An accident is a traumatic experience for both perpetrators and victims. Whenever there is an accident, someone has to be liable for the accident.

How liability is determined in an accident is often more complicated than it seems. An Austin Personal Injury Attorney can be very helpful in proving liability and helping the victim receive compensation.

Determining Legal Liability

Most accidents occur due to negligence. The rule is that the more negligent party is liable for the accident than the less negligent one.

Legal liability is almost always determined through negligence. If the victim of the accident was somewhere where they should not have been, then they will be liable for the accident as the driver was not obligated to stop.

If the victim was hit as a result of carelessness, his/her compensation will be reduced by the degree to which their carelessness was responsible for the accident. The above is often referred to as comparative negligence.

If an accident is caused on a property as a result of poor construction or maintenance, the owner of the property is considered to be partly liable for the accident regardless of whether they created the conditions for the accident to occur.

Whereby an accident is caused as a result of a faulty product, both the manufacturer and seller of the product are liable for the accident regardless of who was responsible for the defect or how the defect occurred.

More Than One Person is Liable

When an accident is a result of the carelessness of several parties such as several vehicles colliding on the road, one of the negligent parties is responsible for fully compensating the victim of the accident. The other negligent parties will then decide whether to reimburse the paying party according to how they are directed by the law.

The ability to receive compensation from any of the relevant parties has some advantages for the victim. For example, if one of the parties is insured while the others are not, the victim can ask for compensation from the one with insurance.

If several parties are insured, you can only receive compensation from one insurance company. Therefore, it would be prudent to ask for compensation from the party that agrees to take responsibility for the accident.

How Your Negligence Affects Your Compensation Claim

In most states, even if you were partly responsible for an accident due to negligence, you are still allowed to be partially compensated by another party that was negligent and responsible for the accident.

Comparative negligence will be used to determine who was more careless. The degree of negligence will determine the fraction of compensation the responsible party will pay.

There is no precision as it pertains to comparative negligence. A rough estimate will be used during claim negotiations alongside other factors such as the extent of the victim’s injuries and subsequent medical bills.

Comparative negligence will be applied differently depending on which state the accident happens. In most states, the party with more than 50% of negligence will be responsible for compensating the victim.

After winning a personal injury case, car accident victims zealously await their compensation. However, most of them end up being disappointed after not seeing the check in the mail after a few weeks.

Even if you have a good Austin Personal Injury Attorney, it will take some time for you to receive the money. Most checks in Austin will arrive after about six weeks.

Understanding the settlement process is the best answer to the question, “how long does it take to get a settlement check from a car accident?” The knowledge will help car accident victims remain patient while awaiting compensation.

Signing Releases

Once a settlement agreement is reached with an insurance company for your case, their attorneys will compile several release documents. The nature of the release forms will depend on the nature of your case. They will be simple if our case was simple and they will be excruciatingly detailed if your case was complex.

It may take some time for the lawyers to agree to the terms of the settlement, especially for complicated cases. The victim will then review the settlement agreement and release forms and sign them.

Release of Funds

The insurance company will receive the release forms as soon as the victim signs them. They will then proceed to issue a settlement check.

The insurance company will often address the check to you and your lawyer. On the other hand, this process is not always as seamless as it should be. Certain factors may affect the speed of the process including internal errors.

If the check takes too long to arrive, however, you should ask your lawyer to find out what is going on.

Your Lawyer Settles Unpaid Bills

Once your lawyer gets the check from the insurance company, he/she will deposit it into an escrow account. It is not your attorney’s choice as they are required to do so by the State Bar of Texas.

Your attorney will typically use the money to pay several bills that were acquired during the settlement process such as unpaid medical bills and child support payments. It is important to settle such bills to avoid devastating penalties.

 You should discuss how the above bills are connected to your settlement in one of your appointments.

Legal Fees Deduction

After your lawyers have settled any unpaid fees, they will deduct the legal fees from the remaining balance as per your agreement (attorney-client contract). It will typically be a percentage of the victim’s settlement.

Legal costs and fees vary depending on factors affecting the nature of your case including hiring expert witnesses, acquiring documents for evidence and court reporting charges. Your lawyer should also give you a detailed invoice of your legal costs.

After you have an agreement, your lawyer should send the remaining funds to your account. Remember, settlements can get extra delays so if it happens, it is best to remain patient and communicate with your lawyer.

Special agreements such as partial payments can be made or compensations. Agreements, where compensation is offered in a series of payments, is called a structured settlement and happen occasionally.

Call Robert L. Buford as soon as possible if you are looking for a car accident lawyer in Austin. His reputation is only preceded by his results.

When you are involved in a car accident, your vehicle will get towed if it is in dire condition meaning it cannot move on its own. Knowing what happens during the towing process can make the entire process a lot easier.

An Austin Personal Injury Attorney will also be quite helpful if you are injured during the accident. However, you will have to mitigate the costs and hazards of towing by yourself.

Cost of Towing

Most people involved in a car accident will have no choice as it pertains to the towing of their vehicle. This particularly the case if your car cannot move and you are also unconscious or seriously injured.

In such a scenario, the police will tow the car to a nearby salvage yard without your consent. What is worse is that even so, you will still be liable for paying the bill when you recover.

The salvage yard will determine a daily storage fee until the day you come to pick up your vehicle. Sometimes the bill can be more than $1000.

When the person at fault for the accident is determined, they or their insurance company may be liable for paying your towing charges. If you were responsible, you pay the fees yourself and may also pay for any other vehicle that was towed as a result of the accident.

