Blog Post

When you have been involved in a car accident, time is not on your side. You will need professional medical help to recover from your injuries, but you may also need professional legal help to obtain the maximum amount of car accident compensation available to you.

Hire a car accident attorney as soon as possible, even from the scene of the incident, to ensure you do not miss any deadlines and miss out on the compensation you need.

Porter Simon Sierra Injury Lawyers: Car Accident Attorneys for Maximum Compensation

The Sierra Nevada region is seeing a rise in both fatal car accidents and those involving significant and serious injuries. The team of car accident injury lawyers at Porter Simon Sierra Injury Lawyers live and work in the Sierra Nevada region and are familiar with the roads and state and local laws that govern personal injury cases. Our firm has handled numerous car accident cases, including ones involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, and has won the maximum compensation owed to our clients.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Car Accident Settlement?

Some people think they can handle their case on their own, especially if an insurance carrier has convinced them that they are better off settling out of court. This is almost always a big mistake.

A car accident attorney is an expert in how car accident claims work in your particular state. If you find yourself injured in a car accident in the Sierra Nevada region, Porter Simon Sierra Injury Lawyers provides a team of qualified attorneys who understand both California and Nevada state civil laws.

Car accident claim lawyers possess a deep understanding of policy limits and are adept at determining liability and communicating with pushy insurance adjusters who are only interested in protecting their own bottom line.

At Porter Simon Sierra Injury Lawyers, we operate on a contingency fee basis, so you never have to worry about up front fees when we take your case.

What Can a Car Accident Attorney Help Me With?

When you are injured in a car accident and deserve to recover compensation owed to you, you will find yourself fighting an uphill battle against insurance carriers whose primary goal is to minimize payouts on auto accident claims. If you accept what they offer, you may never know if you were entitled to more, and you could place yourself in the position of needing additional funds for expenses you did not expect.

An attorney can help you by filing a car accident claim on your behalf and handling negotiations while you focus on healing. This typically involves filing the necessary paperwork with the correct court within all applicable deadlines, as well as gathering evidence, contacting witnesses, identifying all liable parties, and compiling a comprehensive demand package.

Your attorney, however, has the job of ensuring you get the highest amount of compensation owed to you, which includes protecting you from signing away your rights or being duped into admitting fault that is not yours. Having a car accident attorney on your side means having an expert negotiator who knows how to strategically put pressure on insurance carriers and maximize your payout.

Another trick insurance carriers use is to attempt to minimize your injuries, or to try to blame your injuries on pre-existing conditions. It can be hard to fight these allegations without a qualified attorney on your side.

Survivors of car accidents who choose to have an attorney represent them are happy they made the choice. They can walk away from the negotiation table with the confidence and peace of mind that they received the maximum amount of compensation available to them.

Who Could Be Eligible for Car Accident Damages?

There are numerous parties that could be responsible for your auto accident. Determining fault in a car accident compensation claim should never be left to insurance carriers who have a biased interest in assigning fault (so that they do not have to pay as much for a claim).

Several parties could be responsible for your accident. For example, trucking companies, vehicle manufacturers, rideshare companies, and even subcontracted employees could be liable for your accident damages, and you will need a traffic accident compensation lawyer to help you locate and contact all involved parties and determine who is at fault for your injuries and losses.

Do Car Accident Claims Expire?

Car accidents should be reported to a law enforcement officer as soon as possible. In Nevada, a report must be filed immediately if it is physically possible for you to do so, and if not, a report should be filed within 10 days of the accident. There are some caveats to accident reporting deadlines, especially if a person is incapacitated or if the property damage is less than $750.00.

In terms of filing claims for personal injuries and property damage, the car accident claim filing deadline in California and Nevada is typically two years, but can be as short as six months if the accident involves a government entity.

An attorney can help ensure you are within the applicable deadline of filing a car accident claim and that you do not miss out on any compensation owed to you.

How Much Compensation for Car Accident Injuries Can One Expect?

Car accident laws vary by state, so car accident settlements will also vary. Each state assigns negligence in different ways. California, for instance, is a pure comparative negligence state, which means if you are found to be partially at fault for the accident, you will only be able to collect damages to the extent you were not at fault. For example, if there is $100,000 in damages and you were found to be 30% at fault, you would be able to collect $70,000 in damages.

Nevada, on the other hand, is a modified comparative negligence state, which means you can only collect damages if you were found to be less than 50% at fault for your accident. These factors can significantly affect car accident compensation amounts, making it imperative to work with an attorney who can help refute allegations of shared fault and prove total liability on the part of another driver.

A few car accident compensation examples include:

• $3,000,000 in compensation for a client involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in the amputation of the lower leg.
• $1.2 million recovered for a client involved in a car accident with a large truck that resulted in catastrophic injuries.
• $900,000 for the family of a victim of wrongful death in a crash on a Nevada state highway.

While these examples do not predict future case outcomes, Porter Simon Sierra Injury Lawyers works tirelessly to help ensure clients receive maximum compensation for every claim.

What Are the Different Types of Car Accident Claims?

From the moment you are involved in a car accident, it is important to keep track of your costs and expenses. Maintain records of medical bills and costs, and keep a journal of new and/or worsening symptoms you experience as a result of your accident. This will help the car accident claim process go more smoothly and will make it easier for you to recall events as they unfold.

When consulting your car accident injury lawyer, ask how they would like you to keep track of this data, and ask if there are other items they want you to log to make the claims process easier.

Medical Costs

From minor injuries to catastrophic, life-altering disabilities, medical costs associated with a car accident can quickly pile up. It is also possible that injuries and symptoms may not appear for some time after a crash.

A car accident medical claim settlement is needed to help ensure you get the care you need and can afford to continue treatment until you are fully healed.

Common car accident injuries include:

• Whiplash
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Fractures, including fractured sternums
• Soft tissue damage (for example, rotator cuff tears causing shoulder pain)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Sciatica nerve damage
• Tinnitus

Pain and Suffering and Loss of Consortium

Not all injuries are visible, so the law provides for physical, emotional, and/or mental distress a person may experience as the result of an accident. Pain and suffering can refer to the pain someone experiences from their injuries, or the mental anguish resulting from the accident. Severe or fatal car accident damages often include a loss of consortium, which is a loss of affection or the ability a person has to love and care for another.

If you feel you are suffering from losses such as these, contacting an attorney about pursuing comprehensive car accident compensation can help provide you peace of mind and enable you to afford the care you need to heal.

Wrongful Death Damages

When the unthinkable happens, loved ones are left struggling to cope with their grief and loss, and recovering compensation in a civil claim may understandably be the last thing on their minds.

Wrongful deaths due to car crashes involving two or more cars are responsible for 43% of all automobile related fatalities. A wrongful death lawyer acts as a fatal accident claims guide to ensure your family receives the compensation they deserve.

Lost Wages

An auto accident settlement may also include benefits for lost wages if you are unable to work or perform your job as you could before the accident. In cases where severe and/or permanent injuries prevent you from returning to work, an experienced attorney could help calculate your diminished earning capacity and the wages you are estimated to lose out on due to your car accident injuries.

Punitive Damages

Some states allow for punitive damages if the at-fault driver was grossly negligent or if there is evidence of intentional misconduct, such as driving while drunk or ignoring traffic laws.

This category of damages is intended to punish the at-fault driver and deter others from acting similarly in the future. You may need a team of car accident attorneys to help determine whether you are entitled to punitive damages as part of your car accident lawsuit.