What You Need to Know About Car Accident Insurance and Injury Claims

When a car accident occurs, and a person is seriously injured by an at-fault driver, they may be entitled to file an insurance claim and receive a settlement. In most cases, even for property damage, an insurance settlement is often the most reasonable choice, unless the offer is simply unreasonable. In this case, an attorney might try to settle out of court for a client, but if an reasonable agreement cannot be made, then it’s usually taken to court and presented to a judge or jury for a verdict.  There are several options for pursing a motor vehicle accident claim, as you can see, and more to know about each.

Continue reading to learn about filing an auto accident injury or insurance claim, and who to consult for accurate industry advice and counsel.

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Car Insurance Accident Claim Settlements

Just like all other cases, insurance claim settlements vary in outcome. There are a few considerations to be aware of before moving forward with an insurance auto accident claim. For example, if you sustained only minor injuries, and only required a few doctor visits and check-ups, then a simple insurance claim should cover your damages. Damages include hospital bills, medical expenses, pain and suffering, medication, and property damage.

Insurance companies sometimes want to settle as soon as possible, but quick settlements can be a mistake. This is because once a person signs and accepts the offer, the case is immediately closed and cannot be brought back up ever again. If more injury or costs come up after the settlement is closed, the insurance company is not obligated to cover those additional or prolonged expenses. This is why it is important to hire a skilled and experienced Indiana car accident injury attorney to facilitate your claim and make sure that you are fairly and fully compensated.

Out of Court Claim Settlements

In order to receive the compensation that will fully cover all related expenses, medical, pain and suffering and property damages, you should take your claim to a lawyer so they can document the evidence in the case to present it to the at-fault driver’s insurance company in an organized and professional manner.  Moreover, experienced trial attorneys like those at Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. will be able to take your case to trial, should the insurance company not make a fair offer for your case.

Out of court settlements are best for all parties involved so long as the offer being made is full and fair.  In addition, the expenses for expert witnesses and the time involved in taking a case to trial are diminished if the case does not proceed all the way through a trial, making it less expensive for the case to resolve, which ends up getting more money in a client’s pocket out of a settlement offer.

Your Trusted Personal Injury Car Accident Lawyers in Indianapolis, Indiana

Call the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to learn more about making a car accident injury claim in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our seasoned personal injury lawyers are fully-prepared to recover the full and fair compensation you deserve after being seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. We offer free initial consultations and never collect attorney fees unless we obtain a settlement for you. We represent injured persons throughout the State of Indiana.

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What to Do if You are in a Company Car Accident

Nothing interrupts a workday worse than wrecking the company vehicle. And when injuries are serious, it can interrupt the quality of your life as well. For this reason, it is important to be prepared. Knowing how to handle a car accident in your work vehicle will be helpful to your claim and recovery. Continue reading for tips on what to do if you are ever involved in one.

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Indiana Car Accident and Workers’ Compensation Lawyers 317-881-2700

Tips for Driving a Company Vehicle

If you are frequently commuting back and forth in a company car all day long, it is important to be prepared for a car accident. With so much driving, the likelihood of being involved in a collision of some sort increases drastically. To prepare, keep a camera in your vehicle, along with your insurance information, pen, paper, and of course, your drivers’ license. These items will make your post-accident timeline much smoother, and will also allow you to record any evidence you need to support your insurance and/or injury claim. Evidence includes witness statements, witness contact information, other driver’s insurance and contact information, pictures of damages and the scene of the accident, and more.

Steps to Follow After a Company Car Accident

As soon as you are involved in a car accident in your company-issued vehicle, the first step is to seek medical attention right away. Once you are stable, you can continue on. If you are transported directly to a hospital for serious injuries, ask a police officer to help collect the information you need beforehand (if you can). If not, don’t worry about it; an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you gather all the evidence needed to support your case if need be.

If you are stable, then your next step is to check on the other people involved in the accident to see if they are okay. If they require medical treatment, step back and allow them to receive it. If they are stable, then you want to exchange insurance and contact information with them. It is also recommended to take a photo of their insurance card, license plate, and drivers’ license to ensure accuracy in case of clerical errors.

Next, use your phone or camera to take pictures and video of the scene of the accident, the vehicular damages, the road signs, stop lights, or other objects you think contributed to the accident. Also take pictures of any physical injuries you have on your body. Once you have visual evidence, look around to see if there were any witnesses to the accident. Ask them for their contact information if you need their statements during the claims process.

The last step is to hire an experienced Indianapolis personal injury attorney to help negotiate your car accident settlement in the case that you were seriously injured. They can help you recover the full and fair compensation you need to come back from your losses and damages, including hospital bills, medical expenses, lost wages from time off work, pain, suffering, and more.

