A car accident can leave you with many life complications: pain, medical bills, lack of transportation, and lost wages. These harms and others can negatively impact your life, leaving you overwhelmed and in need of help.
Often, you imagine that help will come from an insurance company. After all, insurance companies exist to help those in need—or so you may have thought.
Sadly, many accident victims encounter frustrating insurance companies that refuse to pay fairly.
If you are struggling to get the accident compensation you need, you should contact our Fairfield car accident lawyers.
At Wells Call Injury Lawyers, our personal injury lawyers have been helping car accident victims for nearly 40 years.
Contact us today to meet at one of our Bay Area offices to find out if we can help you too.
What Are Common Causes of Car Accidents in Fairfield?
California’s roadways are crowded. As one of the nation’s most populous states, California hosts many locals and visitors who don’t always drive safely.
If you’ve encountered an unsafe driver, you may have experienced the consequences of their negligence.
Fatal Accident Factors
Fairfield experiences its share of serious roadway accidents, evidenced by these statistics from 2017:
- 5 fatal accidents,
- 2 drunk driving fatal accidents,
- 5 fatalities, and
- 1 fatal pedestrian accident.
Common myths surrounding serious accidents include the belief that they take place at night or in foggy weather. That isn’t always true.
Analyzing decades of Fairfield accident statistics revealed these insights:
- Most fatal accidents take place in the day,
- Most fatal collisions occur in clear weather,
- Monday is the most common day for fatal accidents, and
- More fatal accidents happen in November.
Of course, you can’t always avoid driving at these peak accident times. Even when you employ safe driving techniques, someone else’s bad decision may cause a wreck.
Car Crash Causes
In addition to Solano County fatalities, many drivers and passengers are injured each year. Some of these injuries are life-altering.
Many factors can play a role in car crashes, though car accidents in Fairfield usually occur for these reasons:
- Drunk driving,
- Distracted driving (such as texting and driving),
- Speeding,
- Exhaustion, and
- Poor weather conditions.
Every driver on a California roadway has the duty to follow traffic laws and drive responsibly.
If a driver breaks laws or does not show caution toward others, it can result in an accident. In such a case, the negligent driver should be held responsible for the harm they caused.
Should I Hire a Lawyer After a Car Accident?
After an accident, you should contact your insurance company. If you are at fault, they will likely provide an attorney to defend you.
On the other hand, if you file a claim, realize that insurance companies are in the business of making money.
When they pay you for an accident, it reduces their profits. So don’t expect insurance companies to be overly generous with a settlement offer.
To give yourself a chance at maximum accident compensation, contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Your car accident lawyer in Fairfield, CA, can investigate the accident, interview witnesses, and gather essential evidence to back your claim.
When you contact an attorney quickly, while evidence is still available, they have the opportunity to build a strong case. If you wait too long to contact an attorney, valuable evidence may be lost or destroyed.
You also risk running afoul of the statute of limitations, which is usually two years from the date of your car accident injury.
Once your attorney understands the facts of your accident and has determined total damages, they will negotiate with the insurance company for a settlement.
While you might be intimidated by the insurance company’s corporate-speak, your attorney won’t be. Hiring an attorney gives you access to a skilled negotiator who will pressure the insurance company for every dollar you deserve.
How Big of a Settlement Should You Expect for a Car Accident?
When you meet with a car accident attorney for a consultation, they will help you calculate the damages sustained in your accident. These damages account for two types of harm you may have suffered in the accident:
- Financial losses like medical bills, lost wages, and car repairs; and
- Intangible harm like pain and suffering or changes in your lifestyle.
At Wells Call Injury Lawyers, our personal injury attorneys calculate damages that you have suffered and that you expect to suffer, backed by evidence like invoices and pay stubs.
Then we write a demand letter, requesting this monetary amount from the insurance company.
However, our attorneys cannot guarantee you a potential settlement amount. We can promise to work diligently on your behalf in an effort to obtain maximum compensation.
We back that promise with our commitment not to charge you any fees until we win your case. Since we take an agreed-upon percentage of your award, it is to your advantage and ours for us to negotiate a substantial settlement.
Standard insurance company practice involves multiplying financial damages by two or three to compensate for your pain and suffering.
If an insurance company uses such a formula and you suffered $10,000 in financial damage, you could expect the insurance company to offer $20,000 to $30,000 as a settlement.
Medical expenses tend to sway insurance companies to multiply your damages by a greater factor. An insurance company is always trying to weigh the short term cost of a settlement against the risk of a pricey jury verdict at trial.
Our car accident attorneys help you weigh these same factors as you decide when and if to accept the insurance company’s settlement offer.
The decision to settle is always yours alone to make, though we’re here to offer you guidance and answer your questions.
How Long Does It Usually Take to Settle a Car Accident Lawsuit?
You want a maximum settlement, and you want it quickly. We understand that. You have bills to pay, and you need income. However, the compensation amount and time are often inversely proportional.
That means if you want to settle quickly, you might need to accept a lower amount than you could get with more patience.
Of course, our attorneys work to settle your case as efficiently as possible. No one wants a lengthy, emotionally taxing trial that delays your payment for years.
Nonetheless, we always want the insurance company to know that we’re willing to take your case to trial. This tactic can give us the advantage in negotiations.
Your case timeline depends on several factors:
- The strength of evidence to support your claim,
- The willingness of the insurance company to cooperate,
- Possible negative publicity for the insurance company, and
- Your settlement goals.
On average, cases can take from months to years to settle. A simple claim backed by plenty of clear-cut evidence is likely to result in the fastest settlement.
However, a more contentious claim that goes to trial can stretch out for years. We’ll work with you to achieve your goals in an expedited manner when possible.
Consult Our Fairfield Car Accident Lawyers Today
If you need a car accident lawyer, Fairfield, CA, features many choices. However, you’ll find a local, personalized difference at Wells Call Injury Lawyers.
Our firm has a long history in this community, and we care deeply about our neighbors. Since we work in the Bay Area, we know traffic patterns on area roadways, and we know the local courts.
With local offices and a commitment to our community, we offer personalized representation that you won’t find with a big impersonal firm. We aren’t satisfied until we get you the settlement you deserve.
Contact us today for a free consultation, where you can get to know us and ask us any questions about accident compensation.