Car Accident Attorney Baton Rouge: Hire Lawyers To Prove Your Claim!
From mild fender benders to serious multi-car collisions, any car crash can be nerve wracking. For those that suffer injury due to an auto accident in Baton Rouge, the aftermath can be even worse, including high medical bills and a lengthy recovery process. Or you could be left struggling with a complete change of life due to permanent injuries or paralysis. Your vehicle will be damaged as well and in need of repairs or replacement. All of these factors can leave you reeling, unable to process the situation and unsure how to move forward.
Being careful on the road isn’t always enough to prevent an accident. If another person’s negligence is at fault for your car accident, you have the right to full compensation for your sustained injuries. But receiving this compensation is itself a monumental task; one you may not be ready or able to take on so soon after your car crash and so early in your recovery. This is where the attorney from Babcock Injury Lawyers can step in and help you and your family.
Finding the right attorney may not seem easy, but it is incredibly important to the success of your claim that you have proper legal representation as soon as possible.
Possible Causes Of Auto Accidents: Who Or What Is Responsible?
One of the first things that your attorney will do for you is to determine the at fault parties in your claim. The great majority of Baton Rouge auto accidents are caused in part or in total by negligence. Proving this negligence is a big part of the help that your car crash lawyer will be providing you. Some of the possible causes for your accident that we will review include:
- Reckless Driving: When another driver does not follow proper speed limits or warning signs, is aggressive towards other drivers, or speeds, it can lead to an accident. Reckless or careless driving is the most common cause of road accidents.
- Roadwork: We all know the traffic and headaches that roadwork can cause. Construction can create a lot of chaos by changing road patterns, limiting travel lanes, or adding hazards to the roadway.
- Distracted Driving: If a driver is on their phone, eating, talking with passengers, rubbernecking, or messing with the radio or console of the car, they aren’t focused on their driving. Accidents can happen in a fraction of a second, all it takes is one glance away from the road.
- Intoxication: Even taking all safety precautions, you could still be in an accident thanks to a drunk driver.
- Poor Conditions: Poorly maintained roads, poor visibility, poor lane segregation, and missing warning signs are all reasons that you may have a crash. Bad weather is another poor driving condition you may experience.
In some cases, multiple factors could contribute to your crash. Babcock Injury Lawyers will get to the bottom of your accident and will make sure that every at fault party is addressed in order for you to receive full compensation. By choosing our law firm to represent you in your Baton Rouge auto accident case, you’re choosing a team of lawyers with years of experience and an aggressive stance when it comes to protecting the rights of each of our clients.
Determining Who Was Negligent In Car Accidents
When you meet with one of our Baton Rouge car accident attorneys, we will work with you to get all of the details of your case on file and establish the parties that were involved in the crash. There may have been carelessness on the part of another driver, failure of local authorities to maintain roadways, poor visibility, or intoxication behind your accident, and it is important that all of these factors are accounted for before your claim is presented.
Recalling your auto accident may be difficult for you, and our attorneys will avoid causing you as much undo stress as possible during the process. We’ll also take on the burden of collecting witness statements, police reports, and other crucial information related to your claim. When determining fault in your Baton Rouge car accident claim, a few of the elements of proof we refer to include:
- Duty of Care: Another party, such as a driver or a government agency, was required to observe a certain standard of care.
- Breach of Duty: The party mentioned above failed to observe that standard, which resulted in injury to you.
- Proximate Cause: Also known as “cause in fact” or “causation”, this simply means that if it were not for the other party, there wouldn’t have been any injury.
- Damages: There is proof that you suffered a loss or injury as a result of the other party’s actions.
In order to determine if your accident meets the criteria for a claim, Babcock Injury Lawyers will review several key pieces of information. This investigative process includes:
- Interviewing witnesses and collecting testimonials and statements
- Working with your doctors to collect medical evidence of your injuries and their extent
- Collecting police reports and accident reports from first responders and insurance companies
- Gathering up photographic and video evidence of your accident from responders, dash cams, nearby surveillance cameras, &c.
- Carefully documenting all files and findings and the impact that your accident has had to your life and the lives of your family members.
- Obtaining evidence specific to your claim type, such as mechanic reports, recalls or defect reports, and more.
- Communicating with insurance agencies to reach a settlement out of court
- Communicating with other parties involved in your accident to obtain statements and evidence.
You need to act quickly to preserve physical evidence that backs up the validity of your claim and proves negligence on the part of another party. But when you’re recovering from serious injuries, often with hospitalization, there is little that you can do to gather these crucial parts of your case. The insurance companies know this, and they could use it to their advantage to convince you to settle quickly. Having an experienced car accident attorney on your side let’s insurers know that you mean business. While you’re recovering from your auto accident, we’ll build your case and fight for a fair compensation settlement.