Craven, Hoover, and Blazek Helps Injured Indiana Car Accident Victims

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to make a personal injury claim in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seasoned injury lawyers, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek, all specialize in car accident injury claims and workers’ compensation claims, and have represented thousands of injured persons in Indiana. Our personal injury law firm offers free initial consultations to evaluate your eligibility to pursue legal action and collect compensation for your damages. Best of all, we never collect attorney fees unless we recover a settlement or verdict for you!

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Why You Need to Consult With an Indianapolis Car Wreck Attorney ASAP

In the case that a car accident was not your fault, and you wound up suffering serious injuries, it is important to consult with the seasoned Indianapolis car wreck attorney as soon as possible. Continue reading to learn your rights after being seriously injured in a car accident that was not your fault, why you need to seek professional legal counsel as soon as possible, and how to get started on your claim today.

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Indiana Car Wreck Lawyers 317-881-2700

Your Rights to Compensation After a Car Accident

After being injured in a car accident, you are entitled to certain rights to make a claim for compensation. If a car accident were your fault, you would likely be filing a claim with your own auto insurance, as well as your own health insurance carrier. However, if the car accident was someone else’s fault, and you suffered serious injuries that resulted in specific losses and damages, you are entitled to make a claim against the at fault party’s insurance carrier. In this case, you would need to hire a skilled personal injury lawyer to represent your claim. They have the knowledge, skills, and professional resources to navigate your case in a way that ensures you obtain the full and fair compensation you deserve.

You can recover compensation for proven economic and non-economic losses and damages, such as hospital bills, medical expenses, lost wages from time off work, prolonged physical therapy, permanent disability or disfigurement, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and much more depending on your particular case. See our blog, “Types of Damages Awarded for Victims of Injury” to learn more about recoverable personal injury damages and losses.

You Need a Skilled Personal Injury Lawyer if…

You should always hire a skilled personal injury attorney. 

Here’s Why:

Once the at fault party calls their insurance carrier to advise them of the incident, the insurance carrier immediately begins their investigation of the case and it immediately assigns an adjuster to obtain facts and evidence which will support their insured’s version of the incident. In cases where their insured potentially causes severe injuries to another person, the in-house and sometimes out-of-house attorney will become immediately involved. It is vital to your case to have your own attorney so they can seek and obtain the evidence necessary to bring your claim and help you recover a full and fair settlement for your injuries.

A defendant’s insurance carrier owes an injured party no duties. It also owes no duty to treat the injured party fairly and to reach a fair settlement with an injured party. In fact, a defendant’s insurance carrier’s duty is to it’s shareholders to make them money, which is why, if they attempt to settle a case at all, they attempt to settle the case for as little money as possible. A defendant’s insurance carrier has a monetary interest in settling a claim for as little money as possible and to not settle the case at all if they can because that would mean the insurance carrier would pay nothing.

The bottom line is you should always hire a skilled personal injury attorney so you have someone looking out for your best interests and your best interests alone.  The at-fault party already has an adjuster and attorney looking out for theirs. 

Why Time is of the Essence

Every state has a set time limit in which an injured person can bring about a claim, or file a lawsuit in civil court, against another party. This is known as statutes of limitations. Here in Indiana, the standard statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is two years. If a personal injury victim fails to pursue a claim within this time period, they lose their opportunity to do so, forever. See our blog, “Can a Personal Injury Statute of Limitations Be Extended?” to learn more about such limitations and what you can do if you miss the deadline.

Moreover, evidence needs to be obtained quickly as it will disappear with the passage of time and memories of what happened become faded with time.  For example, photos of the vehicles should be taken immediately.  Why?  Because if the vehicles are totaled they may get demolished in a wrecking yard once the property damage claim has been resolved.  Moreover, if the vehicles are not totaled and are fixed, you will not have evidence of the impact and dames to the vehicles involved.

SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION WITH AN EXPERIENCED INDIANA ACCIDENT ATTORNEY

Call the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 if you have recently suffered a personal injury in Indiana. Our seasoned Indianapolis car accident injury attorneys are happy to answer your questions about personal injury claims, lawsuits, and more. Initial consultations are free of charge, and we never collect lawyer fees unless they recover for you. Call 317-881-2700 to schedule a free consultation, today.

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Do I Need Medical Payments Coverage for My Passengers?

Medical Payments Coverage: Also called Med Pay

Med Pay is a colloquial term for “Medical Payments Provision”, which is a separate provision in an insurance policy available to vehicle owners. It is a provision that covers the medical payments of the driver and all the passengers inside your vehicle if they are injured in a car accident, regardless of who is at-fault. Keep in mind that Med Pay is NOT health insurance. It only covers medical payments incurred as a result of car accidents. The difference is that Med Pay covers your and your passenger’s medical bills as well.

