A car claim can only be requested by a person involved in a car accident, provided that person is not to blame for it. Whoever decides to do it will probably want to obtain the maximum amount of compensation possible, and for that he or she will have to request the services of a competent car accident specialist. Here's a hint: it's a big mistake to fully trust your insurance company's intentions. If you are aiming for decent compensation, the attorney is priceless. You know why? Because the insurance company will most likely try to minimize the consequences of the accident, with the purpose of giving you as little money as possible. Don't take it personaly, they do this in all cases, no exceptions.
But with a lawyer on your side, you are less likely to be fooled, for you are backed up by a person who has probably seen hundreds of cases like yours and knows exactly how much your accident is worth and what to do to get you your money. It is recommended that you only tell the insurance company that an accident took place, nothing more. That's until you hire the lawyer.
From that point on, it's him who will carry out the discussions with them. Who will the car claim be directed against? Probably the other driver. I'm saying this because 9 accidents out of 10 happen because of human error. There are three main types of collisions: rear end collision, side collision and head on collision. Each one is dangerous, and each one can have serious consequences on the health of the persons involved. No excuse is accepted in cases like this, and you surely won't feel sorry about the guilty driver when you ask for compensation.
A common consequence for rear end collisions is the whiplash, which can be a pretty nasty injury. It can go undetected for a period of even two years, and can have dramatic effects in time. Keeping this in mind, the first thing you should do after the accident is to gather evidence while it's still hot. Write down everything you consider important. For example, the other car's licence number, name and adress of the other driver, names and adresses of possible witnesses. This will come in handy later.
If you are lucky you will only suffer some bruises and scratches, and your car will have only a headlight broken. In this case you should probably just start the process of getting your auto accident insurance, because there's no need to get in a long boring case, to hire a lawyer, etc. Although your insurance company will try to award you the smallest compensation possible, the difference between that and the real compensation you deserve is too small to be taken into consideration.
Nevertheless, if the accident is a serious one, your car claim would better be requested with a lawyer on your side. It can take quite long, probably a few months. This is the time your lawyer needs to gather as much evidence as he can (and here's where you come in with the precious notebook you wrote on after the accident).
Then he has to prepare the statements for the insurance company, make appointments for medical visits on your behalf, etc. How much you can get is an estimation that your attorney will probably be able to tell you right from the beginning, and it's a sum that depends, of course, on the gravity of your losses. Usually, in such cases of personal injuries, lawyers work on a no win no fee basis, which basically means that they get their financial reward for representing you only if they win the case.
This should also be explained from the start, along with all other things related to this type of arrangement. In spite of the constant improvement of car safety systems, it seems like accidents are rapidly growing in numbers around the globe. It is estimated that by the year 2020, road accident deaths will be the number one in a top of preventable deaths. There's no wonder that there is a big number of specialists who handle all types of personal injury compensation cases, and those especially related to road accidents in particular. So if you are unfortunate enough to be caught in an accident because of some drunk driver, don't hesitate to make your car claim.
Accidents happen every day, don't think it can't happen to you only because you're such a prudent driver. Be prepared for anything, and by that I mean get information about how to make successful car claims. Those will help a lot.
