Evidence and witnesses in an auto accident are very important. We like to have pictures of the actual scene, and a lot of times we are hired a week or two after the accident, so we don’t see the actual position of the cars. We try and recreate the accident scene as much as we can; but if we don’t have live pictures, real pictures from right then, then it’s only a recreation; a lot of times, it’s just how our clients or their witnesses see it. If the accident report lists a witness, we want to get a hold of them sooner rather than later just to see what they saw. Sometimes they say they saw the accident when what they did is heard the crash, turned around and then saw the cars. We want to make sure that that story doesn’t get too embellished down the road because both sides have access to those witnesses.
How Long Do Auto Accident Claims Typically Take To Get Resolved?
The time is takes to resolve an auto accident claim varies greatly. If you put an average on it, sure enough, this one will be shorter, and that one will be longer. What we try and do in the first 30 to 60 days is get a handle on what type of injuries a client has. Have they been treating without an MRI, did they go to an orthopedic surgeon, do they have reports, are they a surgery candidate? Sometimes if the insurance policies are very small and they are not a surgical candidate, then we can move those cases a little quicker. Some of the other cases, where there is a possibility that our client might be a surgery candidate, can take a little longer. If a client just starts treating with doctors and continues treatment, those can take a long time. We need to be involved in all doctor referrals so that we can monitor the case.
How Is The Viability Of An Auto Accident Case Determined?
Obviously, if our client is unclear as to who caused the accident, that creates a little bit of a problem. If a client was hit and someone else caused the accident that speeds the process up and then it’s a matter of medical issues. It’s liability. We need the liability to be on someone else. In the state of Florida, we also need the other side to have some insurance. If they don’t have some insurance, our client must have access to some insurance. First of all, the insurance would look for the other party’s bodily injury insurance. This is not mandatory in the state of Florida. About 65% of the people on the road in Florida do not carry bodily injury. Two out of three people that hit you don’t carry enough insurance or have any insurance.
That’s why we have PIP, so the least you have is $10,000. Now, the other insurance that is incredibly helpful is Uninsured Motorist Insurance, UIM. If you do not have it, it doesn’t mean your case goes away; it just means that there is a backup plan in case the other guy doesn’t have it. But there has to be some type of insurance policy available.
How Would You Advise Someone That Tries To Handle An Auto Accident Claim On Their Own?
I would tell them good luck! I do this for a living; it’s what I do every day. We don’t do millions of cases, but we do a lot of cases. We take care of a lot of people. There are going to be a hundred questions that you don’t know the answer to; we do. We know how to find the answer if we don’t know that one rare question. We will get you a better settlement, even after our fee comes out, than you can get on your own.
What Sets Your Firm Apart In Handling Auto Accident Claims?
A lot of people say, “I am going to go to the big firms.” I am not a big firm. I have a nice staff, a nice office, and this is what we do. You actually get to talk to me. Our computer assigns a case number, but I don’t know anything about case numbers. You call in: “It’s Mr. Jones on the phone, and he has a question about this.” If we can’t get you the answer for that, I get on the phone. You are not talking to paralegals all the time only. Because I don’t have thousands and thousands of cases, every case is important to me. A lot of cases range from $10,000 to $70,000.
It makes a lot of sense for me to try and maximize each one of those settlements for several reasons. One, my clients are referrals; my clients refer people to me. So if I keep them happy and make sure they get everything I can put in their pocket, then that’s how my business continues to grow. Number two is: I don’t have 50 cases settling this week; so if every case is $5,000 short, we lose our client and ourselves money. My cases need to settle if I can maximize them out. Every case is just important to us.
For more information on Evidence In An Auto Accident Claim, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (561) 588-9992 today.