A car accident can cause you or your loved one to suffer from serious injuries. Injuries can be wide-ranging, and each crash victim will need different levels of medical treatment and recovery time. Car accident injuries can lead to lifelong medical expenses that you or your loved one might be responsible for paying for the rest of your lives.
However, if another driver’s negligence led to your car accident, you have the right to hold that driver responsible for the compensation you need for your serious injuries and losses. When it is time to fight for your compensation, the Odessa car accident lawyers at Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, are who you want in your corner.
We are a national law firm based in Texas with multiple offices around the country. We also work with affiliate law firms in most states that share our focus and dedication to excellence. No matter where you are located, we may be able to help you, so call or contact us now. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-898-4877, or you may contact us now by clicking here to submit your case for review.
Table of Contents
- How our Odessa car accident lawyers can help You
- Filing Your Car Accident Claim
- Odessa Car Accident FAQs
- Contact an Odessa Car Accident Lawyers Today
How our Odessa car accident lawyers can help You
Having an insurer delay, deny, or minimize your claim can be almost as devastating as your car accident. You should not have to rely on your health insurance or your own auto insurance policy to cover the costs of your accident when someone else injured you.
When another driver is responsible for your car accident, that driver is legally liable for all of the consequences of your accident. When you are fighting with the insurance company about the just compensation you deserve, having an experienced Odessa car accident lawyer on your side will help tremendously. Some of the benefits that come with hiring our Odessa personal injury law firm include the following.
Having a lawyer who uses a client-based approach
Our Odessa car accident lawyers aim to serve you as much as possible throughout your claim. When you have a car accident lawyer on your side, you have a lawyer with whom you can speak 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While many car accident lawyers limit their availability to their clients, we go above and beyond to keep in constant communication with our clients. We operate based on what is best for each client in every step of the claim process.
Evaluating the worth of your claim
Another benefit our Odessa car accident lawyers bring to the table is the ability to assess your claim properly. No car accident claims are identical. There are particular factors of your accident that can increase the compensation you deserve.
After consulting our car accident lawyers, we can give you a more accurate depiction of the actual value of your claim. Your car accident lawyer can also calculate each of your damages, including the ones to which you will have difficulty putting a dollar amount.
Reviewing settlement offers
Having an Odessa car accident lawyer on your side can also benefit you if insurance companies offer you a settlement. One of the most common tactics that insurance companies use is offering you what appears to be a reasonable settlement for your injuries when it is far too low to cover your losses. Because many car accident victims are desperate to receive compensation as soon as possible, insurance companies offer lowball settlements hoping that victims will pounce on them.
When car accident victims accept these settlements, they lose the ability to sue the other driver in the future for additional compensation once they realize they accepted too little. An Odessa car accident lawyer can prevent you from accepting a lowball settlement and negotiate for a more significant amount of compensation on your behalf.
Dealing with insurance adjusters
When you have a car accident lawyer on your side, the insurance adjusters have a lesser chance of getting away with their schemes. Insurance companies will attempt to trick you into submitting additional information that they can use against you to deny your claim. Whether tricking you into releasing copies of your medical records or asking for a recorded statement that they will scrutinize for contradicting statements, the insurance companies will do everything in their power to disprove your claim.
An Odessa car accident lawyer can handle all interactions with the insurance companies until your claim resolves. We know how insurers work and can prevent costly errors that are common during the claim process to ensure a successful result whenever possible.
Offering quality representation in court
Many car accident claims settle out of court without a trial. However, you have the right to take the insurance company to trial if they are unwilling to meet you halfway with your claim. When your claim proceeds to trial, it will take a new preparation to build the most robust case for you.
An Odessa car accident lawyer can offer you the best legal strategy and build the strongest case on your behalf. In most cases, the insurance company is more likely to settle and compromise with you when you have an experienced litigator on your side who is willing to take your case to trial.
Odessa car accident statistics
To say that the number of car accidents in Odessa has increased is an understatement. The number of fatal accidents increased by 209 percent in recent years, accidents involving intoxicated drivers increased by 300 percent, and the number of pedestrians in fatal accidents increased by 205 percent.
These crashes can happen at any time – about 50 percent of car accidents happen when it is dark outside, while 30 percent of car accidents happen in daylight. In 95 percent of crashes, the weather did not play a significant factor. Instead, driver negligence often leads to severe accidents and injuries.
Filing Your Car Accident Claim
Another driver’s reckless actions can cause you or your loved one to experience serious harm. When the other driver’s actions cause losses for you, you can file a claim against that driver to recover the compensation you need for your injuries.
