Baton Rouge Car Accident Lawyers
Miller & Hilgendorf is an experienced Baton Rouge car accident law firm. Our Baton Rouge car accident attorneys will fight for the rights of those who have experienced property loss, bodily injury, catastrophic injury, or fatal injury in car crashes. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) most recent data, nearly 800 people in Louisiana were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Our Baton Rouge car accident attorneys have more than 55 years of combined experience representing the survivors of car accidents and their families.
Car accident attorneys are instrumental in the recovery of damages to address short term and/or lifelong residual personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death losses. Overwhelming losses after a car accident can include financial debt related to medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or funeral expenses, when a car accident-related untimely death occurs prolonging fiscal and emotional recovery. If you or someone you love was hurt in a car crash in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, you, and your family may be entitled to seek monetary damages. Miller & Hilgendorf are Baton Rouge, Louisiana car accident lawyers that may be able to help you.
Damages.
A car accident attorney will review the damage valuation determinations for auto insurance claims requiring the payment of:
- Compensatory damages for economic losses including lost wages, medical bills, medical care, and treatment, plus household expenses and non-economic losses that include pain and suffering, loss of consortium, or companionship.
- Punitive damages when a car accident lawyer can prove that a defendant deliberately, with reckless disregard, acted in a manner to cause harm to another person, punitive damages may be awarded based on the specifics of a case.
Limited time to initiate legal action.
You should be aware of time constraints for initiating legal action. Louisiana statute requires that personal injury lawsuits for injuries caused by negligence, misconduct, or malpractice must be filed within one year from when the injury was sustained, discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable care.
How a Baton Rouge Car Accident Lawyer Can Help After an Accident
A Baton Rouge car wreck lawyer can assist you with various aspects of your car accident claim. Our attorneys can evaluate the crash to determine who may have been at fault and identify all possible “at fault” parties to determine the best fiscal outcomes for you by pinpointing degrees of shared fault among multiple negligent parties after an accident. This might mean that more than one insurance carrier will have to pay for damage claims. Once this determination is made, the total damages will be calculated toward an award for the accident victim. Negligent parties may include more than one person in many instances.
Case building activities.
Baton Rouge accident attorneys will streamline the processes of investigating the accident, valuating the damages, and recovering insurance settlements, or court awards in a timely manner. Legal counsel will review your medical bills, rehabilitation expenses, diagnoses, and other information to estimate the value of your claim. Accident victims may seek additional damages for pain and suffering, especially if they experienced a serious or permanently disabling injury.
Understanding the value of your claim as estimated by your car wreck lawyer can have other benefits as well. When negotiating with car insurance companies, it helps to know what your claim might be worth. Miller & Hilgendorf are car accident lawyers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana/ that can review the information surrounding your accident, negotiate with insurance companies, and provide insurance adjusters with the information they need to properly adjust your claim.
Car insurance in Louisiana.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident in the State of Louisiana, where 768 related deaths occurred in 2018, you may have questions about how the laws will affect property damage and personal injury claims. An experienced attorney can help with the intricacies of a complex accident case that may have criminal components for reckless driving, distracted driving, or driving under the influence, which may affect insurance coverages, degrees of fault and the severity of the accident damages toward a timely award.
Louisiana is a third party liability state with regard to car accidents, and follows the pure comparative negligence rule, where an accident victim may seek compensation after a judge, or jury has assigned fault.
Insurance companies have an obligation to settle your claim in accordance with the law. However, sometimes insurance adjusters try to find the lowest possible settlement permitted under the law. Individuals and families may not always realize when they are entitled to seek more. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana car wreck attorney at Miller & Hilgendorf may be able to help you negotiate the car insurance claim process.
Do I Have a Car Accident Claim in Baton Rouge?
Whether you can file a car accident claim will depend on several factors. First, you’ll need to determine who was at fault for your accident. The negligent party is generally responsible for paying for a victim’s damages. However, negligence law in Louisiana can sometimes be complex. What happens if you are partially at fault, but the other party is more at fault? What happens if both parties are blaming each other and police are unsure as to who is at fault? The Baton Rouge, Louisiana auto accident lawyers at Miller & Hilgendorf may be able to help you resolve these questions. Our lawyers can review the details of your police report, speak to witnesses, and review tapes and other evidence to determine who may have been negligent in your accident.
