About Midwest Injury Lawyers
Our mission has always been to serve the Hammond area communities by providing aggressive yet ethical and professional legal services that get results. We believe all personal injury victims deserve high-quality, robust legal representation.
You can count on our car accident attorneys to:
- Always treat you with the courtesy and respect you deserve
- Manage your legal matter diligently and with full competence, following the highest standards of the personal injury legal profession
- Preserve the confidential client information disclosed during our lawyer-client relationship
- Keep you promptly informed of any case updates or progress
- Practice independent professional judgment on your behalf
- Allow you to make the decisions on the objectives in your case, as permitted by Indiana law
- Abide by the rules of professional conduct, including whether to settle your case
- Exhibit the highest degree of ethical conduct according to the Code of Professional Responsibility
When Driver Negligence Causes an Accident
All drivers owe other individuals on the road a duty of care. They must act in ways that reduce the risk of injuries, including obeying traffic laws. When they fail to uphold their duty of care, innocent victims can suffer.
Too many drivers act negligently. When their negligent actions cause an accident that leads to your injuries and damages, meet with our Hammond car accident lawyers. We can review your case and help you decide whether to pursue legal recourse.
Examples of driver negligence behind the wheel include:
Driving while sleepy or fatigued
Using a cell phone
Texting
Eating
Violating traffic signals
Speeding, failing to yield, and violating other traffic laws
Reaching across seats
Tending to a child or pet
Aggressive driving behaviors
Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Failing to maintain their vehicle properly
To win your claim, you must prove that the other driver acted negligently. When you hire Hammond car accident attorneys, they will collect the evidence necessary to prove the driver’s negligent act(s) that led to the accident and your injuries.
The Importance of Medical Treatment After a Car Accident
After sustaining injuries in a car accident, don’t worry about how the size of your medical bills or who will pay for them. Make your physical condition and health paramount to anything else. Seek the medical care and treatment you need and let our Hammond car accident lawyers pursue compensation to pay these bills.
If you don’t seek the medical treatment you need, you can make your injuries, punitive damages and your long-term prognosis worse. Additionally, by not seeing a doctor or following their advice, you face a denial of the compensation you need for your injuries.
By getting medical treatment and following the advice of your care providers, you show those accountable for your injuries that you are indeed injured and that you are willing to do what it takes to get better. You also establish that the car accident caused your injuries, not something that happened post-accident.
Determining Your Damages
The goal of a car accident claim is to be made whole. While no settlement or court award will erase the various damages you may have suffered, getting compensation for your damages can still go a long way toward getting your life back on the right track.
An attorney is well-versed in the types of damages that may be available to you and their values. You can potentially receive economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages stem from financial losses, while non-economic damages do not have an assigned value and are more subjective.
Potential damages you can claim in your auto accident case include:
Future expected medical expenses:
Medical bills that your attorney reasonably anticipates you will incur in the future due to your car accident.
Reduced earning capacity
If your injury affected your ability to do your work-related duties and earn a living on either a short-term or long-term basis.
Lost income:
Hours you had to be away from work while recovering from your auto accident injury or receiving medical care mean lost income that you should receive compensation for.
Pain and suffering:
You can potentially be eligible for thousands of dollars for the physical and emotional pain and suffering you endure.
Scarring and disfigurement:
If your accident left you with severe scarring or even the loss of a limb, you deserve compensation for living with the physical and emotional impairments you have to live with.
Punitive damages:
If your attorney can show that the other driver behaved recklessly or maliciously when they caused the accident, and your case goes to court, you might be eligible for punitive damages.
Is the Car Insurance Adjuster on Your Side?
While they are a necessary part of the claims process, an insurance adjuster is usually not on your side. Their employee has an entirely different financial interest than you do, and they will work to prove it. Your attorney can help protect you from their tactics.
The Bottom Line of an Insurance Adjuster
Yes, the insurance adjuster needs to research and determine the value of your claim so they can make you an offer. Unfortunately, their bottom line is to save the insurance company money. More money for you means a fairer offer, but it costs their company money.
While they might seem concerned and displeased on your behalf that the accident occurred, make no mistake; they are not on your side. Instead of relying on a claims adjuster to take care of you, meet with a skilled Hammond car accident attorney to find out how they can help.
Tactics of a Claims Adjuster
Claims adjusters have many tactics at their disposal to help them meet their goal of minimizing your claim. Some are more common than others. For example, many like to reach out to you as soon as they can after you report your accident. They want to catch you when you are vulnerable and when you are wondering how you will get your bills paid after a car accident.
