Do You Need a Lawyer With Road Rage Incidents?

Everyone you know has been in an auto accident or at least knows someone who was. Many of us know when an accident led to a tragedy, the victim’s life was extinguished too soon. In New Albany and other small towns in the Empire State, many people believe that injuries and deaths could be easily prevented if the other driver wasn’t acting in a negligent manner. What happens when the defendant in the case was an overly aggressive driver? 

Before you pursue legal action, it’s important to understand the difference between road rage and aggressive driving.

Understanding Road Rage

You want to make a case against a person who was charged with road rage as a criminal act. Another possibility is to pursue a defendant who was cited for aggressive driving as a moving traffic violation. Both of these types of legal no-nos can cause serious injury, death, and property damage. It is always up to the plaintiff and his or her attorneys, however, to show how the defendant caused injuries or death.

An accident victim has that burden of proof, which may call for extensive and sometimes costly investigation of the crash as well as compelling medical evidence. The evidence from a criminal or civil trial related to the crash certainly helps to make your case. However, some evidence related to those proceedings may not be admissible in your own jury trial when you are seeking damages from the defendant’s insurance company.

Car accident attorneys are charged with reviewing all evidence needed to build an injury claim. Before hiring lawyers for a car accident in New Albany, remember a good PI attorney assembles crash scene evidence as well as documentation from medical experts who believe that you have a permanent injury. If you consult a lawyer who seems to want to settle your claim too quickly, this isn’t in your best interest.

How Road Rage Destroys Lives

Road rage is something that usually requires testimony so that the law enforcement officers can prove that the driver was doing more than aggressive driving when he or she hit you and caused your injuries. Remember, if you are considering hiring legal representation for a personal injury case, you must be able to show that that action caused your injury.

You won’t need a guilty verdict from a criminal case to make your PI case, though. A conviction does go a long way towards establishing the defendant’s liability. If you or someone you love was hurt or killed due to road rage, contact a licensed civil trial attorney as soon as possible.

What Happens in a Personal Injury Case

To prove that you were hurt in a personal injury matter, you should look for licensed personal injury lawyers who have the experience needed to see your case through to the end. Some attorneys are only going to settle a case, while other attorneys are prepared to fight through the jury trial phase. The latter scenario is typically more costly for both the plaintiff and the defendant in a car accident case.

Building Your Case

If you do decide to hire attorneys to pursue your injury claim, your enemy is the insurance company. Attorneys need to be able to collect evidence to demonstrate how the defendant was negligent and produced these injuries that have permanently changed your life. If your lawyer is not able to find enough proof that the defendant was negligent, there is no case to pursue. It is a tricky slope to climb when you have the insurance company with greater resources to fight this claim.

How Is a Party Negligent in an Auto Accident?

Each state has its own criminal and civil laws that define how to find someone liable in a personal injury matter. They must have violated certain rules or have been expected to act in a particular way in order to be liable. If they failed to do what was reasonable and expected and then caused your injuries, you could be eligible for compensation.

Your attorney cannot make any guarantees as to what your claim might be worth or that you will recover anything in this matter. Your possible damages may include physical, emotional and financial losses.

Looking for Proof

A personal injury lawyer makes a living by working with multiple clients and building their cases over time. It doesn’t take only a few days or weeks to convince the insurance company of what your accident claim is worth. It can take years to get any compensation for you and your spouse. An attorney collects evidence from many sources, including the following:

• Police reports
• Pictures and videos of the crash site
• Surveillance footage
• Witness statements
• Opinions from various traffic crash experts
• Photos of property damage to vehicles

You don’t want to let that evidence get destroyed by hesitating to contact personal injury lawyers in your area.

How to Show Your Injuries Were Due to Negligence

In your case, a person with clear road rage may have caused your crash, but his or her insurance lawyers may be able to argue that you were also partly at fault here. You must have medical evidence of a permanent injury or a loss of function. The medical bills alone will show that you were very hurt.

You must also follow through with all your medical treatment. The jury will want to believe that your injuries were from this accident and not from a prior accident or illness, or they will not want you to receive compensation.

Seek a Free Case Evaluation

Before contacting a random lawyer found via an online search, ask people whom you know and trust about the personal injury expert they used in their road rage accident case. You want someone who is experienced in jury trials and who has won multiple verdicts for your type of crash or injury. Someone who is new to this type of civil trial law is not your best bet.

You also want to conduct an interview with the person and choose an aggressive attorney who isn’t afraid to battle with the big bad insurance companies. Get a free case evaluation today. Talking to prospective attorneys about your road rage matter does not obligate you to hire an attorney!