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Your Guide to Navigating a Car Accident Claim
If you’re injured in a car accident, a car crash compensation attorney can be crucial to securing fair compensation and avoiding overwhelming medical debt. Here’s what you need to know about hiring legal representation after a crash:
Key Benefits of Hiring a Car Crash Compensation Attorney:
- Steer insurance company tactics – Adjusters are trained to minimize payouts
- Maximize your settlement – Attorneys typically secure 33% more compensation than self-represented victims
- Handle legal deadlines – Statute of limitations is 2 years in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
- Calculate total damages – Including future medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering
- No upfront costs – Most work on contingency (you only pay if you win)
The aftermath of a car accident is overwhelming, and insurance companies know you’re vulnerable. They often contact victims within hours, pushing for quick, lowball settlements. Don’t let them take advantage of you.
The legal landscape is complex. For example, Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations, while New Jersey has specific rules for uninsured drivers. These state-specific laws can dramatically impact your compensation.
I’m Jason Fine, a car crash compensation attorney with over 25 years of experience. My team at J. Fine Law has secured over $50 million for clients with a 98% success rate, including one of Pennsylvania’s top motor vehicle verdicts after an initial $0 offer. We fight to get accident victims the compensation they deserve.
Easy car crash compensation attorney glossary:
Why You Need a Car Crash Compensation Attorney
After an accident, you’re in pain, worried about bills, and vulnerable. This is when insurance adjusters, who are trained to minimize payouts for their company, often call with lowball settlement offers. They might sound friendly, but their goal is to save their company money by settling your claim for less than it’s worth.
Without a car crash compensation attorney, you’re at a significant disadvantage. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), millions are injured in crashes annually, and many settle for far too little because they don’t have legal representation.
Time is also a factor. In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, you have two years to file a claim. Waiting too long can weaken your case as evidence disappears and witness memories fade. An experienced attorney acts quickly to preserve crucial evidence and handle all communications with the insurance company, protecting you from tactics designed to hurt your claim. Studies show that clients with attorneys typically recover significantly more compensation. At J. Fine Law, our 98% success rate and over $50 million recovered for clients demonstrate the value of professional representation. Let us handle the legal fight while you focus on healing.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Your compensation should cover every loss you’ve suffered, not just the initial hospital bills. These damages fall into two categories:
Economic Damages (Financial Losses):
- Medical Expenses: All costs from the ER visit to ongoing physical therapy, medications, and future medical care.
- Lost Income: Wages lost while you couldn’t work, as well as compensation for any long-term impact on your earning ability (“lost earning capacity”).
- Property Damage: Costs to repair or replace your vehicle and any personal items damaged in the crash.
Non-Economic Damages (Personal Impact):
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and discomfort you’ve endured.
- Emotional Distress: For anxiety, depression, or PTSD resulting from the trauma of the accident.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: If your injuries prevent you from participating in hobbies and activities you once loved.
- Loss of Consortium: Compensates a spouse for the negative impact the injuries have on your relationship.
In cases of extreme recklessness, like drunk driving, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the at-fault driver. Our job is to ensure every single loss is calculated and claimed.
The Role of Your Car Crash Compensation Attorney
When you hire us, you get a dedicated team acting as your investigator, negotiator, and courtroom advocate. Our role includes:
- Immediate Investigation: We gather police reports, track down witnesses, and secure evidence like traffic camera footage. For complex cases, we hire accident reconstruction experts to prove fault.
- Managing Insurance Companies: We handle all communication with insurance adjusters. They are skilled at using your words against you, so we protect you from their tactics. You won’t have to speak to them or worry about saying the wrong thing.
- Calculating Full Damages: We go beyond current bills, working with medical and economic experts to project future costs and lost income. We use proven methods to value your pain and suffering to ensure your claim reflects your total losses.
- Negotiation and Litigation: Most cases settle out of court. Our reputation for being trial-ready motivates insurance companies to offer fair settlements. If they refuse, we are fully prepared to fight for you in court. For more on evidence, see Gathering evidence.
