If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a car accident in Bossier City, there are high stakes involved in the legal process. How you handle your claim can determine whether you can receive financial compensation and the size of your check. Never take any chances. While your financial future is on the line, the insurance company only sees its present profits. Without an experienced attorney on your side, you may pay the price by taking a lower settlement than you might otherwise get.
Call Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys first when you need an attorney to fight for you. We can take on the bureaucracy and penny-pinching ways of the insurance company on your behalf. Contact our Bossier City car accident attorneys today for your free initial consultation. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a car accident case is not getting legal help when needed.
We are a national law firm with multiple offices around the country. We also work with affiliate law firms in most states that share our focus and dedication to excellence. No matter where you are located, we may be able to help you, so call or contact us now. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 866-980-3955, or you may contact us now by clicking here to submit your case for review.
Dangers of Driving in Bossier City
There is a reason why Bossier City car insurance is so expensive. Drivers throughout Louisiana are not the safest. The state has a high rate of drunk driving fatalities. In addition, Louisiana has the eighth-highest rate of car accident fatalities in the country. While Louisiana has the same number of vehicle miles traveled as other states with roughly the same population, the state does not have as many lane miles of road – meaning that the roadways are more crowded.
In Bossier City itself, numerous dangerous intersections are the scene of many accidents each year, including:
- Airline and Viking Drive
- Airline and Beene Boulevard
- Airline and Shed Road
- Airline and East Texas
Airline Drive is the busiest and most dangerous road in Bossier City, with many vehicle crashes and pedestrian accidents on that road. Many other serious accidents occur on the car- and truck-congested I-20.
Types of Car Accidents in Bossier City
The major car accidents that injure people in Bossier City include:
- Rear-end crashes are the most common type of car accident. The rear car that hit the front car is presumed to be at fault for the accident unless the driver can present evidence to overcome the presumption. Rear-end crashes commonly cause whiplash and other head or neck injuries.
- Head-on crashes, while rare, are the most dangerous type of accident. These crashes have the highest fatality rate of any car accident. Head-on crashes usually happen due to inattention, drunk driving, or reckless driving.
- T-bone accidents occur when the front of one car strikes the side of the other. One car has usually failed to yield the right of way. Both drivers can suffer serious injuries in a T-bone crash. Each driver may point the finger at the other, making these cases hard to prove.
- Sideswipe accidents often happen when one car makes an illegal turn or lane change. The main danger of a sideswipe accident is that one or both cars will spin out and lose control. The aftermath can lead to a multi-car crash or one driver running off the road.
- Multi-car accidents present complex legal challenges. Investigators will work to pin down the exact cause of the crash. Then, multiple injured parties may file claims against one insurance policy.
Causes of Bossier City Car Accidents
Many things can cause a car accident.
Many lists of common reasons for car accidents blame intentional misconduct or carelessness, such as:
- Texting or other types of distracted driving
- Speeding or going too fast for the road conditions
- Reckless driving, such as weaving in and out of traffic or aggressively tailgating another vehicle
- Failure to use turn signals or check blind spots before changing lanes
- Failure to yield the right of way at a stop sign or traffic light
Sometimes, another driver having a bad day might injure you. All it takes is one slow reaction or a momentary lapse, and a negligent driver can cause an accident.
How Car Accident Claims and Legal Cases Work
Your legal obligation is to prove what the other driver did in the car accident. Then, compare it to what a reasonable driver should have done under the same circumstances. If the driver in the accident with you fell short of that standard, they will owe you money to pay for your damages.
If the other driver complies with Louisiana law, they will have mandatory car insurance coverage. The insurance company stands in the shoes of the responsible driver, paying for your damages up to the point of the policy limit, assuming that you can prove that the other driver did not live up to their standard of care.
Car insurance is extremely expensive in Louisiana. It costs practically double the national average. The other driver may have tried to cut corners to save money, and they may not have enough insurance to cover you. Then, you must file a claim against your own underinsured motorist coverage to make up for any shortfall.
You can file a claim against the other driver’s insurance and your own policy. You can also sue the other driver in court. Louisiana law allows judges to decide on car accident lawsuits for under $50,000. Many car accident attorneys choose to litigate claims when it is best for the particular client, even when a lesser amount is at stake.
