Car Accidents: When to Get an Attorney

The question of when to get an attorney if you’ve been in a car accident hopefully will never arise. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, and your need for an attorney will be dependent on who you’re insured with and what level of insurance coverage you have.

Of course, an insurance policy is just that - protection against something that might never happen. Subsequently, it can be very tempting to purchase the cheapest and most basic car insurance. That can be fine - if you don’t have an accident or another reason to need file a claim against your car insurance. Sadly, in some cases, having a cheap car insurance policy can turn out to be a false economy.

Why would you need an attorney after a car accident?

When a car accident occurs, both the insurance company and authorities will determine who is “at fault.” They will each determine, independently, if the accident was your fault, the other drivers fault, or on some rare occasions, a combination of both, or neither.

It you are determined to be at fault, even the most basic and low cost of car insurance cover should pay for damage to the other driver’s car, property, and any medical bills, etc. If the accident’s not your fault, then whoever was at fault for the accident will be liable to pay your expenses. However, that might not be quite as straightforward as it sounds. Problems can arise when claiming car accident damages if the other driver’s car insurance is inadequate, non-existent, or if they dispute with you whose responsibility the accident was.

Levels of car insurance.

 Insurance laws state that you must have liability car insurance. Adding collision coverage means that  when  you are at fault, your repairs/damage will be paid for, too. You can add another level of car insurance, comprehensive, which covers you if your car is stolen or damaged/destroyed by fire.

In addition, there are various other levels of car insurance you can add, such as accident forgiveness, which can protects your car insurance premium in the event of a claim. By buying your car insurance from an established and reputable insurance company you can be assured that, in the need to make a legal claim against someone else for damage to your vehicles, the insurance company will have access to a team of car accident specialist attorney’s, which dependant on the level of car insurance you have purchased, may also be automatically paid for by the insurance company.

Car accidents when you need to get an attorney.

Some car insurance policies, especially liability only ones, may not automatically cover any legal expenses you incur when filing a claim against another driver. It may also not give you automatic access to the insurance company’s attorneys. Subsequently, you may need to retain your own attorney in order to file a damages claim.

A typical scenario where a personal attorney would be requires is when someone has a car accident with  an uninsured driver. In order to obtain compensation for your expenses, you may need to take the other person to court, in which case you will need the services of an attorney.

Some attorneys may take your case on a ‘no win no fee bases, so you’ll need to clarify how the attorney expects to be paid for their services from the outset. However, to have complete peace of mind in regard to getting or needing an attorney in the event of a car accident, you are advised to take out adequate car insurance in the first place.

In the event of a car accident, you must first of all follow your car insurance company’s procedures and policies for reporting and filing a claim for the accident. They will then advise you if an attorney is needed, and if your car insurance policy will cover the costs of an attorney. Only then, if you’re not covered by your insurance policies, should you contact your own car accident attorney.