Edwardsville Car Accident Lawyer

Edwardsville Car Accident Attorney

A car accident can be the most traumatizing event of your life, or it could be a mild annoyance on your way to work. It depends entirely on the circumstances surrounding the crash itself and how the aftermath is handled legally. Dealing with the stress of a car accident claim on your own can be its own source of stress. Fortunately, you do not have to take it on by yourself. If you have been involved in a car accident, you may want to speak to an Edwardsville car accident lawyer.

Under Illinois state law, nearly every driver in the state is required to carry insurance, particularly liability insurance. Just in case a car accident were to happen, it is important that everybody involved is properly insured. In the event that you suffer severe injuries, you may want to reach out to an Edwardsville personal injury lawyer and see if you have a claim strong enough to pursue a personal injury case.

Common Injuries From a Car Accident

Regrettably, you don’t always see a car accident coming. They can be unpredictable and often cause serious injury and emotional damage. The injuries that you can get from a car accident are not always the ones you might expect. Some are more common than others, but it largely depends on the accident at hand. The following are some of the more common injuries that you might sustain from a car accident:

• Whiplash: Whiplash is one of the more common injuries that one can sustain from a car accident. Whiplash occurs when you very suddenly and forcibly jerk your neck, resulting in an injury that can vary from mild to severe, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Some whiplash injuries may require years of continuous physical therapy to recover from, while the most severe may not be recoverable at all.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: A particularly bad accident can injure the spinal cord, which can cause a series of brutal health problems that could last the rest of your life. The spinal cord’s primary role in the body is to send messages to and from the brain. If the spinal cord is injured or severed, it can cause partial or full paralysis throughout the body. Spinal cord injuries are often irreversible and catastrophic.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Car accidents remain one of the more common causes of traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. These often catastrophic injuries occur when you suffer an aggressive blow to the head or suffer some sort of penetrating trauma to the brain, like a stabbing or gunshot wound. A bad car accident can cause sudden blunt-force trauma that results in a significant head injury.
• Internal Bleeding: In the aftermath of a car accident, you may be feeling a great deal of shock. In that shock, you may not realize if you are experiencing any internal injuries. That’s why it is vital that you see a medical professional as soon as you can. They may diagnose internal injuries, such as internal bleeding, that you were not even aware of, as the damage may not have manifested externally.
• Second- and Third-Degree Burns: The aggressive force of a car accident can cause the vehicle or the surrounding area to catch fire. The resulting fire can cause severe burns to any occupants or pedestrians. The more severe a burn is, the worse the effect it may have on the body and your overall physical health. In the worst cases, you may require skin grafts or significant surgery to heal appropriately.
• Amputations: In the most severe car accident situations, you could find yourself crushed within or beneath a vehicle. This might result in a devastating crush or laceration injury to a limb. In the worst instances, the only way for you to heal is for a doctor to amputate the damaged limb. Amputations can have lasting emotional and mental pain alongside the physical limitations.
• Broken Bones: Broken bones are fairly common in car accidents, particularly rough ones. The way you might have been seated in the vehicle and the force of the collision can be the deciding factors in a broken bone injury. Broken legs, arms, ankles, wrists, ribs, and hands are all common injuries that often heal but typically require a long road to recovery.
• Road Rash: Road rash occurs when someone is dragged across the pavement. One of the most important things you can do when you are in any kind of vehicle is to fasten your seatbelt. Failure to do so can make a bad car accident a tragic one. In a head-on collision or a rollover, you could be ejected from the vehicle if you are not wearing a seatbelt. Your injuries could be grave, and you will likely suffer road rash.
• PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a mental condition that is often diagnosed in people who survive traumatic situations, such as a serious car accident. It affects people differently, and treatment could be long-lasting. You could develop this condition after surviving a car accident, and it may encourage you to pursue damages for emotional distress in your car accident claim.

Ultimately, the types and severity of injuries you sustained are important, as they will play a large role in determining the amount of compensation you can recover. An attorney in Edwardsville can help you determine an appropriate amount to compensate you for your injuries.

Your Lawyer’s Investigation

When you hire an experienced car accident lawyer, they are likely going to want to launch their own investigation into the accident so they can determine the facts of the case for themselves. This will also help them to understand your side of the story better and allow them to get a handle on the situation as a whole. Here are some of the factors they may consider when developing their investigation:

• Medical Records: If you went to a doctor’s office after your accident and received help from a medical professional, your medical records will reflect that fact. Seeking professional medical help can be beneficial not just to your ongoing health but to your case.
• Police and Crash Reports: Whenever a driver is involved in a serious accident in Illinois, state law demands that they file a crash report with the proper authorities. If the crash resulted in someone’s death, serious injury, or at least $1,500 in property damage, there will likely be a report of the accident, which can be strong support for your accident claim.
• Gathered Evidence: If you were able to take many photos of the accident scene, your lawyer can use these for your case. Make sure you take plenty of pictures of your injuries, damage done to every vehicle involved, the state of the road, and any property damage that may have occurred. Be sure to interview any credible witnesses as well. Your lawyer will likely follow up with them.

Edwardsville Car Accident Lawyer FAQs

Q: How Long Do You Have to Report a Car Accident in Illinois?

A: Under Illinois state law, you have ten days to report a car accident to the proper authorities. If a police officer does not appear at the scene of the accident and file their own police report about the incident, you have ten days to do it yourself. You can report it to the police or to the Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT). If you fail to file the report within the ten-day time limit, you could suffer serious legal repercussions.

Q: Can a Driver Complete a Crash Report Themselves?

A: In Illinois, drivers can complete crash reports themselves if the crash meets certain criteria. The crash must have involved a single vehicle and have happened on an interstate or Illinois Route. It must have also only caused property damage. Local authorities must be contacted to complete a report if any injuries resulted from the crash.

Q: Are Illinois Drivers Required to Have Car Insurance?

A: Illinois drivers are required to have liability insurance, at a minimum. This coverage protects other drivers if you cause an accident and will also protect you if you are struck by an uninsured motorist. Illinois drivers are not required to have other types of auto insurance, such as collision or comprehensive; however, many motorists believe this extra protection is worth the extra cost.

Q: How Is Car Insurance Verified in Illinois?

A: Car insurance is verified and enforced with an electronic insurance verification process. If your insurance cannot be verified with this electronic process, your registration is likely to be suspended until you can provide proof of insurance. If you were not insured when the verification process began, you would be required to show proof of insurance and pay a fine to reinstate your registration.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Today

Dealing with the damages, the injuries, and the emotional stress of a car accident can be immeasurably frustrating. Thankfully, it is not something you have to deal with on your own. Reach out to the legal team at Joshua R. Evans, Attorney at Law, to learn how we can help you build your case and ensure you can hold the negligible parties accountable.