Car crashes are, sadly, a daily occurrence across the country. Many individuals find themselves seriously injured because another driver screwed up and was negligent. Victims of car accidents frequently need emergency medical care, and long-term health-related expenses stemming from car accidents can easily reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If you got injured in a car crash, our lawyers are here for you. Our firm has represented countless clients in personal injury cases of all kinds – including car accidents – so we know what it takes to get you the financial damages you need to get back on track after a car crash.
To start getting help with your claim, call Howe Law’s car accident lawyers by dialing (844) 876-4357.
What to Do After a Car Accident in Southaven, MS
Car accidents happen suddenly and violently. The sheer shock of the situation can make it tough to know exactly what needs to be done. There are actually some steps you can take after a crash happens to help improve a future legal claim you may want to bring.
Get Medical Attention
The most important thing you need to do after a car crash is ensure that you get the medical care you need to take care of your injuries. If your injuries are so severe that you are incapacitated, you will likely be evacuated by first responders, and this step will be taken care of by other people.
However, if you are less seriously injured than that, you should still let first responders and other medical personnel examine you. Be sure to follow all of their instructions. If they recommend that you should go to a hospital right away, then you should do that.
It is also a good idea to get follow-up medical attention in the days following your car accident. This is because there is the possibility that some injuries may not have been apparent right after your accident due to the surge of adrenaline brought on by the crash. Some injuries, like whiplash or pinched nerves, may take a couple of days to manifest themselves, so it is important to get follow-up medical attention if you are experiencing discomfort after a car crash.
If you do not get medical attention after a crash – or refuse aid – it may be used against you in court by defense attorneys, so it is very important to follow this step to the best of your ability.
Collect Information
If you are able to stick around after the accident and have gotten all the immediate medical attention you need, you should then turn your attention to getting as much information as you possibly can about the accident. Take numerous photos of both the wreck and the surrounding area. No detail is too small or unimportant. Even something that seems innocuous could potentially prove crucial to a legal argument our car accident lawyers make somewhere down the line.
Additionally, you should record the statements of any people who may have witnessed the accident. This helps to preserve their immediate recollection of the crash so that, should they end up testifying in court and have a lapse in memory, their impression of the accident right after it happened can be used to help them fill in any gaps they may have forgotten in the months or years between the crash and a trail.
Finally, be certain that you obtain the name, insurance information, and license plate number of any people involved in the crash. This can be used to help determine who you should sue, and it helps our lawyers focus our efforts.
Call Our Lawyers
Finally, you need to get in touch with an attorney as quickly as possible following a car crash. Not only will doing so give legal counsel more time to prepare a case, but the time that you have to file a lawsuit after an accident happens is also limited by law. In Mississippi, you have three years from when you get injured to file a lawsuit pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49. After that time is up, you cannot file a lawsuit, and courts will not be able to award you any damages.
Three years can appear to be a long time, but the reality is that it takes a while to prepare a lawsuit, and our lawyers will need to spend time gathering information and evidence prior to filing a claim, so it is always better to contact legal counsel earlier than you may think is necessary.
What Happens in Southaven, MS Car Accident Lawsuits?
Car accident lawsuits can take a while to come to a conclusion, sometimes even years. This is because there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into any claim before it gets to trial. In fact, depending on how things play out for any given case, it may not even make it all the way to trial. Indeed, most civil cases are resolved one way or another before lawyers start arguing in front of a jury. There are many things that need to happen before a case goes to trial, so it is beneficial to have an idea of what our car accident lawyers are doing to help you before a case makes it into a courtroom before a jury.
Gathering Evidence
The first step in any civil claim will be to gather as much evidence as possible to support your assertions. Evidence can come from many different sources. Indeed, our lawyers will be reaching out to medical professionals, witnesses, and other relevant parties in order to get eyewitness accounts, medical records, insurance information, and more. What you may not know is that our lawyers will also be getting a sizable portion of information and evidence from opposing counsel through a process called “discovery.” Discovery is the sharing of information between lawyers on opposite sides of a case. While it may seem odd to give your opponent information for “free,” discovery is actually critical to the legal process because it ensures that both sides are operating off of a similar factual basis, thereby promoting fairness and making sure that the court reaches a fair outcome.
