Clarksville Car Accident Lawyer
Car accidents are on the rise in Clarksville and throughout the rest of Tennessee, as well. Every day, more people are becoming injured on the roads in the state, and the aftermath of a crash can be confusing at best – catastrophic at worst.
There’s a reason why in drivers’ ed courses, there’s an emphasis on defensive driving; motor vehicle accidents can come out of nowhere, impacting even the most careful drivers and dealing them severe personal injury. The causes of such car accidents vary from case to case; as such, there’s no way for you to prepare for every eventuality, ensuring beyond a reasonable doubt that you will remain safe and never get into an accident. Car accidents can happen to anyone at any time and can cause serious personal injury to those involved in the car accident.
In the worst situations, people do not survive the accident. The gaps that those people leave behind can never truly be filled, but you can make sure that the parties responsible for their loss are held accountable, and that you receive just compensation for their mistakes.
If you have been hurt in a car accident, or if you have lost a loved one, our Clarksville car accident lawyers can help you claim compensation to offset the financial burden of the crash. Whether you’re saddled with thousands of dollars of medical bills, have never filed a personal injury claim before, or are just looking to hold the negligent party accountable, having experienced Clarksville car accident attorneys on your side can make all the difference in whether your case succeeds or fails.
Determining Liability After a Crash
To file a claim for damages after a car accident, you must prove that another party was negligent or careless and that their actions or inaction caused the crash. Liability can lie with a number of parties after an accident. The most common of these are as follows:
- Negligent drivers: It is most common for one of the drivers involved in the accident to also be at fault for the crash. Speeding, distracted driving, drunk driving, and running red lights or stop signs are just a few of the negligent behaviors that drivers engage in.
- Car manufacturers: Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring their products are safe for consumers to use, and this extends to vehicles and vehicle parts. When an important auto part, such as brakes or tires, is defective, it can cause a very serious accident.
- Poor road conditions: When roads are not designed or maintained properly, they can cause a crash. Improper road signs, or a lack of road signs, can also cause an accident.
Determining which party was at fault for a car crash is not easy. For example, it may seem as though a driver was negligent, but if part of their vehicle was defective, the manufacturer is to blame.
Insurance companies will require the most airtight case possible before they fork over any kind of settlement, and that goes double for the other drivers’ insurance companies. Commercial vehicle accidents get even more complex, as the opposing side will bring a whole team of lawyers to court to avoid any responsibility on the corporation’s part, seeking any opportunity to weaken and punch holes into your argument.
For all of these reasons, having the proper legal counsel is of the utmost importance, and you’ll want to consult experienced personal injury attorneys who have experience with a variety of personal injury cases. A Clarksville car accident lawyer can help you determine who was at fault so you can hold them liable for paying full damages.
What Should You Do If You Get Into a Car Accident?
After a car accident, you may be feeling (rightfully) disoriented and panicked, scrambling to recover from an impact that may have caused you serious personal injury. As such, it’s always a good idea to have a plan before you get into a situation like that for how to deal with it, a plan that will allow you to satisfy your insurance company and file your personal injury claims with minimal hassle.
As such, you’ll want to do these things before contacting your Clarksville car accident attorney to make sure you’ve built the best possible case for your personal injury law firm.
- First, get yourself and your vehicle into a safe area. Whether your accident was more minor in nature or more severe, if you’re able to move your car off-road to a shoulder or a level, grassy area, you might want to do so as soon as possible to prevent the possibility of being hit by another passing car and causing a pileup. You can negotiate with the other driver on what comes next once both of you are in a safer environment.
- If unable to move your car, turn your hazards on and have either yourself or a family member direct traffic away from the wreck until authorities can show. If you are too severely injured to do any of these things, skip all of these steps and call the hospital. Let the ER tech and the police take care of what you are unable to at the moment.
- Secondly, take pictures of everything, including the damage done to each car, any injuries that were the direct result of the car accident, and the like. At this stage, you’ll also want to get the other driver’s insurance information, so when you contact your insurance company you’ll have it on hand and ready to go. If they don’t have insurance or appear uncooperative, go to step 3.
- Call the police. Now, some may be reluctant to do this, especially if they believe that they can work it out with the other driver without getting law enforcement involved. If you believe that you can negotiate a deal with the other driver without either person’s insurance company finding out, feel free: so long as they uphold their end of the bargain, you should be fine. However, if you have even the slightest doubt that they will uphold their end of the bargain, get the police involved: the reports that police draft when they’re at the scene of an accident are extremely valuable in most personal injury cases, being treated as an authoritative, third-party source on the crash. It can prove invaluable when it comes to holding a particular party responsible.
- Finally, get in touch with reliable Clarksville car accident lawyers, such as our team at Mitch Grissim & Associates. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, the statute of limitation for filing a car accident suit is one year, meaning getting in touch with legal representation as soon as possible is of paramount importance. Having a legal team on your side with experience in car accident cases makes it likely that you’ll be able to navigate the court system with ease, and increases your chances of obtaining enough in your settlement to cover current and future expenses.
Types of Compensation You Can Recover
Many different factors will determine what types of compensation you can recover after a car accident. The most common of these include:
- Medical expenses: Some car accidents leave behind only minor cuts and bruises from shattered glass, injuries that will heal completely in a matter of weeks and require minimal hospital treatment; for such cases, perhaps only a single night in the hospital need to be covered by your settlement. Other car accidents leave behind life-altering injuries that require multiple trips to the hospital over your lifetime, doing damage to the victim’s finances long after the accident is a distant memory. As such, it is important to include in your claim not only the current medical expenses you have incurred but also any future expenses you will pay as well to make sure you are appropriately compensated for your injuries.
- Lost income: You can claim income you have lost if you could not return to work, as well as bonuses and benefits you lost while you were not working. If you cannot return to the same line of work, you can also claim a loss of future earning capacity. The idea is that you get compensated for all the negative effects of the accident, current and future; With a free consultation, our auto accident attorneys can help you get an idea of what that figure might be, and help you find the most efficient course to get it.
- Pain and suffering: The emotional trauma of surviving a car accident is no joke, especially if your life has been altered through the serious injury you’ve received from one. Injuries like amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord fractures all have the potential to impact your life for years after the initial accident, causing you severe emotional distress as well as physical. The physical pain and emotional suffering you endure due to the accident is a loss and you deserve compensation for it.
In some cases, punitive damages are also available. Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for grossly negligent behavior, but they are not always awarded. In most cases, the best legal strategy is to press on with how the accident has affected your own life, but the particulars of each case will vary: that’s why you should schedule a free consultation with our Clarksville personal injury lawyers as soon as possible, so we can help determine the best course of action for your personal injury claim.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyer in Clarksville Today
The causes of car accidents are as varied as the people driving: every case is a little different, and so you’ll need someone by your side who is well versed in personal injury law, a legal team that’s seen it all and can help you navigate even the most difficult cases.
If you have been hurt or lost a loved one in a crash, our Clarksville car accident lawyers at Mitch Grissim & Associates can provide the sound legal advice you need. We work on a contingency-fee-basis, meaning we take our payment after the case is closed: and if we don’t win, we won’t take a single cent from you. Mitch is constantly in-office, being a Nashville native, and keeps the door wide open for anyone who needs our services; stop by and visit, and we’ll see what we can do for your case!
We are Mitch Grissim & Associates, and we would love to help you win what you deserve. Call us today at 615-255-9999 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation.
