A sideswipe accident involves two motor vehicles that make contact on the side of each car. The vehicles can travel in the same or in the opposite direction. Considered the most vulnerable section of an automobile, the side of a car can collapse and cause serious injuries to one or more passengers.
You need to make sure you have an injury before contacting a personal injury lawyer. If you decide to speak with a lawyer, you should understand how the fees work, as well as gain an idea about how much your case is worth.
Did You Suffer One or More Injuries?
If you were involved in a sideswipe auto accident, it is not a slam dunk that you got hurt during the incident. Some sideswipe accidents do not cause a strong enough impact to harm anyone. Your car might have received a strong blow, but no one was sitting near the side of the car that got hit. However, just because you did not suffer from any obvious injuries does not mean you did not receive a concealed injury, such as whiplash and/or a concussion. If you received one or more injuries because of a sideswipe car crash, you should immediately get in touch with a highly rated personal injury lawyer.
An experienced attorney will collect and organize every medical document, as well as gain access to the official police report. If you take your case to court, the judge presiding over the case will place a lot of emphasis on the police report because it represents the official version of events. Your lawyer is also responsible for determining if one or more drivers were negligent in causing the sideswipe auto accident. Proving negligence requires the seasoned expertise of a state-licensed personal injury attorney. Handling a case by yourself leaves you vulnerable to targeted questioning by the other driver’s lawyer.
All About Attorney Fees
If you have watched a commercial that promoted the services of a personal injury attorney, you probably heard something along the lines of “We don’t get paid unless you win.” The phrase is the casual way of saying contingency fee compensation for a personal injury lawyer. In other words, the payment of the legal fees that accumulate during your case depends on whether you win your claim. Remember that representing yourself puts you on the financial hook for court and administrative fees, as well as the costs associated with acquiring evidence.
Know What Your Case is Worth
Hiring an attorney allows you to gain insight into how much your case is worth. The other driver’s insurance company certainly is not going to share helpful information, which means you need to lean on legal counsel to determine the potential payout. Your lawyer will review all medical documents to come up with a total cost for treating your injuries. You can also expect lost wages to contribute to the worth of your case. One of the keys to boosting the value of just compensation is for your lawyer to understand the long-term implications of the sideswipe car accident that does not come with a clear monetary value.
Know Where You Stand
The first order of business on your attorney’s to-do list involves having you undergo a free case evaluation. A case evaluation gives your lawyer important information that determines if you need to gather more evidence. After reviewing the case evaluation, your attorney will have a much better idea about how to proceed with your claim.