It is highly recommended to purchase medical payments coverage, which helps protect you and your passengers in your vehicle. Continue below to learn more about Med Pay, including additional recommendations regarding personal injuries.

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Indiana Car and Truck Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

Med Pay can be purchased when you obtain coverage for your automobile and can usually range from $1,000 to $100,000. But it is important to know that Med Pay is based per vehicle. So, if you have two vehicles, you will need to purchase med pay coverage for each vehicle so you are covered while driving each vehicle. It is also important to understand that this does not include any other economic or non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of limb, permanent disfigurement, prolonged physical therapy, and more. If you wish to have these covered as well, you’ll need to look into Personal Injury Protection, or more commonly known as “PIP” (depending on the State you live in if available).

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

If you are concerned about coverage for additional losses and damages, like the ones mentioned above, then you would need to consider a different type of coverage instead of a medical payments plan. One option is Personal Injury Protection, or PIP. This coverage is more comprehensive compared to Med Pay. Not only does it cover injuries and losses incurred as a result of a car accident, it goes above and beyond, covering more specific economic or non-economic losses. For instance, PIP will help with hospital bills, medical expenses, loss wages, mortgage payments, and more. It is more expensive than Med Pay, but not by much. And you do not need to have both PIP and Med Pay insurance.

The Esteemed Indiana Car Accident Attorneys Who Can Recover the Compensation You Deserve

Call the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a free initial consultation with a licensed car accident injury attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seasoned personal injury lawyers, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek can help you recover the full and fair compensation you deserve after being seriously injured in a car accident. We offer free initial consultations and never collect attorney fees unless we obtain a settlement for you. We represent injured persons throughout the State of Indiana. Contact us to get started in your financial recovery, today.

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How to Win a Car Accident Lawsuit

A motor vehicle accident can happen in a second. One moment someone is driving down the road peaceably, and the next minute they find themselves in the midst of a motor vehicle collision. Because there are so many factors involved in proving a personal injury case, it is important to consult a personal injury attorney for professional legal counsel.

Continue reading to learn what you need to know about how to win a car accident lawsuit if you are injured through the fault of another.

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Indiana Car Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

Receiving Compensation Through a Settlement

Violating road signs, ignoring traffic signals, zipping through stop lights, not paying attention, speeding, driving under the influence, and several other types of reckless or negligent driving behaviors are common causes of automotive collisions that result in injuries. If a victim was injured as a result of another driver’s negligence, they will most likely be eligible to pursue compensation for their damages. In order to recover compensation for pain, suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and various other standard damages, a victim holds the burden of proving their case. A skilled personal injury lawyer will retain the proper resources, knowledge, and skills to effectively prove a case against the negligent party.

However, as an injured victim, you can also take certain steps to help increase your chances of recovering a settlement and being fully compensated, such as:

☑ Contact 911 and Get Medical Care

If you are ever involved in a car collision that causes you injury, the first thing you or the person with you needs to do is contact emergency services immediately. The most important concern is your health and safety. Contact 911 or some other type of emergency medical dispatch service for immediate medical attention. Once you are medically stable, you can take the next vital steps, which include seeing a doctor for your injuries and hiring a lawyer to represent your claim. See our blog, “Tips for Documenting Your Injuries After a Car Accident” to learn how to assess your own car accident injuries.

☑ File a Car Accident Report With Police

It is very important to have a police report filed with the details of the car collision and the injuries you sustained. With a police report on file, judges and juries can use the details as proof of evidence in your case. See our blog, “Are Police Reports Important to an Auto Accident Claim?” to learn how police reports can impact your case.

☑ Hire a Licensed Personal Injury Law Firm

You should always hire proper legal counsel. It is imperative to hire legitimate and licensed personal injury attorney services in order to have your best chance at recovering remuneration for your damages following a car accident. Accident attorneys are specialized and extensively educated and experienced in personal injury law. They have the legal resources and proficiency to effectively represent you in your case. Most law firms do not charge upfront fees for their services, and instead, collect their attorney fees once they win compensation for you. If they do not win compensation for you, you do not owe them any fees at all.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers You Can Count On

Call the Law Office of Craven, Hoover and Blazek P. C. at 317-881-2700 to secure your rights after a serious car accident injury in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seasoned personal injury attorneys, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover and Keith Blazek retain extensive trial and litigation experience in accident law and specialize in car accident and trucking cases. It is important to act fast after being injured in an accident because the sooner you act, the more likely your chances are of winning your claim and recovering compensation for your damages because evidence can be obtained before it is gone. Call 317-881-2700 to schedule a free initial consultation with a licensed car accident lawyer in Indianapolis, Indiana today.

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