The Other Driver Admitted Fault. What’s Holding Up My Car Crash Settlement?

One reason for these delays is the difference between fault and liability. A fault admission at the scene, or even a third-party fault determination at the scene, isn’t the last word in these matters. Additionally, the quick and easy path, which in this case is a fast settlement, usually leads to a bad place. More on these things below.

The average medical bills in a car crash case exceed $40,000. Most group health insurance plans exclude injury-related costs. So, without a significant settlement, a victim could be financially responsible for all these medical bills, in addition to property damage and other accident-related costs.

A personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles cannot guarantee a large settlement, or any settlement for that matter. But an attorney can guarantee to take your case seriously, evaluate it thoroughly, follow through with that evaluation, and not settle for anything less than the best possible result under the circumstances. Quite frankly, these are the best guarantees a car crash victim could possibly receive.

Car Crash Injuries

Everything starts with injuries in car crash settlement matters. Medical bills are usually the largest component of economic losses. Furthermore, the higher the medical bills, the more money the victim is entitled to, in terms of compensation for noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Today’s cars and trucks are bigger and faster than ever before. So, the injuries crash victims sustain are usually worse than ever before. These injuries include:

• Broken Bones: The extreme motion of a crash usually shatters bones, typically arm and/or leg bones. Doctors must use metal parts, like screws and plates, to surgically reconstruct these bones. The complex procedure drives up medical bills and intensifies emotional distress.
• TBIs: Car crashes normally cause mTBIs (moderate traumatic brain injuries) or sTBIs (severe traumatic brain injuries). mTBIs, or concussions, could lead to serious complications, such as CTE. sTBIs are always permanent, because dead brain cells don’t regenerate, and are often fatal.
• PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a physical brain injury. Extreme stress, like the stress of a car wreck, triggers a chemical imbalance inside the brain. Signs of this imbalance include hypervigilance, anger, nightmares, depression, and other classic PTSD symptoms.

These injuries are not only expensive. They’re also difficult to diagnose and treat. Thankfully, a California personal injury lawyer connects crash victims with doctors who focus on injury-related matters and normally charge nothing upfront.

Fault and Liability

Fault is a preliminary determination based solely on the evidence immediately available at the scene. Liability is a final determination based on all evidence as well as applicable legal theories. So, a driver could be at fault for a wreck and not liable for damages, like a football team could have a halftime lead and lose the game.

Additional witness statements may be the most common, and compelling, subsequent evidence in car crash matters. For various reasons, most people don’t loiter at accident scenes and voluntarily give statements to police officers. So, eyewitness evidence is initially thin or even nonexistent.

A Los Angeles personal injury attorney, often working in partnership with a private investigator, locates additional witnesses and listens to their stories. A witness may have only seen part of the crash. But that testimony could be the critical missing piece of the puzzle.

Legal theories often come into play as well, especially since California is a comparative fault state. The last clear chance doctrine is a good example.

Assume Lisa mistook an entrance ramp for an exit ramp and she was driving on the wrong side of the road. If Anna saw Lisa coming and failed to avoid the wreck, perhaps by changing lanes or speeds, Anna had the last clear chance to avoid a crash. Therefore, Anna is liable for damages, even though Lisa was going the wrong way.

The Settlement Process

Another reason for delay is that meaningful settlement negotiations cannot begin until medical treatment is at least substantially complete. If a case settles too early, the settlement might not include enough money for future medical expenses and other future costs. As a result, the victim is financially responsible for such expenses.

Moreover, most insurance companies initially make low-ball offers. The large gap between a fair settlement and the insurance company’s offer delays the process even further.

Most vehicle collision claims don’t settle until mediation, which occurs just before trial. A third-party mediator, who is usually an unaffiliated personal injury attorney, ensures that both sides negotiate in good faith. The court supervision element means that mediation is usually successful in California.

Car crash victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in California, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.