car accident is hire a good personal injury lawyer.

Getting fair compensation for your injuries means having someone on your side who is familiar with the entire process–the claims procedure, how to help you get your medical bills paid, and how to recover for time off work.  Someone who will see to it that you are fully compensated for your pain and suffering. In short, you need the best car accident attorney you can find.

Types of Damages in Car Accident Cases

Seeking damages after a wreck is often one of the lowest priorities on a victim’s list. In fact, for many crash victims, dealing with day-to-day hardships like coping with injuries and getting medical care or transportation to work are often higher priorities than seeking damages.

Unfortunately, launching a lawsuit is often the only way that someone injured in a crash can adequately recoup what is lost and should be prioritized as such.

Unless the court has reason to believe that punitive damages should be awarded, the most common types of compensation awarded for car crashes are compensatory in nature and include those for:

• Past and future medical expenses, such as emergency medical care, ongoing medical treatment, therapy, and medication.
• Property damages, such as damage to the vehicle involved in the crash.
• Pain and suffering, which can be for both short-term and long-term pain and discomfort resulting from a wreck.
• Emotional distress, such as anxiety, fear, and depression.
• Burial costs, in the case of wrongful death.
• Out-of-pocket expenses, such as car rental fees, child care expenses, and costs related to housekeeping help.
• Lost wages, such as wages lost following the crash and for lost earning potential due to permanent injuries.
• Loss of consortium, when the nature of the victim’s injuries damage the person’s ability to maintain a relationship.

I was injured in an auto accident. What do I do?

First, make sure you receive medical care for your serious injuries. Next, call our firm at 414-289-0909. Our lawyers have built a strong record of success negotiating settlements, as well as winning at trial.

When your future is in the balance, you need a lawyer with a proven track record. An auto accident resulting in injury or death can involve many insurance companies. We will look at your health and auto insurance policies, as well as the policies held by the responsible party, and work to ensure they provide you with the compensation you deserve.

When should I seek medical help after a car accident?

To recover full and fair compensation for your car accident injuries, you should seek medical help immediately. This is true even if you think you have a minor injury or that “the pain will go away.”

Insurance companies gain an important strategic advantage when people wait to seek medical care because it allows them to argue against medical claims. For instance, insurance companies often state that a car accident victim’s pain could not have been “that bad” because he or she did not seek medical help right away. Or they’ll argue that the medical condition is not related to the accident because immediate medical attention was not sought.

It is vital that you document your injuries following a car crash by seeking medical treatment and thus, creating a record of your injuries.

Should I give a recorded statement?

Not before speaking to a lawyer. Statements given to insurance companies soon after an accident, whether to your own company or to the wrongdoer’s, can only work against you in the claims process.

While you may well have a contractual obligation to provide a statement to your own company, you have no such obligation to someone else’s company. Your obligation to your own company can be fulfilled after you consult with an attorney, and doing so may offer vital protection for your rights.

How do I deal with my car insurance company or the other person’s insurer?

For your own automobile liability insurer, you have a contractual obligation to cooperate, but not necessarily immediately. In addition, you do not have any such obligation to the other person’s insurance company.

Protect your right to compensation: Do not speak with any insurance company or complete paperwork without speaking with a lawyer.

What do I do with my bills if I cannot work?

Depending on your own insurance coverage and that of the person who caused your injury, medical bills may be submitted to your own healthcare insurer, your automobile insurer (under the medical payments provision of your policy), or a combination of insurers.

If you were hurt on the job, you may be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits. The coordination of rights and benefits where worker’s compensation is involved is a matter that requires experienced personal injury practitioners.

How do I receive medical compensation after a wreck?

Every insurer has a different procedure and there are vast differences between companies and policies. In addition, many health insurers will claim a right of reimbursement for medical bills paid on behalf of an injured person.

The respective rights of these insurers and the injured person is a complicated web of rules and regulations. It is best to work with a lawyer experienced in dealing with the paperwork and negotiations with insurance companies.

Our lawyers work with a large network of experts in fields ranging from health to engineering to vocational issues to ensure that we gather the facts necessary to successfully move forward with your case.

How much does it cost to file a auto injury lawsuit?

At our firm, our lawyers offer a free initial consultation. We also work on a contingency basis. That means there are no fees due until your case is won.

Should I accept a settlement offer?

In our experience, insurance companies will not offer a settlement that fully compensates an injured individual for the expenses relating to past and future medical care, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, future loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering simply out of kindness.

In almost every car accident case, the insurance company will make a very low offer shortly after the crash. They try to tempt you into taking a little bit of money even though no one knows the extent of your injuries and other losses related to the car accident. In our opinion, victims should not accept these early, “low-ball” offers without discussing them with a lawyer.

What car insurance coverage should I purchase? How much is enough?

One of the largest concerns we have at Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C., is the insurance industry’s push to sell policies that shortchange our clients in the event of a car crash. What you decide to skip in insurance now will come back to haunt you when you are injured in a car accident.

It is absolutely crucial that you purchase the maximum amount of coverage for your family that you can afford. We know it can “hurt” to write a premium check to an insurance company because you don’t think you’ll ever need that much coverage. However, the “hurt” you will feel when your or a loved one’s recovery is greatly limited because you chose to buy a small amount of coverage is far worse.

Sadly, we have had the experience of recovering the maximum amount of money available for our clients and yet that sum is not nearly enough to fully compensate them for their injuries. Don’t let this happen to you and your loved ones. Plan ahead and protect your family as best as you can.

To whom should you make the claim?

You must first determine whether the at-fault driver has insurance. If so, you need to contact that insurance carrier and give them access to your vehicle so they can send an appraiser to inspect the damage.

Remember, the other driver’s insurer has no fiduciary duty to respond efficiently to your inquiries because they are not your insurance carrier. As such, they may fail to return your phone calls, delay the process, or become uncooperative.

If presented with any of these circumstances, the better option is to go through your own insurance company—that is, assuming that you purchased “collision” coverage. While your insurance company will reduce any property damage payoff by your deductible, they will subsequently seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier through a process called inter-insurance arbitration.

If and when they obtain reimbursement, your insurance company will reimburse your deductible. Therefore, while going through your own insurance company may sound counter-intuitive because the damage was someone else’s fault, you should get better service from your own insurance company because they have a contractual duty to respond efficiently and treat you fairly throughout the process.

Is the car repairable?

After inspection, the insurance company will determine whether your car is repairable or whether it is a total loss. (A vehicle is usually considered a total loss if the repair cost plus salvage value exceeds the fair market value of the vehicle or if the damages exceed a specific threshold of the vehicle’s value, e.g. 70%.)

If it is repairable, the insurance company will pay for all reasonable and necessary repairs. While you can choose the auto body shop, do not begin any repairs until the insurance company has inspected the vehicle.

If the vehicle is considered a total loss, you will then have two options:

1. Sign over title of the vehicle to the insurance company in exchange for payment, which will include tax, title and license; or
2. Retain ownership of the vehicle in exchange for payment of the agreed upon FMV minus the salvage value.

While the vast majority of individuals choose option one, if you are mechanically inclined and want to repair the vehicle yourself, you may want to consider option two. Usually the initial offer is not a “take it or leave it” offer. The question is whether the offer is reasonable.

What should and shouldn’t you sign?

Remember, if you have even the slightest injury, make sure that any Release the insurance company asks you to sign pertains to property damage claims ONLY. You do not want to sign a document that releases your personal injury claim when it is your intention to resolve only the property damage claim.