They also want to present you with a lowball offer long before you even think to speak to a Hammond car accident attorney. If they can get you to agree to a low offer before you are in touch with a lawyer, they have spent minimal time on your claim and saved their company money. They might also convince you that you do not need an attorney.
The adjuster might also ask you to give a recorded statement. Always remember you don’t have to give in to this request. You can hire an attorney and let them deal with all communication from the insurance company. If you agree to give a recorded statement, most insurance adjusters will try to get you to mess up or cast doubt during the conversation that their insured is responsible for the accident.
If possible, hire our experienced Hammond car accident lawyers before you speak to the claims adjuster involved in your case. This way, you protect your interests.
How Insurance Negotiations Work
When you hire one of our Hammond car accident attorneys to represent your claim, they will first carefully evaluate all the details of your case. Then, they need to determine how your injuries happened, who caused them, and their severity. All this information will help them determine what your case should be worth.
Then they will draft a demand letter to the at-fault party’s car insurance company. This letter will detail your injuries and damages and formally request the amount of money expected for your claim. Shortly after receiving it, the insurance adjuster will usually call your attorney to begin the negotiations.
Sometimes these negotiations occur over just a few days and are relatively simple. In other injury cases, negotiations can take months or even years. Rest assured that your attorney must tell you about the offers you receive and let you decide how you want to proceed. You can tell them to keep negotiating for you, to accept an offer, or that you want to litigate your claim.
Hammond Car Accident FAQs
Countless factors can contribute to the behaviors of road-raging drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that anger frequently results from:
- Traffic congestion. Sitting in a traffic jam can feel like a substantial waste of time, especially if drivers are in a hurry to get somewhere. With every passing minute, aggravation can rise.
- Being in a hurry. Leaving late or failing to leave themselves enough time to account for possible traffic delays creates stress. For some drivers, this stress quickly escalates into road rage.
- Cloak of anonymity. Some drivers feel separated and isolated from other motorists, especially since most are strangers to the driver. Inside their vehicle, they are in their own bubble. This anonymity of driving can cause some drivers to feel unaccountable to others for their actions.
- Self-centeredness/lack of empathy. Drivers who participate in road rage sometimes have difficulty empathizing with others. They don’t believe that laws apply to them or fail to recognize the impact of their own actions on others.The contributing cause of another driver’s road rage actions does not reduce their liability for any damages that result. There is simply no excuse for this behavior. A skilled Hammond car accident lawyer can help victims seek the justice they deserve.
Yes, and the best time to speak to a car accident lawyer is now. If you or someone you love was recently in a car accident, hire an experienced Hammond car accident attorney to review your claim before you file anything. The attorney can discuss the legal assistance you need and the next steps you should take. You should not make this determination on your own.
Witness statements are an essential part of any injury claim when available.
Witness statements can add value to your claim because:
- They are a neutral party that provides added credibility if they can corroborate your account of the car accident
- They can help bring clarity to the accident and establish fault
- They can establish details of what happened that you may not remember or have even realized
- They might have heard an admission of fault from the defendant after the accident
- They can help you reach a speedy and fair ending to your claim
If no witnesses saw the crash or stopped, your attorney can seek other evidence to support your claim.
Injured in a Car Accident? Contact Midwest Injury Lawyers Today
After a car accident, many people feel overwhelmed and sometimes even alone. You might worry about your physical recovery or how to pay your bills. During this time, focus on yourself and your healing; let our attorneys handle the rest. The experienced Hammond car accident lawyers at Midwest Injury Lawyers are waiting to speak to you about your accident. Reach out to a Hammond personal injury lawyer.
Contact Midwest Injury Lawyers by phone at (219) 200-0151 or online for your free, no-obligation case consultation today.
Client Testimonial
“We are so happy with our decision to utilize the services of Midwest Injury Lawyers. They were so kind and kept us informed and educated on our options to make the best decision for our family.” -Leah C. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Midwest Injury Lawyers – Hammond Office
2901 Carlson Drive Suite 363,
Hammond, IN 46323
Phone: (219) 200-0151
Request a Free Consultation
Tell our experienced team about your accident and/or injuries. One of our personal injury attorneys will contact you to schedule a free case evaluation. Remember: you won’t pay for anything unless we secure a compensation on your behalf.
Call (312) 786-5881 or send us a message online to get started.