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The first few hours of medical treatment, a criminal case, or a legal claim for damages often greatly impact the final result.
Driver negligence or a lack of care causes many 18-wheeler accidents. In these situations, a New York personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation for victims. The choices victims make in the immediate wake of an 18-wheeler accident significantly affect their chances of obtaining maximum compensation for their serious injuries.
Say as Little as Possible
Many people apologize to the other driver or accept some of the blame for the wreck. These statements express sympathy or, hopefully, help the other driver not feel as bad about the wreck. These tendencies are natural and usually laudable. However, in the legal realm, the effect is different.
An insurance company lawyer can twist an apology or a blame-shifting statement into an admission of liability.
On a similar note, it’s important to answer questions from a doctor, emergency responder, or accident investigator briefly and concisely. Don’t volunteer information and don’t accuse the other driver of misconduct.
Crash victims shouldn’t say anything at all to the other driver’s insurance company. Telephone representatives are trained to sound affable and back victims into corners, forcing them into making incriminating statements.
All these things are easier said than done. Most victims sustain head injuries and aren’t thinking clearly in the moments following a vehicle collision.
See a Doctor
Head injury victims often don’t know the extent of their injuries. Only later, sometimes much later, do they realize how badly they got hurt.
Collision-related head injuries are especially deceptive. Many of these injuries, like whiplash, have rather mild initial symptoms. Additionally, just like many people naturally want to apologize, they naturally refuse medical treatment. They don’t want to make a fuss, or more frequently, they don’t have any money to pay for medical care.
Attorneys connect victims with doctors who know how to diagnose and treat whiplash and other collision-related injuries. As mentioned, for doctors, the first few hours after an injury are the most critical time to act. An attorney’s early intervention helps ensure that time isn’t wasted.
Consult with a Lawyer
Only a doctor can determine how badly a victim is hurt and properly treat those injuries. Likewise, only a New York personal injury attorney can determine your legal options and obtain maximum compensation in court.
Tragedies like truck crashes often have multiple causes. Even if an investigator says you were at fault for a wreck, an attorney can still obtain compensation in court, under New York’s complex comparative fault law.
Obtaining maximum compensation, like recovering from an injury, is a process. It’s almost impossible to recover from an injury without a doctor’s care. And it’s almost impossible to obtain maximum compensation without a lawyer’s guidance.
The process usually follows the same outline. Attorneys collect evidence that supports your claims and refutes insurance company defenses. Lawyers use this evidence to ascertain a claim’s settlement value. Then, an attorney uses the settlement value, which is like a new car’s sticker price, to obtain compensation in court.
This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Transportation and shipping companies are normally financially responsible for these damages in truck crash claims.
Injury victims may be entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in New York, contact Napoli Shkolnik. You have a limited amount of time to act.