What If I Am Partially Responsible For The Collision?
In the state of Louisiana, any accident case is subject to comparative negligence; this is the process in which the courts will evaluate who was at fault for an accident and what percentage of fault the guilty party/parties hold. There is a certain Duty of Care that must be upheld by all drivers. If you are found to have breached this duty, even if you were not the majority party responsible for the collision, your case could be affected. The percentage that you are found at fault in the accident claim will be deducted from your total damages awarded. Some attorneys may choose not to accept your case if they feel the compensation would not be worth the trouble. At Babcock Injury Lawyers, we’ll help you to determine the value of your case, even if you are partially at fault, and pursue legal action to receive the fair compensation you would still be entitled to under Louisiana law.
What Can I Be Compensated For After Car Accidents?
Our auto accident attorneys will sort personal injury compensation into two types: economic and non-economic. Economic items are those that have a clear and apparent value, like the cost of medical care after the accident and repairs to your vehicle. These normally have receipts and a specific value, so they’re fairly easy to prove.
Non-economic items are those that don’t have a readily assessed value. Items that fall under this category include compensation for emotional trauma after accidents, diminished future income, and loss of companionship.
While the value of non-economic items is not fixed under the law, these factors can heavily impact your life and financial future. Attorneys from Babcock Injury Lawyers can negotiate the values of these factors so you can get the best possible compensation for your personal injury suit.
When you are filing a claim, we will help you to consider the types of compensation that apply to your Baton Rouge car accident. If you are uncertain whether something is compensable, it is best to bring it up to your lawyer. Here are a few of the things you may be seeking compensation for:
- Medical bills, including future expenses for therapy, treatment, surgery, in home care, medical equipment, and medications
- Vehicle damage, including full replacement value if your vehicle is totalled
- Lost wages due to your inability to work
- Pain and suffering, including emotional distress and therapy costs
- Inability to experience the same enjoyment in life, resulting in a lessened quality of life
If you’re uncertain if something falls into either of these categories, please don’t hesitate to bring it up to our Baton Rouge lawyer. We welcome all questions and information about your accident during your consultation. With more information, we can help establish if something is compensable and make sure your lawsuit includes every possible item.
Car Accidents Can Leave Permanent Injuries
The extent of your injuries will largely make up the value of your claim and the final damages awarded. Simply put, the more severe the injuries you have sustained, the higher the compensation amount you could receive. These funds aren’t going to undo the damage from your accident, but they will help you and your family to pay off your medical bills and afford additional treatments, in home care, and medications that you may now need for the remainder of your life. Our Baton Rouge attorneys will help you evaluate the gravity of your injuries and attain a fair settlement.
Many victims suffer lifelong injuries that will require regular therapy and care, such as traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage. For the worst injuries, you have a right to receive greater compensation for covering the cost of continuing treatment.
Even if your injury is not as severe, it can still impact your finances and wellbeing. The damages done to you or a loved one in a car accident are monumental, no matter how small the accident may have been. You deserve an attorney who will treat your case as such and advocate for you throughout your case.
Collecting From An Insurance Company After A Car Accident
While you may be entitled to certain compensation as a result of the injuries sustained during your car accident, the insurance companies aren’t going to make it easy for you to get that money. From lowballed offers that look great up front to complete denial of a claim, insurers will do everything they can to avoid a full payout and settle the claim quickly, usually out of court. Make no mistake, these companies want you to settle fast and low so that they don’t decrease their earnings and you don’t have time to consider hiring an accident attorney to represent your best interests.
Baton Rouge accident attorneys are pros when it comes to dealing with insurance companies. When you hire a lawyer from Babcock Injury Lawyers, you’re getting an advocate for your rights and a liaison who will speak and negotiate with the opposing parties on your behalf. Your legal advocate will also represent you in court if we are unable to come to a reasonable settlement during mediation. You won’t have to worry about an insurance agency or opposing lawyer twisting your statements to meet their own needs, or missing key legal guidelines that could net you more money in your compensation claim. Our attorneys will use their legal experience and knowledge of the local judicial system to get you the compensation you need for your injuries.
Contact Our Law Firm For A Free Consultation
When you experience a tragic and unexpected accident, you can be left bewildered and scared, unsure how to handle your situation or where to seek help. Babcock Injury Lawyers, Baton Rouge auto injury lawyers, are here to represent your interests when it comes to getting the compensation you deserve for the injuries you or a loved one has sustained due to the negligence of another driver.
Babcock Injury Lawyers is a renowned personal injury and auto accident law firm in Baton Rouge, LA, dedicated to seeking justice for injury victims and securing the compensation they need to help move forward with their lives. If you are facing a battle with the insurance companies and need compensation in order to pay your medical expenses, don’t settle for the insurer’s bottom line; call (225)500-5000 to speak to an attorney today.