It’s easy to underestimate the financial strain of a car accident. You’re contending with more than emergency medical expenses, after all. The cost of repairing or replacing your car, contending with lost property, and making up for lost paychecks can catch up with you faster than you ever expected.
That’s why our Indianapolis car accident lawyers want to give you the chance to secure the financial support you need to recover from your losses. Vaughan & Vaughan helps car accident survivors like you file civil complaints against the parties responsible for their losses. Together, we advocate for your right to economic justice in the face of roadway negligence.
You can contact our personal injury attorneys in Indianapolis today to arrange your free case evaluation.
What to Do After a Car Crash
Recovering from a car accident takes a considerable amount of time and resources. While there’s no right way to recover, there are steps you can take to make the process a little easier, including the following:
- Call emergency responders and address any immediate injuries
- Seek out additional medical care, if necessary
- Document the scene of the accident
- Collaborate with police officers as applicable
- Contact the liable party’s insurance company to begin the claim-filing process
- Consider reaching out to an attorney for legal guidance
When to Call an Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyer
The sooner you can get in touch with a car accident attorney after a severe accident, the better. Attorneys can help you navigate difficult conversations with your insurance provider and make the most of your time at the scene of an accident. Gathering initial evidence before a liable party has time to misrepresent your losses can make it easier for you to secure a settlement.
Our team can also help prevent police officers or related parties from misinterpreting the nature of your accident. We communicate with all parties related to your losses on your behalf. You, in turn, can focus on securing the medical attention you need to begin recovering from any injuries sustained in your crash.
Last but not least, early contact with an experienced attorney also makes it easier for you to file a personal injury claim against the party liable for your crash. You must abide by Indiana’s personal injury statute of limitations if you want your demand for financial compensation to move forward in civil court.
Our Attorneys will
stand up for you
Identifying Negligence After an Indianapolis Car Accident
Our team’s primary purpose is to help you secure the financial support you need to recover from a severe car accident. It’s with that in mind that we gather evidence from the scene of your accident to establish roadway negligence. If the evidence we gather can prove that someone on the road violated the duty of care owed to you, you can go to court.
Specifically, you can file a civil claim naming a particular party financially responsible for your losses. Identifying that party isn’t always a straightforward process, though. The parties that can cause roadway collisions include but are not limited to:
- Private drivers
- Government officials
- Construction crews
- Commercial truck drivers
- Commercial motor vehicle drivers
- Pedestrians
- Motorcyclists
- Bicyclists
- Private institutions
It’s your Indianapolis car accident attorney’s job to determine which of these parties – or some combination thereof – bears the brunt of the blame for your accident. Once we’ve identified who engaged in the distracted driving, reckless behavior, and/or illegal roadway conduct that caused your accident, we can demand damages from them on your behalf.
There is no fee
unless you win
Filing a Car Accident Claim With Indiana Civil Courts
Acting quickly after a car accident doesn’t always seem possible. That, however, is what an attorney is here for. Indiana Code §34-11-2-4 limits the amount of time in which you can act if you want to pursue compensation for your losses. You must specifically bring your complaint forward within two years of the day of your accident.
Our team can begin building your complaint on the same day your accident takes place. We give you the time you need to receive immediate medical attention as we gather evidence, collect bystanders’ contact information, and prevent an insurance provider from undermining your losses.
Even if you can’t contact us on the same day that your accident takes place, our team can still work within the deadline given to us by the Hoosier State. Reach out to us as soon as you or a personal executor can, and we can discuss your timeline.
Your Case Will Get The
Attention it Deserves
Bring Your Losses to an Insurance Company’s Attention
While you can take legal action against the party liable for your losses, you can also reach out to a liable party’s insurance company and request damages via an insurance claim. Most companies send insurance adjusters out to assess the extent of your losses.
Unfortunately, not every insurance adjuster represents your losses accurately. Some insurance providers want to prioritize their financial standing over your right to fair compensation. Others may act in bad faith and deny your claim outright.
You can get ahead of this bad faith behavior by requesting that a personal injury lawyer interface with a relevant insurance company on your behalf. Our team can alternatively step in following a claim denial and either appeal the denial or take the provider to civil court.
That said, not every driver on the road has a comprehensive insurance policy. While Indiana requires its drivers to maintain its minimum liability coverage, some drivers operate while underinsured or uninsured.