You may wonder whether filing a claim for your injuries is necessary. Many people underestimate the seriousness of their losses, so they fail to take legal action. Reaching out to an Odessa car accident lawyer can help paint a clearer picture of what your losses and claim might be worth. However, certain factors will determine the worth of your claim.
The severity of your injuries
Your possible compensation directly stems from the severity of your injuries.
Car accidents can cause:
- Back and neck pain
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Amputations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
More serious injuries require costlier medical care. They can also result in other losses, including lost income and pain and suffering. However, even minor injuries can result in losses for which you can seek compensation. If you need medical care, never assume your injuries are too minor to discuss a car accident claim.
The likelihood of recovering from your injuries
The probability of you recovering from your injuries is another important factor when determining your claim. Some injuries heal with treatment and time, while others are catastrophic.
A catastrophic injury can permanently affect your ability to function normally, causing impairments, challenges, and ongoing costs for the rest of your life. We always consider the toll that your injuries will take on your life, whether you can still perform your regular activities, and how your injuries will affect you in the future to determine how much you deserve for your losses.
Liability of the other party
Another critical aspect of your claim is that you can prove the other party’s liability in your accident. Insurance companies will not cover losses unless you can show their policyholders were to blame, which requires evidence. Our attorneys know how to investigate what happened and gather evidence of liability to ensure you have a successful claim.
Proving car accident liability is not always easy. Further, insurance companies will often try to pin some of the blame on you to limit your recovery. We can ensure that insurance companies do not reduce your compensation due to false claims of liability on your part.
The insurance company’s response to your claim
You might determine an accurate value for your claim, but negotiating with the insurance company is your biggest challenge with your car accident claim. You and the insurance company are working towards two different objectives. You want to maximize as much compensation as possible for your claim, while the insurance company wants to avoid paying out your claim as much as possible.
Insurers are businesses that want to limit payments to pad their bottom lines. They have many strategies to do so, and the insurance company might even resort to deceptive tactics to deny your claim or convince you to accept much less than you deserve. When you have our legal team handling your claim, these companies know they cannot use the same tricks on us.
Odessa Car Accident FAQs
What if the other driver responsible for my accident did not have insurance?
If the other driver liable for your accident was uninsured, other insurance policies can cover your compensation. You can file an insurance claim with your auto insurance’s uninsured motorist coverage and seek compensation for your injuries. You can file a car accident claim against the other driver, but you may not receive compensation if they lack insurance. Filing with your own policy is likely necessary, and our legal team should handle this process.
Should I still seek medical assistance if I feel fine?
Even if your car accident was minor or you feel fine after the accident, you always want to seek medical assistance. You may feel fine now, but hours or days after the accident, you can start to feel the actual pain of your accident-related injuries. You also want to ensure that you do not state that you are fine if police officers or insurance adjusters ask you. Insurance adjusters, in particular, will use this information against you later in your claim. Get a medical evaluation before ever commenting on your physical condition.
Who will pay for my vehicle damage?
If another driver is liable for your accident, their insurance company should cover the costs of your vehicle repairs. Property damage is one of the losses that you can sue for in your car accident claim. You can include the costs of vehicle repairs or replacement in your claim, and this is something we will ensure we do not overlook.
Can I get compensation if I had to take time off from work due to my accident?
Absolutely. In addition to medical expenses and property damage, lost wages are another typical damage that you can claim. If your injuries prohibited you from working or required you to take some days off, you can add up the days missed from work and the amount of money you lost due to not working. As proof, you can request a copy of your employer’s timesheets and other pay statements and include them in your claim.
When should I speak with an Odessa car accident lawyer about my claim?
After tending to your physical injuries, you want to speak with a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the insurance companies will not wait to try to influence you to begin the process, as they prefer you to start without help from a car accident lawyer. To prevent yourself from mistreatment by insurance companies, you need our car accident lawyers in your corner.
Consult our experienced Odessa car accident lawyers today
You deserve representation you can trust when you or a loved one suffer injuries and losses in a car accident. At the law firm of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, our Odessa car accident lawyers are ready to serve you and your loved ones and help with your fight for compensation.
The legal team of Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, is nationally recognized for protecting the rights of injured victims for more than 20 years. If an Odessa car accident injured you, call our office right now for a free consultation! Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a dime unless we win your case. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today at 800-898-4877 or contact us now by clicking here.
The sooner you consult our attorneys, the sooner you can shift your focus to your physical recovery. Let our team fight for your right to compensation so you don’t have to pay out of your own pocket for medical care.
See what past clients have to say:
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“We received QUALITY service, reliable guidance and we are VERY satisfied with the outcome. Our treatment was both fair & honest; we highly recommend. If one word sums it up, the word would be Exceptional. “Thank you” for all you did!”
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