CELINA, OH CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER

THE COST OF AN ACCIDENT: COMMON DAMAGES

The costs that are incurred by a victim of a car accident can fluctuate greatly. Some car accidents are minor, resulting in perhaps a few hundred dollars’ worth of vehicle damages, a single trip to the doctor for an exam, and perhaps a little shock to one’s system, but nothing more. On the other end of the spectrum, there are car accidents that are so catastrophic that they forever change the course of an individual’s life. When these crashes occur, there are many different types of damages suffered by the victim(s) that must be considered, including:

• Medical expenses. The medical expenses incurred by someone who is in a serious crash and suffers severe injuries can be astronomical, totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even if a person has health insurance, they may still have a large deductible, and their insurance company may not cover all necessary procedures and costs, such as ambulance transport.
• Lost wages. For a person who is an income-earner, being involved in a crash can mean huge monetary losses if the injuries they sustain in the crash prevent them from being able to return to work. In addition to the value of wages alone, a person may also lose any future benefits and earnings they may have accrued, such as employer contributions to a retirement account, earnings associated with a potential future promotion, and more.
• Property damage losses. If a person is seriously injured in a crash, you can bet that their vehicle will likely be totaled in the crash as well. The value of a vehicle depends on the make, model, and year of the vehicle, but can range from the low thousands to the high thousands of dollars.
• Noneconomic losses. While many of the damages that a person suffers as a result of being injured in a crash will be economic in nature, there may be serious noneconomic losses suffered, too. While it can be difficult to quantify, a person deserves to be compensated for the value of their pain, suffering, emotional distress, disability, diminished quality of life, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and other intangible losses associated with a serious crash.

WILL MY INSURANCE PAY FOR MY LOSSES?

Many people who have paid their car insurance premiums on time and in full over the years expect their insurance companies to step in an compensate them after a crash. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work this way.

The first thing that you should know is that Ohio is an at-fault state. This means that after a crash in which you are involved that is caused by another driver, the other driver’s insurance, not your own, will be responsible for paying for damages (via the driver’s liability insurance policy). If the other driver doesn’t have insurance, then, this can seriously disrupt your ability to recover compensation.

The second thing that you should know is that even if the driver does have adequate insurance coverage, their insurer may be reluctant to pay you the settlement that you deserve. While you can turn to your own insurance company for coverage depending on your policy (i.e. do you carry personal injury protection, uninsured/underinsured, or comprehensive and collision coverage?), even your own insurance company will likely be more interested in saving money than paying you what you deserve.

Because car insurance companies are usually on the lookout for ways to devalue a claim and pay a claimant far less than they deserve, it’s strongly recommended that you hire an experienced car accident lawyer.

HOW TO PROVE FAULT AFTER A CELINA, OH CAR ACCIDENT

As stated above, it is the insurance company of the at-fault driver (or the at-fault driver themselves in some cases) that will be responsible for paying for damages. As such, this requires proving the fault of the responsible driver. 

At the office of Groth & Associates, our lawyers can help you to prove fault. Our process begins with an accident investigation process, which seeks to determine the precise cause of the accident and identify all potentially liable parties. We have the resources to hire any experts necessary, including accident reconstruction experts.

In addition to investigating the accident, we will also work to collect and organize all evidence, including photos of the accident, physical damage, eyewitnesses’ testimonies, medical records, auto body shop reports, and more. 

Our job is to prove fault and to clear up any doubt in an insurer’s mind the party against whom you’re filing the claim is the party who’s responsible for your damages. 

CALL OUR LAW FIRM TODAY

After a car accident, it’s important to act quickly. The car insurance company has a right to be informed of the accident within a timely manner, the evidence must be obtained before it is destroyed, and the clock on the statute of limitations–which is two years per Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10–starts ticking on the day of the accident. 

To learn more about the claims process and how our Celina, OH accident lawyers can help, please reach out to our law firm directly or send us a message requesting a free consultation.