Every personal injury lawyer promises to fight for your rights after you have suffered an injury in a car accident. It is what you should expect a lawyer would do. The term “legal rights” is used so commonly that people may lose sight after a while of what their legal rights really are.* Your main legal right revolves around compensation for your accident injuries.
Of course, it is not automatic that you would receive money after you have suffered an injury in a car accident. Your legal right to financial compensation only comes into being when you can prove that someone else was to blame for your accident injuries. *Then, the defendant assumes a legal obligation to pay you in full for all the damages that you suffered in the crash.
Your Legal Rights Come From Proving Negligence
You must show that someone else was negligent in your car accident as the first step in the legal process.
Negligence is a legal term of art that describes more than just someone being in an accident with you. The other driver must have acted in a way that would be considered unreasonable under the circumstances. In other words, you must prove that they did something wrong.
You may need to fight for your legal rights at this point because the insurance company may deny that their driver was responsible for the accident. Your lawyer would need solid proof to counteract the insurance company’s story when they are trying to avoid paying you entirely.
Some cases may go to court at this point because the insurance company has denied your claim entirely when the facts of the case would otherwise demand that you be compensated for your injuries.
You Have a Legal Right to Be Paid for Your Full Damages
Only once you have the evidence to show that someone was negligent can you begin to talk dollars and cents with the insurance company. Then, your primary legal right is to be paid every dollar that you deserve from the crash.
Your legal right to compensation covers both the economic costs that you have been forced to bear and the non-economic costs of your injury. You must be paid for the following:
- The full property damage to your property, including your car and whatever other personal property may have been damaged in the wreck such as car seats, etc. (do not take these rights for granted, especially in light of skyrocketing used car prices)
- Your past and future medical expenses (including hospital bills, doctor’s charges, prescriptions, and medical equipment)
- The lost wages that represent the time that you could not work or the lesser amount of work that you can do because of your injuries
- The ordeal that you have had to go through since the accident, including the physical and emotional pain
- The trauma that you are dealing with because of the accident
The Insurance Company Wants to Buy Your Rights for Pennies on the Dollar
Your rights are something that cannot be taken away from you, no matter what the insurance company tries to do. Your rights do not come from the insurance company. They originate from the fact that another driver on the road did something wrong that injured you. Legal rights are between you and the driver that injured you. The insurance company is an intermediary that pays for the damages that their driver caused because they have a contract with that driver.
However, your legal rights and the insurance company’s profits are a zero-sum game. If you get money, it comes from the insurance company’s account. Therefore, the insurance company will do everything in its power to take your rights away from you. They will either try to deny your claim entirely or try to pay you less than you deserve. It is here when your personal injury lawyer will do what they promised and stand up and fight for you.
If the insurance company is offering you a settlement that is for less than you deserve, your attorney would know it because they know exactly how much you should get from the accident. Your lawyer would then advise you to reject the settlement offer that does not fairly pay you. If necessary, your attorney would take your case to a jury if the insurance company absolutely will not respect your legal rights.
Your legal rights will go away once you sign a settlement agreement or a jury issues its decision. To receive a settlement check, you must release the insurance company from any further liability in connection with your accident. Therefore, you must do everything in your power to maximize your legal rights while you still have them. Once you sign them away, there is nothing more that you can do to get money.
Call a Myrtle Beach Car Accident Attorney Today
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury in a car accident, we will take your legal right seriously and work to ensure that they are not taken away from you.
You can contact the Maguire Law Firm online or call us today at (843) 438-5561 to schedule your free initial consultation. You do not owe us anything unless we can help you win your case by getting a settlement check or jury award.
FAQs About Rights Following Car Accidents
What do I do when the insurance company offers me a settlement?
If it is the first settlement offer, you can expect that it would be a bad deal for you. An attorney would review the offer and give you advice about what to do next.
What if my claim is denied?
You can file a lawsuit and have a jury decide whether you should get money and how much you should get.
How do I prove negligence in a car accident case?
Your attorney would gather evidence that shows what the driver did and compare it to what the average driver would have done.