Highfill, AR Car Accident Lawyer

If you are injured in a car accident, you could be left with serious injuries and an expensive recovery.  The medical bills, the wages you lose out on while you are injured, and the pain and suffering all cost something, and getting reimbursed for those economic and non-economic damages is vital.

Our lawyers can help you and your family move forward after an accident by seeking compensation to pay for the damages you faced.  Whether those damages are paid through a negotiated settlement with the defendant’s insurance company or through a lawsuit, our attorneys can fight to maximize the compensation you receive.

For a free review of your case, call our car accident lawyers at (479) 316-0438 right away.

Damages Available in a Car Accident Case in Highfill, AR

When lawyers say “damages,” we mean either the harms you suffered or the monetary compensation you are claiming for those harms.  These “compensatory” damages make up the majority of what you will claim in your case to pay you back for the expenses you shelled out, the bills you received, and the other harms you faced because of the injury.  However, you might also be able to seek “punitive damages.”

Compensatory and punitive damages can be broken down into the following categories:

Medical Expenses

The cost of medical care is very high, and a sudden injury from a car accident could leave you bankrupt if you do not get your damages paid for you.  In an insurance claim or lawsuit, you can receive compensation for those bills you faced, getting your care needs covered.

Arkansas law requires drivers to have at least $25,000 per person for injuries, which can often cover your medical care.  If they have a higher policy, we can likely get even more compensation, and we may even be able to reach beyond their insurance and get you damages from them personally.

Lost Wages

If your injury causes you to miss work, then those lost wages should also be paid for by the person who caused the crash.  Taking time away from work while you recover is very common, but many car accident injuries also cause ongoing disabilities that might require you to take a lower-paying job or even stop working altogether, leading to ongoing future lost earnings, too.  These can all be claimed in your case, though calculating them and proving those damages in court might be challenging and require help from financial experts.

Other Economic Damages

Other expenses and incidental costs you face because of the accident should also be paid back to you as damages, so save all receipts, bills, and financial statements.  For example, the cost of vehicle repairs, purchasing a wheelchair, making your home wheelchair accessible, or the cost of hiring a babysitter for your kids while you go to doctor’s appointments should all be paid back to you.

Pain and Suffering

One thing our car accident lawyers often have to do is help victims put a value on the physical pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, and other intangible effects of the accident.  More serious injuries that affect your life in deeper or more widespread ways often lead to higher damages.  This can be reflected by either choosing a multiplier to apply to the rest of your damages or assigning a per-day value, basing either number on how serious your injuries are.  That can give us a starting baseline for how much to claim in your injury case for pain and suffering and other “non-economic” damages.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are not “compensatory” – they do not pay you back for the harm you suffered.  Instead, these damages are based solely on how bad the defendant’s actions were, and they are meant to punish them for the harm they caused you by ordering the defendant to pay you more money.  As such, cases usually have to be quite bad for punitive damages to be allowed, often involving repeat dangers from a trucking company that has previously been held to task for these same violations or involving drivers whose actions were incredibly reckless.

Insurance Claims vs. Settlements vs. Lawsuits for Car Accidents in Highfill, AR

When you have a car accident case, it can be difficult to know how to proceed.  Should you try to negotiate with the defendant?  Should you file with your insurance or theirs?  And should you take your case to court?

Insurance Claims

Arkansas uses an at-fault system for car insurance, meaning that the at-fault party’s insurance pays for a crash.  That means that you typically file a “third-party” claim against their insurance if you want to get paid after a crash.

However, Arkansas does also have robust options for “first-party” coverage from your own insurance.  Personal injury protection (PIP) allows first-party payments for medical bills and other benefits regardless of who caused the crash, similar to “no-fault” insurance systems.  You can also get uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) in case the other driver fails to have insurance or fails to have enough insurance to cover you.  This can help make up the difference when the other driver’s insurance is only state minimum and you need more money to cover you.

Ultimately, your insurance might pay you limited damages and will exclude deductibles and certain percentages of coverage in many cases.  Meanwhile, the other driver’s insurance will likely try to get out of paying you or limit how much they say they will pay, potentially meaning you need to negotiate or go to court.

Negotiated Settlements

Whether you are speaking with the insurance company or the at-fault driver directly, you will usually need to negotiate for all of the damages you need.  Our lawyers can present them with evidence of what happened and the damages you faced to show them how much you need and try to negotiate a fair settlement.

Lawsuits

If we cannot settle, then going to court may be your only option to get paid.  Reluctant defendants and insurance companies often get in the way of a good settlement, and the only way to force them to pay is through a verdict in court.

Filing a lawsuit is also a good tactic to pressure them into settlement negotiations, as going to court would be more expensive for them than settling in many cases.  However, you can still settle after filing in court, and the choice of whether to settle or go straight to trial is yours, not your lawyer’s.

Call Our Highfill, AR Car Accident Attorneys Today

Contact our car accident lawyers at (479) 316-0438 for a free case assessment.