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As vehicles are a primary source of transportation in the United States, auto accidents are an unfortunate common occurrence. There are many causes of auto accidents, from driving under the influence of alcohol to hazardous road conditions. Auto accidents can result in minor fender benders or they can be as disastrous enough to cause fatalities. The outcome can be stressful for both, or all, parties involved. A personal injury attorney can be helpful in the event of an auto accident, providing to be a benefit to all parties involved.
Provide instruction during chaos
An auto accident often results in a chaotic outcome. Everyone is rushing around to ensure that all parties are not injured. If someone is injured, the focus comes to getting them the medical help they need. Parties may forget to take the necessary precautionary steps, such as writing down insurance information or taking photographs of the actual accident. Without this necessary information, it can be difficult to prove fault in court, depending on the type of accident. If alcohol is involved, the person may never be charged if no one notices it. A personal injury attorney, however, can be that needed outside person to suggest helpful tips.
Collect all required documents
Because auto accidents are such a common occurrence, your judge is likely to be seeing many auto accident cases. This often means that you get little assistance from the courts as far as required documents to prove liability in court. This could cause you to lose the case because of lack of documentation, or prolong the case, sometimes for many years. Personal injury attorneys can provide insight on the necessary documents that will be required and can even aim for a car accident settlement, shortening the time that is spent in court.
Keep you in the legal time frame
Most states have a statute of limitations. This prevents you from suing someone, regardless of their level of guilt, after a specified period of time. Statute of limitations are laws that set time limits on how long you have to file a civil lawsuit, like a personal injury lawsuit. Tennessee?s statute of limitations, for example, for personal injury cases and wrongful death cases is one year. A lack of proper filing and time limits could void your case. Law firms that are familiar with the states statute of limitations can guarantee your case is heard before that time limit.
Dig into foul play
Sometimes auto accidents are simply no one?s fault. Other times, one of the drivers was engaging in an illegal activity, such as driving under the influence or engaging in distracted driving activities. Engaging in visual manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing, and texting) associated with the use of handheld phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. It is also illegal in many states.
An auto accident lawyer usually has better connections and abilities to dig into cases of foul play. They are also familiar with state laws and what you can expect for an average personal injury settlement amounts that involve illegal activities. Digging into illegal activity that resulted in an auto accident may involve subpoenaing cell records, measuring vehicle speed limits, or requesting BAC test results from the local jail. All of these tasks require a personal injury attorney.
There were 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants who lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2013 and an estimated 2.05 million passenger vehicle occupants who were injured. Auto accidents are caused for many reasons. When fault is present, the victim is owed financial damages. The person who caused the auto accident may also be subject to jail time, if any illegal activity was involved. When auto accidents occur, auto lawyers can be a very necessary and helpful part of the process, protecting the rights of all those involved.
