Auto Accidents Archives | Westmoreland Injury Lawyers Blog

Ask the Local Attorneys for Car Accidents: Do I Need a Police Report?

Immediately after a car accident, you may feel stressed, anxious, or shaken, especially if it is your first time involved in one. You know you need to get a record of what happened, but your story might be different from the other driver’s. Having a police officer’s report on file can help ensure the accident is recorded accurately, which can help your lawyer navigate your car accident case and get you the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering.

When you work with local attorneys for car accidents like those at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers, you grant yourself the resources to recover from your accident with as little anxiety as possible. We have helped many people like you in Greensburg, PA, handle the consequences of their car accidents and deal with the stressors that come with such circumstances. Thanks to our experience, we have compiled some information about police reports and why they are crucial for your case after a car accident in Pennsylvania.

How Will Pennsylvania’s No-Fault Law Affect Your Car Insurance Claim?

After an accident, thinking about dealing with an insurance claim is probably the last thing on your mind. This thinking is especially true in Pennsylvania, where car insurance laws can be confusing and challenging to deal with or understand. Following a car accident, try to get in touch with an auto accident lawyer as soon as possible to help you deal with the legal aspects of the event.

At Westmoreland Injury Lawyers, we have helped many people throughout Greensburg, PA, after being involved in an accident. Car wrecks can be devastating events, but car accident victims do not have to face the aftermath alone. Let our experienced law firm help you file your car insurance claim so you can make healing your priority.

How Do You Know When You Should Hire a Car Accident Attorney?

Car accidents can be a frightening and emotional time for everyone in the vehicle, especially when there’s an injury. Unfortunately, many drivers will experience at least one serious motor vehicle accident in their lifetime. We know how overwhelming it can be to think about legal issues when trying to heal from an injury, so we want to take as much anxiety out of this situation as possible.

At Westmoreland Injury lawyers, we have helped many of our neighbors here in Greensburg, PA, through the complex process of navigating the legal system and their car accident cases after an automobile accident. When you need a car accident attorney to help you through this process, you can rely on us to get you the justice and compensation you deserve.

5 Most Common FAQs About Getting In A Fender Bender

Here at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers, one of the biggest things we do better for our Western PA neighbors is help them recover from auto accidents of all types and circumstances. This includes even the most minor fender bender situations, which can still cause extensive pain and suffering—much more frequently than many people even imagine.

Today’s post here on the blog is dedicated to answering some on the essential FAQs (frequently asked questions) we hear from prospective clients and their loved ones about so-called fender benders or minor vehicle accidents. And while these questions may seem somewhat basic on the surface, the right answers are anything but simple in many cases.

Luckily, experienced personal injury attorneys like us are here to guide you through auto accidents involving anything from distracted driving to poor road design that creates dangerous conditions for drivers. Read on for answers to your most pressing fender bender FAQs, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for a comprehensive review of your car accident details.

5 Big Tips for Filing a Car Accident Insurance Claim the Right Way

As we shared in the Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer chapter on auto injury settlements, the settlement and claims process begins at the accident scene, even before you file your car accident insurance claim.

There are many actions you need to make sure you take following an auto accident—and one big thing you need to make sure you don’t do—to set the stage for a better claims experience, whether you’ve been seriously injured or not. Today’s post offers a few tips on those actions.

Of course, sometimes, insurance companies aren’t cooperative, especially in cases where injuries are involved. They often try to close claims much too quickly, and accident victims are left with insufficient compensation for their injuries. This is why it is imperative to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer when you’re hurt in a vehicle accident.

Seeking Chiropractic Care for Auto Accident Injuries

The main reason to make sure you have adequate bodily injury liability limits set up on your auto insurance policy is to allow you to visit all the medical specialists—from life-saving surgeons to chiropractors and other therapists—who can aid your recovery from an auto accident injury.

After all, even minor fender benders can cause chronic aches and pains associated with neck trauma and whiplash injuries. And believe it or not, your seatbelt doing its job of restraining you in a collision can cause shoulder problems, which are a top complaint that chiropractic care treats for car accident victims. Deploying airbags, designed to save your life in serious crashes, can cause physical pain issues, as well.

As experienced personal injury lawyers right here in Greensburg, we can often get the best personal injury case results and most compensation following an auto injury for those who seek medical treatment promptly and who follow up with specialists, as needed.

With that in mind, today’s post gives you some insight on working with chiropractors, who have unique training to help accident victims move past their musculoskeletal pain and more on the road to recovery.

$1 Million Award for Drunken Driver Victim

At our Westmoreland Injury Lawyers law office, there are a number of things that we do better as a law firm dedicated to serving our neighbors right here in Greensburg. While we’re a small law firm, our experienced and caring personal injury attorneys have the knowledge in a variety of specialties required to win cases and get justice for clients just like you.

Have you been hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault? You’ll take a particular interest in today’s post.

This success story illustrates how our lawyers closely collaborated to get a drunk driving accident victim over $1 million for their injuries by leveraging workers’ compensation benefits, traditional personal injury law focused on auto accidents, and more.

What is Tort Law?

Tort law is the part of civil law that deals with acts or omissions that violate general social duties and cause harm—such an act or omission is called a “tort,” from words in French and Latin that mean a “wrong” or something “twisted” and unjust. In other words, if someone has wronged you, tort law might be the way to right that wrong.

But that’s a heavy definition, so let’s break it down a little bit.

You probably know you’ve been wronged because you’ve suffered some kind of harm. We usually think of physical injuries, but harm could also mean damage to or loss of property.

When someone wrongs you by not honoring an agreement you have with them, that would generally be a question for contract law, not tort law. Instead, tort law deals with actions or omissions that are wrong because society has generally decided we all have certain duties of how to treat each other even if we haven’t specifically agreed to those rules in a contract. For example, we all have duties not to punch people, steal things, or drive dangerously and cause car accidents. And notice that we usually say “acts or omissions,” because sometimes people do things they should not do, and sometimes they fail to do things they should do.

So tort law differs from contract law on the one hand, but it also differs from criminal law. If someone punches you, steals your property, or drives recklessly, they might be committing both a tort and a crime. But criminal law is about the government holding people accountable for committing wrongs against the public order, which harms society in general. The purpose of tort law is to right wrongs between private parties, mainly by making the wrongdoer compensate the victim of the tort for the injuries and other harm they suffered. The fact that it’s about disputes between private parties (individuals, but also businesses or organizations, or even the government in certain situations, such as poor road design) is what makes it part of “civil law.”

What to Know About Auto Injury Settlements

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 2

Car accidents, even when they seem minor, can cause all sorts of pain and suffering for victims. And insurance companies are infamous for treating injuries as less serious than they are. How can you be sure that the steps you’re taking to resolve your accident—beginning just moments after it has occurred—are the right ones that will help you get the compensation you need and deserve?

Our Top Tips for Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 1

Finding an experienced and compassionate personal injury lawyer who can fight for your rights when you’ve been hurt on the job, in an auto accident, or as the result of a medical mistake may seem like an intimidating or overwhelming task. However, with a little preparation and knowing the right questions to ask during an initial consultation, it doesn’t have to be.

As part of our ongoing post series, your complete guide to hiring a personal injury attorney is right here on our blog to make your search for the best personal injury lawyers easy and worry-free. Today we’re bringing you our top tips and questions to ask before and during a consultation with a prospective legal partner so you can get the most out of this conversation and ultimately hire the lawyer that’s right for you and your unique case. Here are your “must-dos.” Continue reading “Our Top Tips for Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer”