Should I Get a Lawyer For a Car Accident That Wasn't My Fault - Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm Las Vegas

Finding a Lawyer For Car Crash That Wasn’t My Fault

Being in a car accident is stressful enough whether or not it was your fault or the other driver’s fault.

If you are in an accident and it turns out it wasn’t your fault you may think that it’s enough to make things go smoothly for you when dealing with insurance companies and trying to get things paid for.

You may be very wrong.

Hiring an attorney that specializes in car accidents is a smart way to take action to get you the compensation that you need to help with car repairs and medical expenses.

Hiring a personal injury attorney can also limit your liability, just because you were determined not to be at fault doesn’t mean you won’t be held liable for some part of the accident by the other driver’s attorney or insurance company.

If you have been injured in a car crash in Nevada you should call The Richard Harris Law Firm today.

Once you are our client we will defend and protect your rights and get you the compensation you deserve after your accident.

Situations When You Need an Attorney

We always recommend hiring an attorney after a car accident instead of trying to handle a claim all by yourself.

But there are many situations where attorney’s are necessary to solve the case and have the best outcome for our clients.

Here are a few scenarios where hiring an attorney is very important:

The accident caused significant loss

If the accident caused significant loss to property or severe injury or death to any motorists involved then hiring an attorney is a good idea no matter what.

Even if the accident wasn’t your fault, in this situation it’s a good idea to hire an attorney to protect your rights.

If you are at fault and insurance companies get involved you may be liable for a large sum of money and you’ll need a lawyer to protect your rights.

Usually the insurance company for the at fault driver will try and deny large claims even when at fault is not in dispute.

Either the insurance company will deny or try to settle the claim for significantly less than the claim is worth and place the financial responsibility on the driver.

This is even if the claim is valid.

Even if the insurance companies are willing to pay out on a valid claim it is a good idea to hire an attorney.

You’ll need to seek the advice of a good lawyer since in most cases you’ll be required to sign a document that you will not file any future claims against the insurance company or other driver.

In most cases, large accident claims require much more evidence and information that needs to be processed.

A personal injury lawyer will handle all evidence and paperwork requests for you.

Believe it or not, processing paperwork properly can mean the difference between having claims processed quickly and not.

Dispute Over Who Is at Fault

Once the accident has happened you may assume that fault is easily determined but that is not always the case.

Even a police report can be wrong or not 100% accurate.

The other driver may dispute your version of the accident, you may not have any additional witnesses to back up your story.

In this case besides the police, the insurance companies will do an extensive investigation since in bad car crashes there is usually a lot of money at stake.

Since insurance companies for the driver never want to admit fault of their client it may be necessary to hire an experienced attorney.

The Insurance Company is Bothering You

Remember insurance companies are businesses and even though you can pay into your insurance for years it doesn’t mean they will just pay out after an accident.

Insurance adjusters will do everything to minimize the claim or even deny it altogether.

They will also try and downplay the accident or give you a low ball offer first to see if you’ll accept it.

A good personal injury attorney knows all the tricks of the insurance companies and adjusters and how to deal with them.

And remember the statute of limitations in Nevada.

Nevada Laws are Complicating the Situation

Liability in a car accident is determined by negligence.

As simple as this sounds it is not.

Not all negligence is placed with one specific party.

When car accident claims go to court the judge or jury will decide liability based on a state’s particular fault rules.

The court uses two forms of negligence to determine fault, contributory and comparative.

Contributory negligence states that you can only recover damages if the other party is 100% at fault.

If the court finds you at least 1% at fault in the accident you recover nothing.

Comparative negligence on the other hand has two different scenarios:

Pure comparative negligence – you can recover damages even if your percentage of at fault exceeds the other party
Modified comparative negligence – states that negligence is based on the percentage per party. So if the other driver is considered at fault but you are responsible for 10% of the accident your claim will be reduced by that 10%.

In Nevada the court uses the modified comparative negligence rule to all accident claims.

You’ll need to hire an experienced personal injury attorney to get the best results possible.

Why Get a lawyer If the Accident Wasn’t my Fault

If accidents were simple to solve then no one would need an attorney.

However this is not the case because when accidents happen insurance companies (who are responsible for responding to the claims filed by their clients or the clients of the injured party) will do everything not to pay those claims.

They are in the end a for profit business and if they paid out every claim at first glance there would be no business.

If they can’t deny the claim altogether insurance companies use tactics to minimize the claim as much as possible.

These are the reasons why you need to hire an attorney as soon as an accident happens.

Even if you’re not at fault for the accident you should hire an attorney.

There are many benefits for hiring an experienced attorney:

Your lawyer will help you get the best medical care possible. Since experienced attorneys have dealt with many doctors and hospitals they have access to the best care. They will handle all the medical expense records and filing for you.
Your attorney can help you file your initial car accident claim.
If the insurance companies at first deny your claim they will gather evidence to refute the denial.
If the insurance company of the other party is accusing you of being at fault your attorney will step in and deal with the insurance adjuster. The attorney will work with the adjuster to determine who is actually at fault and what percentage.
Your personal injury attorney will negotiate with the insurance company to get you the compensation you deserve even if the insurance company tries to summit a lowball offer to you. Negotiations may make the process longer but you will get the settlement you deserve. Think of lost wages, car repairs.
You may think you know what your case is worth based on information you collected or bills you have, but a good lawyer will know exactly what you are entitled to and what compensation you should receive.