You can discuss whether or not it’s worth it to pursue an insurance claim against a negligent driver when you first meet with Indiana’s personal injury lawyers. Our car wreck lawyers in Indianapolis can recommend alternative paths to compensation as applicable.
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How to Argue for Financial Support in Civil Court
You can argue for post-accident financial support in a few different ways. If you’d rather avoid a civil trial, you can request that your attorney arrange a private, out-of-court negotiation with the at-fault party. These negotiations tend to resolve more quickly than car accident trials. That said, they do put you face-to-face with the person or parties that caused your accident.
Some liable parties use negotiations to get you to assume a percentage of fault for your accident. In doing so, these parties may demand that you compromise when requesting financial support.
You do not have to give up damages that you feel you deserve. If the liable party refuses to cede the point, or you feel they aren’t taking you seriously, you can request that an attorney transition you into a traditional trial.
The trial process sees you undergo discovery before moving into the courtroom. Once there, you can expect to go through:
- Opening statements
- Examination
- Cross-examination
- Closing statements
- Deliberation
- Verdict
An experienced car accident lawyer can prepare you for legal experience and guide you through it accordingly. Our auto accident lawyers can also keep the door open for settlement agreements should an at-fault party decide to reach out.
Using Evidence to Prove Fault After a Vehicular Accident
You need to defend your request for economic and non-economic damages with evidence of another party’s negligence.
Fortunately, when our team returns to the accident scene, we can bring forward the hard data needed to outline your right to a fair settlement. We can also call on expert witnesses like accident recreationists to help elaborate on your right to financial support.
Balancing Your Economic and Non-Economic Losses
The complaint you submit to Indiana courts needs to provide applicable bodies with an estimate of your total losses. Our attorneys are responsible for calculating this estimate, but you can help us establish the exact dollar value of some of your possible damages.
We can work together to establish the sum of your economic and non-economic losses before bringing your claim to a civil judge.
Your motor vehicle accident losses are broken down into two categories: economic and non-economic. Your economic losses, and subsequently economic damages, tie directly to the bills generated by your accident.
Our attorneys then step in and rely on state standards to determine the value of your non-economic, or intangible, losses, like loss of consortium or accident-related stress.
The losses that an Indianapolis, IN, car wreck lawyer can most often integrate into a motor vehicle accident claim include the following:
- Medical bills
- Lost or reduced quality of life
- Property damage and essential restorations
- Lost income or wages
- Lost opportunities to return to work
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship or consortium, if applicable
Our personal injury lawyers can make sure that you have the evidence you need to defend your right to these losses and subsequent damages upon bringing your claim to court. We can return to your accident scene to bring forward the physical debris or photo evidence that can specifically tie these expenses back to your accident and someone else’s negligence.
What to Expect from a Car Accident Civil Trial
It can take time for a court to consider your request for compensation after an accident. Should a court move your complaint forward, though, you can control certain elements of its progression. Specifically, you can work with an attorney to determine how you want to address your losses.
You can pursue compensation through a traditional civil trial. The trial process tends to work best for survivors contending with belligerent or unresponsive defendants. Going before a judge allows you to place your right to car accident compensation in the hands of a jury.
If you choose to pursue a car accident civil trial, you can expect to undergo:
- Discovery
- Opening statements
- Examination
- Cross-examination
- Closing statements
- Deliberation
- Verdict
You can discuss whether or not this option appeals to you during an initial case consultation with our team. Our auto accident attorneys in Indianapolis and beyond continually advocate for your right to maximum compensation, no matter what environment you choose to exercise your legal rights within.
How to Negotiate for Car Crash Support
You do not have to go to trial to secure financial support after an auto accident. You can instead schedule out-of-court negotiations with the defendant and their attorney. Conversations with negligent drivers can prove challenging, but they’re not impossible to navigate.
Our Indianapolis car accident lawyer can outline your accident injuries and mediate your negotiations, even if conversations grow tense.
Working With Attorneys Makes Your Recovery Easier
There are several Indiana interstates that make it all too easy to get into an accident. That doesn’t mean that you can’t take action in the face of an accident you think stemmed from someone else’s negligence. If you think misconduct contributed to your losses, you can contact Indianapolis car accident attorneys to discuss your right to civil action.
Vaughan & Vaughan can connect you with an experienced representative in your time of need. You can reach out to our law firm online or over the phone to schedule a free case consultation at your convenience. Together, we can bring together your civil complaint and fight for your right to financial support as you recover from your accident.
We Will Demand
Justice For you