Very rarely does a car accident case over go to trial. When conflict arises between two parties in a car accident case, they’ll usually reach a settlement before a trial could take place. If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you’ll always want to reach a settlement instead of having to go to trial. It will be a much easier, more inexpensive and less time consuming process. So what are some ways that you can settle your car accident case without having to go to trial?

Demand Letter

It will be impossible for you to reach any kind of settlement without first submitting a demand letter. This is where you set out to find the facts for the accident, and is your opportunity to present your case to the insurance company and anyone else outside of the court. Consider writing the demand letter to be the gateway towards attaining a settlement; no it’s not guaranteed it will result in a settlement, but without it, a settlement will be impossible.

What do you put in your demand letter? Your letter should be composed of the events in chronological order leading up and during the accident. Any details that you remember should be put in the letter, and you should also be sure to include all details surrounding your subsequent medical treatment, lost wages, and any pain or loss of quality of life that you feel. You can then write out what your ‘demands’ are for the damages from the accidents. While you will never gain everything in your demand letter, it certainly leaves you and your lawyer a lot of legroom to negotiate with the opposing party.

Negotiating

Once you have written out your demand letter, the next step is to begin the negotiating process with the opposing party with your Atlanta injury lawyer. The insurance company will review your demand letter and provide you with an offer. The first offer will almost always be a bad one, but as with the demand letter, you’ll have plenty of room to negotiate. In those regards, avoid the first offer and continue negotiating.

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In most car accidents that happen, one vehicle will run into another. But what happens if a vehicle runs into an individual while that individual is unprotected? Who is at fault, who needs to be compensated, and what losses will need to be made up? All of these can be answered in court with a few basic questions:

Who’s Fault Is It?

Many individuals believe that in most pedestrian car accident cases, the driver of the vehicle will always be at fault. This is especially true in larger cities. For example, a personal injury lawyer in queens ny will clearly have more cases than a lawyer in a suburban area.  A personal injury attorney will look to see if the pedestrian is at fault and if they acted in a manner where the driver could simply not avoid running into them (ex. the pedestrian walked out into the road while texting). Other times, someone entirely different could have been at fault. There are many rules of the road, and everybody has to obey them, and that includes the drivers and any pedestrians who are present.

Was Anybody Injured?

Once you can determine whose fault it was in the accident, you next have to determine if anyone was seriously injured enough for there to be a lawsuit or some kind of legal action. If you were injured as a result of the accident, you could pursue an injury claim with the insurance carrier of the driver’s vehicle. The insurance claim will always be the first step in receiving compensation for losses you sustained: medical payments, lost income, etc. Usually the result will be an injury settlement that is the result of repeated negotiations between you and the opposing party. If you are not satisfied with the result, you can then keep up your offense on the opposing party by filing a personal injury lawsuit.

The Driver’s Actions

Regardless of whether the driver of the vehicle is at fault in the accident, their actions must still be taken into account. As long as the driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene and exchanged contact information and insurance with anyone else involved in the accident, you (as a pedestrian) will be able to pursue proper compensation via their insurance carrier.

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