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Things Your Greensboro Auto Accident Lawyer Does For You In a Normal Case

In Personal Injury by GWAO

Here are some highlights of what you can expect a Greensboro Auto Accident attorney to do in a car crash case. This is only a bit ; there is much much more, but since every case is different, I have selected out some of the more normal tasks so you can get an idea.

  1. Keep all evidence from the Greensboro Car Crash: take pictures of the scene, interview witnesses, make measurements, etc. Hire an investigator if the case is complicated enough or there is a question of liability. If any product was involved (including a car), preserve it in its state so experts from both sides can look at it.
  2. Contact witnesses and procure statements before memories disappear, people move locations, or time otherwise kills the value of eyewitness testimony.
  3. Check the client’s health insurance policy. It should pay all medical bills that insurance doesn’t/won’t pay, though there will be deductibles, co-pays, and the such.
  4. Find out the liability insurance policy limits of the person who was at fault, including any umbrella or other insurance policies.
  5. If the policy limits are not enough to cover your problem, perform a check of the at fault driver’s  assets to discover out if they can pay out of their own money or assets beyond the insurance policy limits.
  6. If the plaintiff was driving, read his UIM (underinsured motorist) policy, and figure out whether a UIM claim can be made as in addition. Typically, this can only be done if the UIM limit is more than the liability limit of the person who was at fault for the accident.
  7. Hire an economist to determine the economic losses of the plaintiff, if any .
  8. Figure out if the health insurer (or anyone who has paid med bills) will demand to be refunded out of your settlement. Will they have a lien they can enforce?
  9. Consider whether bad publicity (or the threat of it) may be helpful in this case. If you are suing a company, for example, they may find the threat of publicity scary enough to want to settle the case fast so as to not injure the business.
  10. Get all of the client’s medical records and bills. These bills must be kept organized in a folder so they can be referenced later if need be.
  11. Create spreadsheets summarizing all of the injuries, medical treatment, and other costs, including funeral expenses (if the plaintiff died).
  12. Decide what possible evidence to give the insurer to convince them that the crash was the other person’s fault. It is useful to save a bit of evidence to tell them later on, to try to push up the settlement after they’ve offered what they say is their top dollar. Decide now what evidence to include, and what evidence to save for later if you wish.
  13. Write a demand letter to the insurance company. Include all medical bills, records, economist report, eyewitness statements, reports on evidence. Include whatever physical evidence you have decided to give them initially. Give them time in which to respond. Thirty days is usually plenty, although it depends on the complexity of the accident.
  14. Negotiate with the insurance company and lien holders to maximize a settlement.
  15. Negotiate with anybody who is claiming a lien as well. Example: “I can settle this case for $450,000, but only if you’ll agree to reduce your lien from $410,000 to $150,000. The big lien-holders will typically be medical providers, etc. But general folks owed money may have claims as well, especially if the the plaintiff died and owed them money.
  16. If we are able to come to a settlement, then we read the insurance company’s settlement agreement very closely before our client signs it. The release is binding forever so we must be careful.
  17. Help client decide how to distribute funds among beneficiaries. If necessary, each may need to get a lawyer and argue in court about how much they believe they are entitled to. Almost always, beneficiaries can agree for themselves. Remember that lien-holders will also be able to get to to a portion.
  18. Get court approval of the settlement if the settlement involved a minor child.
  19. Distribute funds to the beneficiaries.

Contact our Greensboro Car Accident Lawyers today if you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident in Greensboro, High Point or Asheboro.