CAR ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT LAWYER USA
A US car accident settlement can be a complex legal matter requiring an experienced attorney to guide you through the insurance jungle. Determining the amount a motor case is worth is not a simple formula but is usually resolved by the insurance company and the attorney reaching agreement after detailed consideration of case law as to what a jury would award if the matter went to court.
Without advice from an attorney most insurance companies will try to convince you that your claim isn't worth much. Remember that an insurance company’s first duty lies with increasing profits for its' shareholders. The amount that a client will receive in a car accident settlement depends upon the severity of the injury, the length and type of treatment, the recovery period and the amount of permanent damage. Consideration is given to change in lifestyle or necessary change in employment due to injury.
Our specialist personal injury lawyers will maximize your car accident settlement. You will be given free advice on how best to pursue your case and what actions you should take to preserve your legal rights. Our lawyers deal with car accident settlements using a contingency fee arrangement which means that if you don't succeed in receiving a settlement then your lawyer won't get paid.
For free advice without obligation from an accredited specialist personal injury attorney just complete the contact form and a member of the American Association for Justice will telephone you immediately to discuss your compensation claim.
Car Accident Statistics
The overall number of accidents involving motor vehicle collisions in the US is shocking with an unacceptably high proportion having involvement of alcohol or drugs :-
- Every year over 30,000 occupants of passenger motor vehicles are killed and almost 3,000,000 people are injured
- 60 percent of the passenger vehicle fatalities are unrestrained without the use of seatbelts
- Every year over 70,000 pedestrians are injured and over 4,000 are killed in traffic accidents representing 2 percent of all the people injured and 11 percent of all traffic fatalities
- On average a pedestrian is killed in an auto accident every two hours
- Over 600 pedal cyclists are killed and 50,000 are injured annually in motor accidents which represents 2 percent of all traffic fatalities and 2 percent of all injuries
- There are almost 3,000 motorcyclist fatalities every year which accounts for approximately 7 percent of all traffic fatalities
- Motorcyclists are 18 times as likely as passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 3 times as likely to be injured
Car Accident Settlements & Psychological Damage
Auto collisions are the most frequent kind of trauma experienced by American men and the second most frequent trauma experienced by American women. Every year over three million people are involved in automobile collisions in the US causing serious bodily injury and psychological distress. As many as a half of those injured go on to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which may interfere with their normal daily functioning and often result in substantial car accident settlements.
Psychologists Edward B. Blanchard, Ph.D., and Edward J. Hickling, Psy.D., authors of After The Crash: Assessment and Treatment of Motor Vehicle Accident Survivors, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA), have commented as follows ''Besides this being a national public health problem it is also taking a psychological toll. Not only are almost half of those involved in these incidents at a noticeable risk for developing PTSD, but there are other non symptomatic signs that affect them, like having trouble on the job and in school, maintaining friendships and not being able to enjoy leisure time.''
Most of these problems can be resolved by psychiatric cognitive behavioral treatments that involve learning how to think about the traumatic experience in a healthier way which often effectively reduces the survivors' PTSD symptoms and other psychological problems that resulted from the accident.