Being a member of an auto club such as the American Automobile Association more commonly known as AAA (Triple A) can help with such towing costs. Regardless, you should save all documents associated with the accident which also includes receipts of towing and storing your vehicle or else you will not be compensated by an insurance company.

Where to Tow Car After an Accident

Although the police are obligated to call a tow truck after an accident, you have the right to call one of your choice. Your insurance provider may be of significant help in this regard, especially if you have roadside assistance coverage as part of your policy.

Once the tow truck arrives, you can direct it to a location of your choosing which may save you money than if it were to be taken to a salvage yard. A mechanic with whom you have worked before is the best choice to get the damage assessed.

If you cannot pay the tow truck right away or you want it to be paid by your insurance company, ensure that you get their contact information. If your vehicle was towed while you were incapacitated, you should obtain the information from the police.

You should have your vehicle towed from the salvage yard as soon as possible due to the high daily fees. However, ensure an insurance company has assessed the damage before you do so (yours or the victim’s).

You can also have your vehicle to be towed to your home if you like. You can then have a mechanic who can come to your house to assess the damage or fix it from your property. Do not park it on your regular street parking space or risk getting towed by the authorities.

Getting your car towed is quite nerve-wracking. As stated earlier, you could use an attorney so that your rights are not violated in the process. Robert L. Buford is the best Austin personal injury attorney. Call him whenever you are involved in a car accident for the best legal advice in Texas.

If you were involved in a car accident where no one gets ticketed, you may be confused. Statistics say that everyone gets in a car accident at some point in their life. If you had your license at 16, you are likely to have been in an accident by the time you are 34. If you are injured in an accident, it is wise to seek the help of an Austin personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

Why Didn’t Anyone Get a Ticket?

If there has been an accident, it is obvious that some traffic laws have been violated. You may be confused when no one gets a ticket. Tickets are issued when the police know what happened. If they were absent at the time of the accident, they may not issue a ticket. 

When Do You Get a Ticket after a Traffic Accident?

There are lots of reasons why you may get a ticket following a traffic accident. The police must have sufficient evidence that either one of the drivers violated traffic laws. If they were not present, they may have insufficient or incorrect information about what happened. In such instances, no one may be given a ticket. 

If, for example, you were in a head-on crash because the other driver was going the wrong way, they are obviously at fault, a traffic officer will give them a ticket. If, however, the other driver rear-ended you, the police may not be sure of where the fault lies. Either of you could be in the wrong. 

When you call police officers to the scene of an accident, they will try to establish what happened. They may rely on witness accounts, tire marks, and the severity of damage to your cars.  

The police may ask you to take a drug or alcohol blow test. If you are unwilling to take it, you get a ticket. The officers may give you a ticket for issues that are not directly related to your accident. Some of them include failure to secure a child properly while driving or having a light out.        

Proving Fault without a Ticket

Your Austin personal injury attorney can help you pursue compensation even when no tickets were issued. You just need to prove that the other party was at fault. Contact them or their insurance company. They should pay for damages to your car.    

In any case, a ticket is never enough to prove the driver was at fault. The fault falls on the person that was negligent rather than the one who broke traffic laws.    

In case you have been in a car accident where no one gets ticketed, speak with your lawyer about it. Gather as much evidence of the incident as possible. you may need it when seeking compensation. Your evidence may include photos and videos of the accident and witness testimonies.            

Do you need an Austin personal injury attorney? Seek help from Robert Littlefield Buford III, Attorney at Law. We take pride in being courtroom attorneys that deliver effective representation for all our clients. Call us today and enjoy a free and private consultation.

If you have been in a car accident in Austin, you are eligible for compensation. The pain that you go through after a car accident can be immense. The mental distress may not be apparent to others but it exists. You may work with your Austin personal injury attorney to seek compensation for your pain and suffering. How much do you get for pain and suffering in a car accident? The answer depends on the nature of your accident. 

Seeking Compensation for Pain and suffering

If you are injured in an accident that was the other driver’s fault, you should get compensation for the pain you go through. If you sustained minor injuries, you are likely to get compensation. If you have passengers in your car, they may also get compensation. However, just because your insurance company offers you that amount does not mean it is all you deserve. How much do you get for pain and suffering in a car accident? That depends on your ability to negotiate and prove your case. 

 Work with a good Austin personal injury attorney. Since pain is non-tangible, it may be difficult to put a monetary price on it. Some of the things that may determine the amount you get as settlement include;

1.     The amount of physical pain or discomfort that is associated with your injuries
2.     The severity of the injuries
3.     The amount of time it takes for your injuries to heal
4.     The scope of treatment that is required for your injuries
5.     The medication you need for your pain

Calculating Compensation for Pain and Suffering

Unfortunately, the law does not specify the amount you should receive as compensation for your pain and suffering. Your attorney will work with you to figure out the amount you deserve. There are two popular formulas for calculating the compensation you deserve; the per-diem method and the multiplier method. 

The per-diem method calculates the amount using the monetary amount for each day you experienced pain. With the multiplier method, the amount you deserve is based on a multiple of your lost income and medical damages. 

 Note that your insurance company won’t always be willing to give you the compensation you deserve. You must work with a good lawyer to get the compensation you deserve. The more serious your injuries appear to be, the better the potential value of your pain and suffering. If you sustained major injuries, you may get compensation worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

 Working with a good Austin personal injury attorney may make all the difference. Without the right lawyer, you may lose a lot of the money you deserve. With the right representation, your settlement can be more than $1,000,000. 

If you were injured in a car accident in Austin, Robert Littlefield Buford III, Attorney at Law is willing to help. We are a specialized practice that has experience in handling personal injury and criminal defense cases. Contact us today and tell us your story.