Car accidents can be a harrowing experience, leaving victims with physical injuries, emotional trauma, and financial burdens. If you’ve recently been involved in a car accident in Hamilton County, you may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what steps to take next.
However, there is hope and help available to you. A car accident lawyer in Carmel can help you with your claim at no out-of-pocket cost to you.
The Carmel personal injury lawyers of Vaughan & Vaughan can guide you through the legal process and help you secure the compensation you deserve. Whether you were injured as a driver, passenger, or pedestrian, it’s essential to have a legal professional who can advocate for your rights and hold the responsible parties accountable.
Steps to Take After a Car Crash
Immediately following a car accident, it’s in your best interest to:
- Get yourself and your loved ones to safety
- Check one another over for injuries
- Document the crash scene
- Exchange insurance information with a liable party
- Cooperate with police officers and first responders
- Contact an insurance provider for support
- Get in touch with a Carmel car wreck lawyer
While you can represent your own best interests following a car wreck, an experienced attorney can help you protect yourself from accusations of shared fault. We can step in and mediate between you, the liable party, and police officers to preserve your right to future legal action.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
You Deserve Financial Support After a Car Accident
Accident victims like you deserve support on multiple fronts following a dangerous traffic accident. Fortunately, there are several avenues through which you can hold negligent drivers accountable for vehicular accidents.
First and foremost, you should work with an at-fault party to determine whether or not they have car insurance. Most insurance companies encourage their clients to purchase more coverage, but the state requires drivers to have minimum coverage before they hit the road. A negligent driver who finds themselves underinsured may find themselves in criminal trouble.
If the at-fault party does have coverage, you can file an insurance claim for fair compensation with the party’s provider. The insurance company should then send a claims adjuster out to your property to assess your losses and compensate you accordingly.
Insurance Companies May Not Have Your Best Interests In Mind
Unfortunately, insurance adjusters work for their companies, not for you. Some adjusters may opt to work in bad faith insurance practices and either undervalue your losses or deny you your right to a claim. Fortunately, you can work with our legal team to combat this bad-faith behavior.
Our experienced Carmel car crash lawyers can step in and mediate with an insurance company on your behalf.
There is no fee
unless you win
Filing a Personal Injury Claim Within Indiana’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations
You additionally have the right to pursue civil action against a negligent party. You can work alongside an experienced car crash lawyer to file a personal injury claim with Indiana’s civil courts. In doing so, you can win yourself the right to argue for financial compensation in front of a judge.
If you want to take legal action against a negligent party, you need to do so within the time allotted by the law. Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4 caps the actionable time at two years. This means that you have no more than two years to investigate your losses, compile a complaint, and act on your knowledge.
The sooner you can get in touch with a personal injury attorney, the more you can do with that two-year timeline. That said, our attorneys know how to work on a tight deadline. When you reach out to our legal team, we can ask you about the nature of your accident and when it occurred. Once we know what timeline we’re working on, we can delegate accordingly.
The Benefits of Filing a Car Accident Claim
Many personal injury victims find the prospect of filing a car accident claim stressful, particularly when they factor in their other responsibilities. You have to contact their insurance providers, take time away from work, treat accident-related injuries, and replace or repair their damaged property.
With those responsibilities in mind, many people seek an attorney’s help. An experienced car accident attorney in Carmel can help you pursue their right to legal action while the injured party focuses on their day-to-day responsibilities.
Even so, is it worth it for you to file a car accident claim? Doing so can help you:
Take Control of the Car Accident Narrative
Indiana operates on a modified understanding of comparative negligence. This means that the party responsible can argue that you’re to blame for a percentage of your collision. If you don’t challenge that assertion of fault, you risk losing a percentage of your compensation if your case goes to court.
Fortunately, an auto accident attorney can help you get ahead of the conversation surrounding your motor vehicle accident. Our team can manage your communications with police officers, an insurance provider, and the liable party. In turn, you can more effectively fight for the comprehensive compensation that you deserve.
Recover Financial Damages
Dealing with the aftermath of a crash is often expensive. Fortunately, you can seek compensation to help you fund your recovery. So long as you can prove that another party’s negligence led to your losses, you can demand the following damages from them:
- Emotional distress
- Property damage, restoration, and replacement
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Loss of companionship, if applicable
- Loss of consortium, if applicable
- Temporary or permanent disability, if applicable
That said, you must bring forward evidence to prove that you’ve endured these losses as a result of someone else’s negligence. You can work with experienced attorneys to gather relevant invoices, bills for your medical treatment, and expense reports.
Evidence Supports Your Request for Car Accident Damages
It’s your and your attorney’s job to make sure you have the means to defend accusations of fault and requests for damages when you submit your personal injury accident claim. Our team can investigate the nature of your losses to better understand what evidence to bring forward to establish a strong complaint. That evidence can include:
- Witness statements
- Input from expert witnesses, including accident recreationists
- Footage from nearby security cameras, stoplights, and cellphones
- Photos taken at the accident scene
- Police reports and statements made by police officers and emergency medical professionals
- Medical records detailing the extent of your losses
You cannot make a legal claim asserting liability or the value of your damages without evidence to defend your position. With that in mind, it’s often in your best interest to wait to assign liability until both you and an attorney better understand your specific circumstances.
Working With Vaughan & Vaughan Can Make It Easier to Recover from a Car Wreck
Going to court for the first time can be intimidating. Vaughan & Vaughan understands that and strives to make it as easy as possible for you to understand the civil process.
We don’t force you to go to trial or even commit to legal action after a case evaluation with our team. Instead, we wait for you to give the go-ahead, all while offering clarifying legal advice every step of the way.
In fact, we’re ready for you to put our track record to the test. Our auto collision lawyers have tackled all types of accidents, including the following:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Construction crew accidents
- Under- and uninsured accidents
We’re prepared to put that experience to use on your behalf. What’s more, we work on a contingency fee basis. In other words, we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Our contingency fee agreements can alleviate your financial stress while also ensuring that you have the chance to pursue legal action against a negligent party.
Contact a Carmel Car Accident Law Firm for a Free Case Evaluation
It’s never easy to rebuild your life after a car accident, especially if you’ve suffered severe injuries. Fortunately, you can work with our experienced car accident lawyers to make the process simpler. Our team can initiate an investigation into your losses while you focus on rebuilding your life.
If you’re ready to learn more about the opportunities you have to secure compensation, contact Vaughan & Vaughan today.
Our team can schedule your free, no-obligation case consultation and help you understand your legal options. Let’s lay the foundation for your successful injury claim today.
