There are many things you should consider while choosing a car wreck attorney: including their experience in car accident cases, track record, reputation, specialized knowledge around personal injury law, communication skills, and previous client testimonials. 

  Your medical bills are one part of your damages covered by a personal injury claim. If the other driver was the cause of this accident, their liability insurance should pay your medical bills. Typically the the medical bills are paid when a claim resolves. 

An attorney working on your case will request that bill collection on your medical bill be put on hold until the case is resolved. If this happens your credit score shouldn’t be affected by an outstanding medical bill.

  Attorneys often help clients find treatment where up-front payment is not required. This assignment is sometimes called a letter of protection. A letter of protection allows those injured in a car wreck to document their injuries through medical treatment and progress their claim without generating another after-wreck expense.

Quick, Low Settlement Offers

  Within a week or two of an accident, you may receive a settlement offer from the insurance company. These fast offers are often a tactic to settle your claim for a small amount of money. The offers do not consider:

• The full extent of your future medical treatment.

• Your ongoing pain and suffering.

• All of your lost wages from time off work.

Building a Claim for Maximum Value

  A claim for all of your damages can happen within three to six months but requires careful documentation. The process is usually guided by a personal injury attorney and involves:

• Completing necessary medical care to understand the full scope of your injuries.

• Gathering medical records and bills to prove your expenses.

• Documenting your lost income and the impact of your pain and suffering.

  This process could take longer than a few months if the injury is more severe,  the claim is more complex, or there are arguments over who is at fault. If this is the case, a lawsuit may need to be filed which depending on the court’s docket could take another 6 to 12 months.

In a car accident claim, you can recover your economic damages (lost wages, property damage) and non-economic damages (emotional distress, and pain and suffering).

There is not a hard-cap to the amount you can sue for in Mississippi except for in claims against local or state government entities which are capped at $500,000 by Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-15(1)(c).

Car accident victims can present evidence at trial of every sort of damage caused by the wreck, and there is no limit on the total amount of damages which may be sought in the Circuit Courts of Mississippi, or the Federal Courts.

Mississippi does have a limitation on the amount that can be recovered for non-economic damages, being damages for things like pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

There is a $1,000,000 cap on non-economic damages for most civil lawsuits, but a cap of $500,000 in non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. This cap can be found in the Mississippi Code § 11-1-60.

Many car wreck victims ask for amounts from a few thousand dollars up to millions of dollars. As a rule of thumb, those who hire an attorney recover more.

If you have been injured in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence, engaging a personal injury lawyer is a critical step. While you focus on your recovery, your attorney acts as your advocate, navigating the complex legal process and fighting for the full compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost wages, and suffering.

Not necessarily. Whether your insurance rate goes up after a car wreck depends mostly on who was at fault for the wreck.

The insurance company will make a determination of who is at fault for the wreck and could raise a driver’s rate based on if they caused the wreck or not. If you have been involved in a wreck, your insurance company likely already knows about it. 

It’s a common myth that filing any claim will automatically lead to a rate hike, but the reality is that you will want a free consultation with a personal injury attorney to discuss your options, and make sure you are not found at fault for a wreck you did not cause.