There are several essential things to do after a hit and run accident. Reporting the crash, getting medical attention, and hiring a hit and run accident lawyer in Atlanta are the three most important steps you must take after the collision.
Your first call after receiving emergency medical care might be to a lawyer. If you hire them right after the collision, your attorney can ensure you properly report the accident to your insurer and law enforcement agencies. Your lawyer will also help you get further medical care, mental health services, and other resources you need to recover from accident-related injuries.
How Your Hit and Run Accident Lawyer Will Help Right After the Collision
The element of an unidentified driver looms large following a hit and run accident. Some of the immediate steps your lawyer will take to help you locate the driver include the following:
- Reaching out to law enforcement: Local law enforcement officials should pursue the motorist who fled your accident scene. Your attorney will contact those officials and monitor the investigation. If necessary, your attorney can even report the collision.
- Independently investigating the accident to identify the driver: Your lawyer will use witness accounts, video footage, your recollection, and other relevant evidence to try to identify the fleeing motorist. If your lawyer can track down the at-fault driver, you might have more ways to seek compensation for your damages.
- Representing you with insurance companies: Your attorney will handle interactions with insurance adjusters on your behalf. By immediately taking over discussions with insurers, your lawyer will ensure you don’t become the victim of bad-faith tactics or accept an inadequate offer.
- Ensuring you get the care you need (and documenting that care): You must document physical injuries and mental health challenges that result from the crash. You also need to accelerate your recovery to the greatest possible degree to return to everyday life. Your attorney will ensure you have the necessary resources as they compose your case.
The Insurance Information Institute (III) reports that every state has a significant number of uninsured motorists. A lack of insurance could explain why a motorist left your accident scene, but so could intoxication, criminal warrants, or fear of the consequences for causing an accident.
Allow a car accident lawyer to take over your case today. They will quickly get to the bottom of the collision, identify liable parties, and build a case for the compensation you deserve.
Whether Your Lawyer Identifies the Motorist Could Alter Your Case Strategy
Your lawyer will actively investigate and work with law enforcement officials, who might identify the driver who left your accident scene shortly afterward. If we find the fleeing driver, you could:
- File a claim with the driver’s insurance company
- Sue the driver
- Sue other liable parties connected to the driver, such as their employer
You could still hire a hit and run accident lawyer if you never identify the fleeing motorist. Your attorney can explain other options available to you to recover compensation, such as filing a claim with your insurance provider.
For a free legal consultation, call 404-214-2001
Steps Your Lawyer Will Take to Secure Fair Compensation for Your Hit and Run
Your lawyer will immediately begin building your case. As they work to identify the fleeing motorist, your lawyer will also take these steps.
Document What Caused the Accident
Often, a motorist leaving an accident scene indicates they were at fault for the accident. Even so, your lawyer must prove the cause of your collision and may utilize:
- Eyewitness accounts of the accident
- Any video of the collision
- Photographs of vehicular damage
- Your account of the collision
- An expert’s reconstruction of the crash
Detail Your Losses
Medical bills, images of your injuries, doctors’ records, invoices for vehicle repairs, and bank statements showing lost income all prove your losses.
A hit and run accident lawyer can also have a mental health professional evaluate you. This professional can detail the effects of the accident, provide clinical diagnoses, administer treatment, and help value the total cost of your pain and suffering.
Lead the Claims Process
While you recuperate from your injuries, a hit-and-run accident attorney will:
- Promptly file insurance claims
- Provide documentation of your losses to insurance adjusters
- Ensure the adjuster moves forward with your claim as urgently as possible
Your lawyer will also shield you from lowball offers and other bad-faith tactics.
Pursue One or More Settlements
Lawyers often try to settle their clients’ cases because this is the quickest way for hit and run accident victims to get paid. However, your attorney should fight for fair settlements from every insurance company you deal with.
Help You Determine Whether to File a Lawsuit
It may be wise to sue the fleeing motorist or other financially liable parties for your hit and run crash. If so, your lawyer will file suit and complete any necessary trial on your behalf.
Damages You Could Pursue After a Hit and Run Accident
In large part, hit and run accident victims hire lawyers to seek fair compensation for their losses, which might include:
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Lost income
- Vehicle repairs
- Temporary transportation costs
If a hit and run motorist is responsible for a loved one’s death, a wrongful death lawyer will demand accountability for your family’s loss. You might face devastating damages that include funeral costs, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and loss of financial support due to their sudden passing.
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Call Kaine Law Today for Your Free Consultation About Hiring a Hit and Run Attorney
The Kaine Law team has earned notable case results for hit and run accident victims. We will listen to your story, address your concerns, and build a case that is consistent with your goals and financial needs.
You don’t pay us attorney’s fees unless we secure compensation for you—and that fee does not come out of your pocket. So, call Kaine Law today for your free consultation about hiring a hit and run accident lawyer.
Call or text 404-214-2001 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