Discovery requests can be for many different things. For example, our lawyers could ask the other side for information regarding any expert witnesses they are planning to have testified at trial. Additionally, you can make discovery requests for more tangible things, such as email chains, letters, or other physical evidence.
Although lawyers do share a lot of information through discovery, you do not have to hand over everything to the other side. Some information is protected by various privileges. For example, we will not need to turn over the contents of any conversations you have with our lawyers about trial strategy, as that would fall under attorney-client privilege.
Depositions
Another very important process that happens before trial is depositions. Depositions are formal interviews conducted by attorneys to get information and sworn statements out of people important to a case. Defendants, experts, witnesses, and anyone else important to your car accident lawsuit – including you – will be deposed before trial by both opposing counsel and our car accident lawyers.
Depositions usually take place in an office setting, but they can happen anywhere. You, our lawyers, the opposing counsel, and a professional recorder will be present during a deposition. Opposing counsel will start by asking you basic questions and explaining how a deposition works, and then they will get into questions pertinent to your claim. Once opposing counsel has asked what they want, our lawyers will have the opportunity to “cross-examine” and ask your questions of our own. Attorneys can go back and forth in this manner until there are no further questions, so it is not unusual for depositions to take hours or even all day.
During depositions, you should answer all questions as truthfully as you possibly can. Whatever happens, do not intentionally lie or obfuscate the truth. It is significantly worse for your case to be caught in a lie than to admit to a “bad fact.” Our lawyers can work around most things, but lying under oath is illegal and almost impossible to recover from. That being said, if our lawyers feel a question is unfair or irrelevant to the case, we can object, and you will not have to answer it.
Pre-Trial Motions
Before trial, our lawyers will appear in court before a judge on multiple occasions for various reasons. One of the most common reasons that lawyers go before a judge prior to trial is to file motions. A “motion” is a formal way of asking a court to do something in a case. Some motions are for clerical things like scheduling trial dates around when attorneys and judges are available. However, our lawyers can also file motions for things with a more substantial impact on proceedings. For example, we can file motions to not allow certain bits of evidence to be shown at trial or even have the case dismissed entirely.
Settlement Offers
It is possible that, in the lead-up to the trial, the defendant puts forth an offer to settle the case. A “settlement” is when parties in a lawsuit reach an agreement outside of the trial and “drop” the case. There is no finding of liability or guilt, although a settlement’s terms may include an admission of liability by one or both parties.
The terms of a settlement are negotiated and agreed upon by both parties. This is different from a trial, where, ultimately, the jury decides liability and how much to award as damages. Some plaintiffs may find the assuredness that comes with a settlement agreement appealing, while others may want to see justice done for the injuries the defendant caused. Both options are valid.
It is important not to mistake a settlement offer for weakness or as evidence of a “losing case.” Many defendants with strong legal arguments may elect to try and settle for other reasons. Remember, what is important when pursuing legal action after a car crash is that you get what you need. If a settlement offer covers all of your bases, it may be worth accepting. However, remember that you always have the right to go to trial, and our lawyers will support you no matter what decision you make.
Trial
The final step in a car accident claim is the trial. By this point, most of what lawyers are going to do in court has been planned and rehearsed beforehand, so there should be little in the way of surprises for each side. During the trial, attorneys present evidence and legal arguments to the jury. After all testimony has been heard and all evidence has been shown, the jury is instructed as to the relevant laws by the judge and then goes to deliberate. After deliberation, the jury will state whether they believe the defendant is liable or not and what damages, if any, you will be awarded.
Damages in Southaven, MS Car Accident Cases
When a jury awards damages in a civil trial, they are based primarily on the plaintiff’s condition. Essentially, the objective is to undo the effects of the car crash as best the legal system can. This means that you can be compensated for expenses like medical treatment or car repairs but also for intangible things like mental anguish and the physical pain of your injuries. In some instances, you may get what are called “punitive damages” if the defendant did something particularly egregious.
Each case is different, so you will have to work with our car accident lawyers to figure out what amount of damages makes sense in your claim.
Start Working with Our Southaven, MS Car Accident Lawyers on Your Claim Today
The car accident lawyers from Howe Law can be reached at (844) 876-4357 for free case reviews.
