Did you know that the average cost of an auto accident in the US is around $900 per person?
Going through an auto accident is a difficult situation to be in. You may have to conduct repairs on your car or undergo medical treatments.
You may be wondering: can I receive car accident compensation? If you are looking for a way to receive money in order to stay afloat after an accident, keep reading. This article will explain if you can apply for compensation.
Questions to Ask About Car Accident Compensation Eligibility
The answer of whether you can receive car accident compensation will differ depending on your situation. These are some questions to help you find out whether car crash compensation is available for you.
What Are Your State’s Statute of Limitations?
If you want to file a car accident lawsuit, you will have to make sure you do so within your state’s statute of limitations. Most areas will allow you to sue within the first 2 or 3 years, but you can do the research and find out what applies to your state. There may be exceptional cases where you can still sue after the statute of limitations run out, but this doesn’t happen that often.
If the car accident was a recent occurrence (such as a few weeks ago), you would most likely be able to file a lawsuit.
Who Was At Fault?
One of the most important factors as to whether you will get to receive your auto accident compensation is knowing who is at fault. Some states have no-fault laws, which means that your car accident insurance company will compensate the damages no matter who’s at fault.
In other places, however, finding out who is at fault can make or break your request for compensation. Your insurance company or car accident attorney can spend time looking at the evidence before deciding whether you are likely to receive compensation. This can include looking at police reports, finding the footage of the crash, and going through witness statements.
If you are convinced that you are not at fault, make sure to gather this evidence yourself before presenting it to the relevant parties.
How Severe Were Your Injuries or Damages?
The extent of compensation you will receive will depend on the severity of the crash.
If you had to undergo medical treatments at the hospital, make sure to keep all of your medical bills. This will act as proof during your lawsuit and will increase your chances of receiving a higher settlement.
You can hire attorneys such as Barfoot and Schoettker Attorneys to advise you on how you should then proceed with requesting compensation or filing a legal claim.
What to Do After a Car Accident
A car accident can be devastating in different ways. It can wreck your finances and jeopardize your physical health.
In order to find out if you can receive car accident compensation, make sure you know your state’s regulations around the statute of limitations and at-fault issues.
Check out our blog for more helpful tips!
Wayne Probert is a senior reporter at Zobuz, covering state and national politics, and he is a grantee with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Before joining Zobuz, he worked as a freelance journalist in Kentucky, having been published by dozens of outlets including NPR, the Center for Media.