If you were involved in a car accident that was not your fault, hiring a personal injury lawyer can be to your advantage for a number of reasons. A qualified law firm can:
- Investigate the crash and prove it was not your fault
- Negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, reject low-ball offers, and make sure you get the biggest payout possible
- File lawsuits against liable parties to pursue maximum compensation for your losses, past, present, and future
- Never charge you a fee unless and until you receive compensation through a settlement or jury award
The car accident lawyers at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman know that when car crash victims accept quick settlement checks, they often forfeit the full amount of damages they may be entitled to receive. Having an experienced law firm on your side can keep you from getting less than you deserve.
What Damages Can You Recover When a Car Accident Was Not Your Fault?
Liability insurers generally will not push back when a car accident victim seeks reimbursement for post-accident car repairs and emergency room hospital bills. Those costs and expenses are easy to verify, and there is rarely a question of whether they were necessary.
Accident victims often incur significant additional expenses that do not become apparent until weeks or months after the car crash, including:
- Medical bills for additional diagnosis and treatment of injuries
- Wages and employment opportunities that are lost when an accident victim is unable to work while recovering from injuries
- Expenses for occupational and rehabilitative therapy
- Transportation costs for medical appointments
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium and family time due to injuries
A car accident lawyer can help clients injured due to the negligence of others to understand the full amount of his or her damages and to recover significantly greater compensation than an insurer might offer.
Can You Re-Open an Insurance Claim After I Accept a Car Accident Settlement?
Insurers generally ask car crash victims to sign waivers and releases of further claims as a condition of paying any settlements. Absent extreme circumstances, an insurance claim cannot be re-opened after an accident victim signs a waiver and release, even if the victim is incurring substantial continuing damages and losses. Parties that bear no blame for a car accident can make sure that they are not forfeiting their rights by consulting with an attorney before they have any interactions with an auto accident liability insurer.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Negotiate with an Insurer?
Insurance companies handle hundreds of car accident claims every day. They retain squads of lawyers that have extensive experience in negotiating with accident victims and settling claims for the lowest possible amounts. Accident victims that attempt to manage claims without legal representation are at a disadvantage because they have significantly less experience in resolving accident claims. Moreover, accident victims are often under pressure to pay hospital and car repair bills, and that pressure will make it difficult for the victim to keep emotions out of any negotiations.
A car accident lawyer can level the playing fieldbetween an accident victim and a liability insurer and verify that the insurance company is not taking advantage of the victim’s inexperience and emotional state.
Will a Liability Insurer Blame You Even if You Did Not Cause the Accident?
The laws in both New York and New Jersey apply a form of comparative negligence to damages allocations in car accidents. In both states, the damages that a car accident victim can recover will be reduced in proportion to the victim’s contribution to the accident. These laws create an incentive for a liability insurer to argue that even the most blameless of accident victims took some action that contributed to the car accident and the resulting losses and injuries. Even if a victim believes that a car accident was not his or her fault, that victim should retain a car accident lawyer to head off any arguments that they were partially responsible for the accident.
Call Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, & Graifman After Your Car Accident
The law firm of Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman represents car accident victims in Rockland and Bergen counties and elsewhere in New York and New Jersey. Please see our website or call us to schedule a private and confidential consultation with one of our lawyers after your car accident, regardless of who caused that accident. We will review your case, outline your legal options, and recommend the best path to maximum monetary compensation.