Another factor that plays an important role in car accident claims is the value of the claim and whether the other party is insured, under-insured or can pay the claim out of pocket. The Baton Rouge auto accident lawyers at Miller & Hilgendorf can review your damages, bills, and other evidence and estimate the value of your claim. We can evaluate your case to identify stakeholders who may be responsible for paying for your damages, including negligent drivers, insurers, and any other parties who might be responsible.
Have questions about a car accident claim? Want to learn more about your rights after a car accident? Do you want to learn about whether you have a valid car accident claim? Miller & Hilgendorf are car accident lawyers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that may be able to help you. Reach out to our attorneys today.
Steps to Take After a Baton Rouge Car Accident
There are several things you can do after a Baton Rouge car accident to protect your rights. First, seek medical attention for yourself or any injured persons. Call the police and make a police report. Exchange information with the other driver or drivers, including insurance information, phone numbers, and descriptions of the other driver’s vehicle. Contact your insurance company to let your insurer know that an accident has taken place. Many insurance companies require that you inform them about an accident right away.
After securing the accident site and seeking emergent medical attention, a victim may think about suing the other driver for damages. Experienced car accident attorneys can assist with legal actions that may follow car accidents, including filing claims, addressing insurance claim denials, preparing damage valuations for insurance settlements based on policy limitations and coverages; and lawsuits, depending upon the ability to prove negligence in alignment with Louisiana State laws. If you have questions about your car accident claim, reach out to Miller & Hilgendorf, auto accident lawyers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Auto Accident Lawyers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident in the State of Louisiana, where 768 related deaths occurred in 2018, you may have questions about how the laws will affect property damage and personal injury claims. Car accident lawyers will work through the intricacies of a complex accident case that may have criminal components for reckless driving, distracted driving, or driving under the influence, which may affect insurance coverages, degrees of fault and the severity of the accident damages toward a timely award.
Louisiana is a third party liability state with regard to car accidents, and follows the pure comparative negligence rule, where an accident victim may seek compensation after a judge, or jury has assigned fault.
If you or a loved one was hurt due to another person’s actions behind the wheel, you may be struggling with anger, stress from medical expenses, strain from missed time at work, and you may be wondering what next steps you should take. Miller & Hilgendorf is an experienced auto accident law firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana whose lawyers work closely with victims, families, and survivors of car accidents to help them seek justice and compensation for their injuries. They can take over communications with insurance adjusters to ascertain whether or not settlement offers are fair. Baton Rouge car accident attorneys can also build strong civil suits building upon criminal charges when you have been hurt by a drunk or distracted driver and want to seek justice. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana auto wreck law firm Miller & Hilgendorf may be able to answer questions about insurance claims processes, methods to value comprehensive damages, and initiate litigation when it is warranted.
Car Crash Injury Claims in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Car accidents can leave victims with devastating and life-altering injuries. These injuries can leave individuals out of work or result in weeks or months of rehabilitative care. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a car accident, contact the Baton Rouge, Louisiana auto wreck lawyers at Miller & Hilgendorf. Different types of car crashes correlate with varying levels of severe bodily injury and property damage. Our firm can help you plan the next steps forward. Here are some common car accident injuries we see:
- Rear-end crashes are a common type of accident in Louisiana that can result in very serious physical injury. Causes of rear-end crashes may be fatigued driving, distracted driving, using a cellular device and texting while driving. Accident victims should remember that rear-end collisions lead to serious injury causing whiplash, or spine and head injury that may not present itself until a later time. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal injury, it is important to consider speaking to car accident attorneys at Miller & Hilgendorf in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, living with paralysis can cost victims and families close to $200,000 each year. You may be able to seek a recovery for these costs through insurance or from negligent parties after a crash. It is wise to seek a medical screening and consult with car accident lawyers in Louisiana to explore legal options to cover harmful losses.
- Highway accidents can result in catastrophic physical injury and increased property damage because of the high speeds maintained on larger roadways. These types of collisions may result in internal bleeding which may require surgery, disfigurement that can leave victims burned, scarred, or suffering from loss of limb, requiring reconstructive surgery. Damage to one’s appearance can be emotionally and physically devastating. If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of this type of injury, negligent parties may be responsible for covering medical expenses, reconstructive costs, and lost wages.
