So, you were driving with your family to visit your parents when someone came from the side and hit your vehicle hard. You woke up with wounds and injuries, and many of your family members have incurred injuries too. The reckless driver approached you from the side of the road, hit your vehicle from the side, and caused damage to your entire family. The case seems pretty simple right? Wrong! Only an auto accident lawyer Los Angeles can decide whether or not the case is that straightforward. Rest assured you can get the first consultation from the lawyer without incurring any costs.
Let’s take a look at some possibilities that can make any personal injury case complicated and twisted beyond a layperson’s imagination.
You Were Over-speeding
In some cases, the person who hit you is clearly at fault because they came from the side while you were already on the main road. However, at the time of impact, if the speed of your vehicle was higher than the allowed limit on that road, you have some explaining to do. While it does not prove that the other party was not at fault, it does give them a point to talk about and argue against your case. They can try to prove that you were not paying attention to your sides or the road. If you were paying attention, you wouldn’t have missed the speed limit signs in the first place.
Again, if it is proved in the case that you were over-speeding at the time of accident, it will not completely throw your case out of the window. However, it will definitely affect the settlement amount. A persona injury attorney Los Angeles will try their best to keep your settlement amount as high as possible, but there are certain things they can’t argue against. By giving them the benefit of the doubt, the decision makers in the case might decide that you deserve a slap on the wrist too. This will usually take place in the form of some deduction from your compensation amount.
You Had Problems with Your Vehicle
Any small issues that you might have with your vehicle could be used against you. You have to keep in mind that that’s the point of settling a case outside the court. None of the parties in the case want to go to court because that process is extremely lengthy and expensive. So, the people who are trying to save their costs aren’t going to easily be convinced to pay a huge settlement amount by agreeing to everything. If one of the headlights of your vehicles was not working and the accident took place at night time, there is some evidence against you that you are not as careful while driving as you are presenting to be.
In addition to that, if it shows upon inspection that your vehicle’s brakes were not working really well, this could also be used against you. These are just some of the things that you can see are very dangerous for your case. You think you have a straight case that you will win within a few days, but that’s not going to happen. The defending party will use all their resources to make sure that they have to pay the minimum cost in terms of compensation.
Defendant Can Blame Someone Else
In some cases, the defendant might not even take the blame because they have someone else to point to. For example, they might show that they couldn’t stop the vehicle because their brakes stopped working at the eleventh hour. They will point to the manufacturers of the car that they had not fixed everything properly. If not that, they can play some other game and blame the mechanic. They could blame the failure of a particular instrument or tool in the car and use that as an excuse for the accident. In other words, they will try to prove that the cause of the accident was not their negligence or carelessness.
In these cases, you will still be able to get some settlement amount from the defending party, but it will be very small compared to the amount you could have gotten by proving their negligence. There is a huge difference between driving recklessly and causing and accident and driving carefully and ending up with an accident due to a fault with one of the tools in the vehicle. When more parties are involved, the case becomes more difficult and your compensation lingers. At the end of the day, it is you who is suffering mentally and physically who has to pay the price for long waits.
You Might Be Too Late
So, you were a part of an accident, your injuries were not that severe, and so you got over with the incident pretty soon. You never realized that the constant pain you have started to develop behind your neck or in your shoulders was a result of the accident. Now that you realize the real issue, you have already spent a couple of years without reporting the incident to the lawyers. In this case, it can be very difficult for the lawyer to pursue your case in the first place. So, the case might be pretty straightforward in terms of who did what, but since you were late to report, you will have a hard time even getting a claim.
This is why it is advised to every person to get in touch with a lawyer as soon as an accident takes place. If you have been a victim of an accident, you should get in touch with a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles as soon as possible.
Final Thoughts
Don’t try to make assumptions based on your knowledge. When it comes to legalities of the matters, you should let the professionals think. A trained and seasoned personal injury lawyer can provide you with the representation that you really need in your case. By contacting the lawyers on time, you increase the chances of winning the settlement amount manifolds.
