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Six Factors That Determine Whether Your Car Accident Case Is Worth Pursuing

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If you are injured in a collision with another vehicle, then you will want to know your chances of getting a settlement award from the other driver's insurance company. Here are a few factors to use in gauging your chances of success, and whether or not a personal injury lawyer will agree to take up your case:

Police Report

First, you need the police's report on the accident. A police report that validates your narration of the accident adds a great deal of value to your claim. An insurance adjuster will need to contact the police officers investigating the accident, and having the report makes it easy for them to do this.

Witnesses Statements and Photos of the Scene

Having witnesses' statements also validates your claim. Witnesses include pedestrians, other motorists or anybody else who may have witnessed the accident. For example, when a witness describes the other motorist with a phrase like "He or she passed me a quarter mile back driving on the curb," then you can use that to show the erratic/dangerous driving. Statements from the other driver may also help you, especially if they contained an admission of guilt.

Prompt Medical Care

Prompt medical care shows the seriousness of your injuries. Few people would believe that you were seriously injured if you didn't even bother to get treatment. This is why you should seek medical advice even if you think that your injuries are minor.

Records of Ongoing Damages

Damage to your car and injuries to your physical body aren't the only things to worry about after an accident. There are also things like not going to work, seeking psychiatric help, and being unable to drive. All these things have their monetary equivalents, and you should be compensated for them. However, you can only get appropriate compensation if you have the official records to back them up.

Criminality Charges Against the Other Driver

You can also increase your chances of getting compensated if you can show that the other driver was the only way to show this is to produce evidence that the driver was charged with a criminal misconduct. A good example is if that driver was drunk, the police realized it and charged him or her with it.

Insurance Limits of the Other Driver

The sixth factor to consider is the limit on the other driver's insurance policy. This is important because you can't get a settlement award whose value is greater than this limit. The exception to this is if the driver has substantial personal properties that you can go after in a personal judgment.

It isn't a must to meet all these factors. However, the more you have, the higher the chances that your accident lawyer, such as someone from Allison & Rickards, Attorneys at Law, LLC, will take up your case. This is because he or she will view it as worth winning and winnable.


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