- Head-on crashes often occur because of a reckless driver, or some other reason that a vehicle would be headed down a roadway in the wrong direction. Head-on collisions may lead to serious injury, or wrongful death because of the force and weight of the colliding vehicles. Head-on crashes result in serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI), concussions, bone fractures, spinal injury, loss of limb, and vision complications. According to the Centers for Disease Control, symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury can include memory difficulties, changes in sight or balance, problems with language, or mood changes. Individuals may also suffer from sleep problems. If you or a loved one has developed these symptoms after a car accident, contact the car wreck law firm at Miller & Hilgendorf today. We can help you seek the medical care you may need and help you fight for the recovery you may deserve under the law.
- Intersection crashes can result in side-impact T-bone collisions, or broadside accidents where someone may run a signal and make impact with the side of a vehicle; rear-end crashes may also occur from distracted drivers who are texting, talking, or just not paying attention to cars in front of them; and head-on impacts occur even though traffic lights and signs are present. Reckless, or speeding drivers cause significant damage to a non-moving car at a traffic signal. If a traffic signal is broken, or there is some other safety malfunction caused by the government entity charged with maintaining the roadway, another party may be named in a negligence claim.
- Hit-and-run accidents are illegal and drivers are never supposed to leave the scene of an accident in Louisiana. Legal consequences to a hit-and-run driver are in line with the extent of injury and damages caused by the accident.
In the aftermath of an automobile wreck, you may not always know what steps to take or where you should turn. However, if you’ve been hurt, you may be entitled to seek a recovery to cover your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages. Miller & Hilgendorf is a auto wreck law firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana who can help you seek the maximum possible recovery permitted under the law.
Legal action after an accident.
Louisiana accident victims do not have to deal directly with insurance companies toward resolving damage losses. Experienced car accident lawyers can carry that burden and save time, reduce stress, and point accident victims on the right path toward a comprehensive financial award.
Fight for Your Rights After a Car Accident in Baton Rouge Louisiana
Insurance adjusters may base your settlement on estimates and computer programs that may not account for all your medical expenses or losses. Negligent parties may fight to avoid taking responsibility for your injuries. If you’ve been hurt in a crash due to another driver’s negligence or neglect, you have important rights under the law. By seeking damages, you are sending a strong message to the community that speeding, reckless driving, distracted driving, drunk driving, and other unsafe driving behaviors won’t be tolerated. However, you may only have a limited amount of time to seek a claim. Louisiana’s statute of limitations law requires individuals to seek damages within one year of injury. Call Miller & Hilgendorf, car accident attorneys in Baton Rouge, Louisiana today at 225-343-2205 to learn more about your options under the law. We can answer your questions and help you understand the next steps to take to protect your rights and seek the damages you may be entitled to receive.
The Experience To Answer Your Questions
At Miller & Hilgendorf, we have more than 55 years of combined experience representing the survivors of car accidents and their families. We focus on only personal injury law, so we have a very thorough understanding of your legal issues. Our Baton Rouge-based attorneys understand the confusion that can accompany the aftermath of a serious crash. To help you, we have answered some of the questions that we hear most often from our prospective clients.
What is the deadline for filing a claim?
In Louisiana, you have only one year from the date of your accident to file a personal injury claim. If you miss this important deadline, you forfeit your right to recover compensation through a lawsuit.
Can I sue for pain and suffering after an accident?
Pain and suffering is a common damage claimed after a motor vehicle accident. To calculate pain and suffering damages, insurance companies consider factors such as the change to your daily life, your level of mobility, disability or disfigurement, and your ability to enjoy life.
What are punitive damages in an injury claim?
In a personal injury lawsuit, punitive damages are damages that the court awards the plaintiff as a way to punish the defendant for their negligence. In Louisiana, punitive damages can only be awarded in an accident case if the driver at fault was intoxicated.
Do I really need to hire an attorney?
Having a lawyer on your side means the difference between an unfair settlement and a fair one. Insurance companies care only about their profits, not helping victims. You need a lawyer who understands their tactics and can advocate on your behalf.
How should I choose an attorney?
When it comes to hiring counsel, there is no substitute for experience and results. The more experience and cases handled, the better understanding your team has when it comes to your own case. You should also look for a firm that has a record of positive outcomes.
Ask For An Initial Consultation With A Knowledgeable Lawyer
These are probably only a few questions that you have. To ask more from an attorney, reach out to us at 225-343-2205 or send us an email. We provide free, no-risk, no-obligation initial consultations.