Many millions of Americans own drivers’s licenses and operate motor vehicles on American roads today from coast to coast, from sedans to pickup trucks to motorcycles, but the unfortunate truth is that these drivers are not always responsible about what they are doing, and sometimes, bad weather can make even a safe driver into a potential hazard. Every year, and in fact every day, many Americans lose control of their vehicles and hit other cars, motorcyclists, or pedestrians, and this often results in personal injury due to the crash. After a car accident, the injured party may seek litigation against the at-fault party and that party’s insurance company, and a car accident victim may reach out to a car accident attorney who works at a specialized firm for car wreck victims. Just how often are Americans getting into motor vehicle accidents, and why? And after a car accident, a victim should know what steps to take to find lawyers who can help them get the settlement money that they want.
What Causes a Car Accident
The three leading causes for car accidents in the United States today are drunk driving, distracted driving, and speeding or driving recklessly. All together, the United States sees some six million car accidents per year, and around three million people sustain injuries after these car wrecks. Many of these crashes involve a truck or car hitting another vehicle, but sometimes, a motorcyclist or bicyclist may be hit, or even pedestrians in urban areas. Drunk driving is a common occurrence; whenever someone operated a motor vehicle while their blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher, they are driving drunk as the law recognizes it, although even those with a lower BAC may still be very dangerous drivers. Some drivers falsely believe that driving “buzzed” is an acceptable alternative, but it too is dangerous. Drunk or buzzed drivers have poor coordination or judgment, and may be too slow to react to developments on the road. And when operating a fast-moving motor vehicle, this can easily lead to a car accident with another vehicle, a pedestrian, or simply property.
Some drivers are preoccupied with an electronic device such as a smart phone or their car’s dashboard features, and this is distracted driving. It is nearly as dangerous as drunk driving, and the driver may easily violate traffic laws, from running red lights all the way to property damage or hitting pedestrians. For this reason, using an electronic device while driving is often illegal, such as having a phone conversation while driving. Finally, speeding and reckless driving mean that a driver is going much faster than an area’s posted speed limit, and this driver may not have time to react to road developments, and greater speed means greater force upon impact in a car accident. When a person has been injured in a car accident from any of these causes or more, what should he or she do to get legal help and find settlement money?
Legal Aid After a Car Accident
After someone starts to recover from their injuries due to a car accident, that victim will almost certainly want to get legal compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance company, but doing this alone can be difficult and complicated. For a number of reasons, it is the best course of action in nearly every case to hire a personal injury lawyer.
Why is a lawyer helpful? He or she will have the objective, clear-headed mindset to study the case and us the law to find the best course of action, and a lawyer can also skillfully incorporate the victim’s medical bills into the case. And if a victim’s injuries prevent them from carrying out paying work in the future, this huge and complex financial impact can be incorporated as well. A lawyer will also know what to do in litigation or a court case if the at-fault party’s insurance company refuses to pay the amount demanded, or if there are multiple parties involved.
A victim can look for local personal injury or car accident firms and get consultations from the lawyers there (this may or may not incur a fee), and find one whose skills, experience, and success rate are to the client’s liking.