Louisiana law gives you options when seeking compensation following a car crash. Regardless of where you try to get your money, you must prove that the other driver was negligent. Finding the necessary proof to persuade an insurance company or a judge is not always easy. You always want help from a skilled car accident attorney in Bossier City.
Post-Car Accident Challenges that You Face
There are numerous difficulties that you might deal with after a car accident. They can range from personal financial challenges to potential obstacles in the legal process.
Here is what you may experience after your accident:
- Medical bills that may be coming due (even if your health insurance covers the bills, you will be responsible for your co-pays)
- Insurance companies that try to pressure you every step of the way
- Delayed onset symptoms of injuries such as whiplash
- Continuous appointments with doctors and other healthcare providers that you need to keep (if you do not attend doctor’s appointments, it can affect how much you can receive in compensation)
- Nonstop stress that comes from everything that you have to handle all at once
As you can see, you cannot deal with all the details of your claim. Not only do you lack the legal knowledge, but your injuries will spread you far too thin to do what it takes to get the most possible compensation.
Common Insurance Company Tricks That Cost You Money
When you deal with an insurance company, you must be ready for a battle. If you try to face the insurance company alone, you should know you are up against a for-profit business. Above anything else, insurance companies are loyal to their own financial interests.
There are many things that an insurance company will try to do rather than write you a check for all the money that you deserve. Sometimes, they pretend to befriend you before lowering the boom and denying your case or making you a terrible settlement offer. In other cases, they simply disappear because they want to stall you for as long as possible.
Insurance companies are experts at reading the situation, especially in knowing how to deal with injured claimants like you.
How Your Lawyer Can Deal with Insurance Company Tricks
The best way to deal with an insurance company is not to do it yourself. You should always hire an experienced lawyer for your car accident case.
Our lawyers know how to handle the insurance company and step into the ring with them. We can counter these tactics at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys and get you the money you deserve.
A car accident lawyer can:
- Keep the insurance company off your back (they will need to go through your lawyer to deal with you)
- Evaluate any offers that you receive and give you advice on whether to accept or reject them
- Take your case to court if necessary
- Gather the evidence necessary to win your case and be ready to fight back if the insurance company is trying to blame you.
Car Accident Damages You Can Receive
The responsible driver must pay for all of the damages you suffered.
Car accident damages cover the actual economic damages you have sustained (medical bills, lost income, and property damage) and the more subjective measures of the experience you endured.
Many people go wrong in a car accident claim because they fail to estimate how much they deserve in pain and suffering damages. The insurance company knows how much you can get, and they try to use an objective formula to determine your damages.
Our attorneys will humanize you to the insurance company or jury. They will tell your story about what you have gone through since the accident, so you can recover all of the compensation you deserve for what you endured.
How to Get Money After a Car Accident
While we have laid out the principles of what you are entitled to in car accident damages, it does not always work that way. It is up to you to get what you deserve after a car accident. If you do not ask for it, you will not get it.
Thus, the most effective way to get money after a car accident is to fight for it. Fighting does not always mean going to court to get your money. Very few car accident cases go to trial. Fighting means you do whatever is necessary to get the money you deserve.
The most effective weapon in your arsenal is turning down an offer that pays you less than you should receive. Remember that the insurance company owes you money on behalf of its policyholder. You are the one with legal rights after a car accident, and you can decide what you will accept or not. When you remember this and factor it into how you deal with them, you can maximize what you get in a car accident settlement.
Only you can take the first step towards car accident compensation. You should contact an experienced attorney today to schedule your free initial consultation. There is no obligation when you contact a lawyer for a free case review. You only owe a lawyer money when you win your case, meaning you receive a settlement check or an award from a court. You do not need to pay your lawyer if you do not win your case.
Contact a Bossier City Car Accident Lawyer Today
Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys are the experienced and hard-hitting attorneys you need to maximize your car accident compensation. Insurance companies will look at you differently when you have us on your side because we have a track record of delivering results.
When an insurance company wins, you lose. Our job is to do everything possible to ensure that does not happen.
The legal team of Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys is nationally recognized for protecting the rights of injured victims for more than 20 years. If a Bossier City car accident injured you, call our office right now for your free consultation! Because we take all of our Bossier City personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a dime unless we win your case. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today at 866-980-3955 or contact us now by clicking here. You can trust Guss when you need us.