Your First 5 Steps After a Crash
What you do immediately after an accident can significantly impact your case. Follow these steps to protect your health and legal rights.
- Ensure Safety: Check for injuries and call 911. If possible, move your vehicle out of traffic. If not, turn on your hazard lights.
- Call the Police: An official police report is a critical piece of evidence. It documents the scene, the parties involved, and often an initial assessment of fault.
- Seek Medical Attention: Even if you feel fine, get checked by a doctor or at an urgent care center. Many serious injuries like concussions or internal bleeding have delayed symptoms. This creates a medical record linking your injuries to the crash.
- Exchange Information: Get names, phone numbers, and insurance details from all drivers involved. If there are witnesses, get their contact information as well.
- Document Everything: Use your phone to take photos and videos of vehicle damage, the accident scene, road conditions, and any visible injuries.
Important: Do not apologize or admit fault. Stick to the facts. Politely decline to give a recorded statement to an insurance company until you have spoken with an attorney.
Navigating State Laws: Fault and Filing Deadlines
Car accident laws vary by state, which can affect your compensation. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, here’s what you need to know:
- Statute of Limitations: You have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to recover compensation, no matter how strong your case is. It’s crucial to contact an attorney long before this deadline to preserve evidence.
- Comparative Negligence: Both states use a “modified comparative negligence” rule. This means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you are 20% at fault, your $100,000 award is reduced to $80,000. However, if you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover any damages at all. Insurance companies often try to use this rule to shift blame and reduce their payout. You can learn more about comparative negligence law.
- Uninsured Drivers: If the at-fault driver has no insurance, your own Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage can cover your damages. This is essential protection that we can help you steer.
How Do Car Crash Lawyers Charge for Their Services?
Worried about legal fees? Don’t be. Most personal injury firms, including J. Fine Law, work on a contingency fee basis.
This means:
- No Upfront Costs: You pay nothing to hire us. We cover all case expenses, such as investigation and expert witness fees.
- No Win, No Fee: We only get paid if we win your case by securing a settlement or a court verdict. If you don’t get paid, neither do we.
- Paid from the Settlement: Our fee is a pre-agreed percentage of the compensation we recover for you. It’s paid directly from the settlement, so you never have to worry about out-of-pocket legal bills.
We also offer a free consultation to evaluate your case and explain your options with no obligation. This model ensures everyone has access to justice, regardless of their financial situation. Learn more about contingent fee agreements.
Take the First Step Towards Fair Compensation
The harsh reality is that car accidents can cause devastating injuries that turn your world upside down. We frequently see clients suffering from:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): From concussions to severe brain damage, a TBI can affect memory, concentration, and emotional well-being.
- Whiplash: This common neck injury from rear-end collisions can cause months of pain, stiffness, and headaches that insurance companies often downplay.
- Broken Bones: Fractures often require surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, leading to lost time at work and mounting medical bills.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: These catastrophic injuries can result in paralysis, requiring a lifetime of expensive medical care.
Over 90% of these crashes are caused by preventable human error. The leading causes include:
- Distracted Driving: Texting or other distractions account for 33% of fatal car crashes.
- Speeding: Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions contributes to 30% of fatal car crashes.
- Drunk Driving: This reckless choice is responsible for a staggering 40% of fatal car crashes.
At J. Fine Law, we have spent over 25 years helping people steer the aftermath of these traumatic events. Our 98% success rate and the over $50 million we’ve recovered for our clients represent families who were able to focus on healing instead of fighting insurance companies.
If you’ve been injured in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill, Feasterville, Bucks County, Erie County, or Pittsburgh, we are here to help. As your car crash compensation attorney, we will handle the legal complexities so you can focus on getting better. Don’t let an insurance company decide your future.
Learn more about our car accident lawyers and find out how we can help you steer your claim with confidence.