In the aftermath of a car accident, you will have a lot of concerns that need to be addressed. Many of those will be financial, such as paying for the repair or replacement of your vehicle, paying your medical bills if you were injured, and worrying about lost wages if you are unable to work for a period of time. Fortunately, you will not have to worry about any of those problems if the accident was not your fault. That is because the insurance company of the at-fault driver should provide you with compensation that can cover those expenses.
However, the driver and their insurance company might dispute your claim and either refuse to settle with you or offer you a settlement amount that is too low. That is why you need to retain a car accident attorney if you plan to file a personal injury claim against the driver responsible for the accident. If you live in the Orlando area, then car accident lawyers Fasig and Brooks can provide the experienced legal help that you need.
Table of Contents
Why Legal Disputes Take Place
Car accident legal disputes are all about liability, meaning who is at fault for the accident. Whoever is at fault is financially responsible for the expenses of the other driver, which is why responsibility is usually disputed in car accidents. No one wants to admit that they are at fault and pay for the accident-related expenses of the other driver. That is especially the case for insurance companies. They will dispute the claims and do everything in their power to either reduce the settlement amount or avoid paying a settlement altogether. The more money that is involved, the more likely that a dispute will take place. That is why a car accident attorney is necessary; they can help to resolve disputes between the two parties and they are the best chance that the resolution will be in your favor.
Damages Disputes
One of the most important parts of a personal injury claim is documenting your damages and presenting them to the insurance company. Those damages include your medical records, your repair bills, and so on. They show the losses that you suffered as a result of the accident. However, in some cases the insurance company will dispute those damages and refuse to accept them. The most common type of damage dispute is about medical treatments. The insurance company may claim that your injuries were pre-existing and were not caused by the accident.
They might also try to claim that some of the treatment you received was unnecessary or that you did not follow the doctor’s orders. The insurance company might even say that since you did not complain about any injuries at the time of the crash, any injuries you are now experiencing were not a result of the accident. You can use your medical records as proof that any treatment you received was necessary or that some injuries do not manifest immediately after an accident.
Liability Disputes
This is another common dispute since the insurance company will always want to pay as little as possible or avoid paying anything at all. As a result they will try to reduce or deny the responsibility of the driver they have insured. They will try to claim that you were solely or partially to blame for the accident. If you are the one responsible, then they will not have to pay anything. If you were partially at fault, then they will only have to pay the percentage of the amount for which you were at fault.
That is what happens in states that have comparative negligence. That means if a driver is deemed to be partially at fault for an accident that injured them, they will only be awarded a percentage of what would be their full award. This percentage is based on their percentage of responsibility. So if they would have received $1000 in damages, but the courts determine that they were 25% responsible for the accident, they will receive 75% of the damages, which in this case is $750. So if the insurance company can prove that you were partially at fault for the accident, they will not have to pay the full amount of your settlement.
Hire a Lawyer to Resolve Disputes in Your Favor
These disputes have one purpose: to reduce or deny the compensation that you are owed. In order to have these disputes resolved in your favor, you will need the help of a car accident attorney. That is one of the reasons why you should contact one as soon as you can after you have been in a car accident. They can calculate how much compensation that you are owed and fight back against the insurance company if they reject or attempt to reduce that offer. So do not hesitate to contact a car accident lawyer if you want the best chance of receiving the compensation that you need.
