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How To Get Money From Being in an Auto Accident
As you will soon find out, there is no easy way to answer this question. There are many factors and issues that will play a part in your case and situation.
Damage or Injury Type
When a victim is hit in a car accident, she or he may suffer multiple types of injuries. He or she may suffer damage to their personal property, as well as damage or injury to their person/body (i.e. – personal injury).
Personal property is property that is movable and owned by the victim (as opposed to real property such as land or a home). Not only could injury to a person’s personal property be in the form of damage to the victim’s car itself, but the victim may have had personal property in the car that was damaged as a result of being hit. As an example, did the victim have personal property in the trunk or back storage area of his/her damaged car? Did the victim have valuable personal property in the main cabin of the automobile that was damaged in the accident as a result of falling or being thrown to the floor or against the dash-board or front windshield? Did the victim have valuable personal property on their person (i.e. – jewelry such as bracelets or necklace or watch) that was broken off the victim as a result of the accident?
INJURY TO THE PERSON – SOFT TISSUE
Soft tissue is generally divided into either ‘connective’ or ‘non-connective’ tissue. Connective tissue may include tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, fibrous tissues, fat, and synovial membranes. Non-connective tissue may include muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
There are specific tests that particular doctors may engage to assess the level of damage to various soft tissue areas. Additionally, sometimes injuries to soft tissue parts of the body may not become apparent immediately after the accident, but rather sometime after the acident. When the body suffers extreme jarring from a car accident the body may go into a low level of shock in order to protect the person and allow him/her to function through the event. Or the victim may be acutely focused on other matters (such as obtaining information from the other driver or talking with Police when they show up) and not immediately notice the pain they are beginning to suffer. And it is only later when everything settles down that the victim then begins to notice and begins to start suffering pain from injury to their soft tissue. Many times damage to soft tissue takes some time to start inflicting pain on the victim. As you can see there are many factors that need to be taken into account when assessing soft tissue damage.
INJURY TO THE PERSON – HARD TISSUE.
Hard tissue is in contrast to soft tissue and is also referred to as ‘calcified’ tissue. Hard tissue is generally tissue that is mineralized and has a firm intercellular matrix. In humans, hard tissue includes bones, and technically includes teeth enamel, dentin and cementum. Damage or injury to hard tissue (bones) is usually more easily and more quickly realized by the victim. Similar to damage to soft tissue, there are specific tests that particular doctors may engage to assess the level of damage to hard tissue as well as assess the amount of time recovery will take from damage to hard tissue.
Just a few examples of injuries to the person (both soft and hard tissue) would include:
- Injuries to the Brain
- Injuries to the Spinal Cord
- Injuries to the discs or bones of the back
- Injuries to the distance between the discs in the back
- Pinched nerve(s)
- Broken bones
- Sprained wrists or joints
- Whiplash, etc.
Loss of Income
Many times when a victim is injured in an auto accident, s/he may miss work days. Also, depending on the type of job the victim has, their employer, and the type of injuries s/he has suffered, the victim may require the approval of their attending physician in order to return to work. Additionally, even when the victim returns to work, the victim’s capabilities may be limited for a particular amount of time. There may be multiple issues that may need to be dealt with, both with regard to the defendant and/or his or her work-place.
Medical Expenses
Often when the person is injured in a car accident, s/he will have medical expenses. Some of these may be covered by Medicare (if the victim qualifies), some may be covered by their health insurance (if the victim has health insurance), and some may need to be paid for by the victim. Most importantly, some care providers will require the victim/patient to pay for the services at the time the care is provided. However, some health-care providers have relationships with attorneys and may be willing to provide health-care services to the victim/patient and trust that they will be paid by the attorney at some later date.
Issues Regarding Cause and or Fault
CONDITIONS OF THE ROAD AND ENVIRONMENT INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT
One of the factors regarding fault, may be the conditions surrounding the event. This may include the condition of the road the automobiles were traveling on. Were the roads slick? Was there construction being performed on the road? Was the other driver using their cell-phone at the time of the accident? Were they dialing? Were they on a call? Were they texting during the accident? How fast were they traveling at the time of the accident? Did they have passengers in their automobile at the time? What did that/those passenger/s see or hear at the time of the accident? Did any nearby cameras record the event or the seconds before the event? Some of these questions may be relevant in your accident and some not.
At the Law Offices of Gregory A. Montegna we have the knowledge of the legal statutes, the case-law, the procedural rules and rules of court that will likely govern your case and situation. Also, we have likely dealt with and know important information about not only the insurance companies involved, but possibly the actual particular adjuster at the insurance company that will be involved in your matter. Furthermore, we have the resources and inter-office technology to stay on-top of your case and keep you up to date. Additionally (and probably most importantly), when you let us help you, we truly care about you. Our #1 concern is that you are taken care of and that you receive what is coming to you and that you are made whole. We have a track-record and history of caring for our clients and taking the time to answer our clients’ questions and alleviate our clients’ concerns.