Car accidents are absolutely terrible to experience. Even minor accidents can be stressful and expensive. Serious accidents, on the other hand, can be life-changing and devastating.
More than 2.3 million Americans are injured annually in car accidents. In Indiana, Madison County ranks 12th out of 92 counties for the most accidents per year. This makes Anderson and the surrounding areas the site of thousands of accidents every year, many serious and some even fatal.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured or even killed in an accident, an Anderson, IN car accident lawyer can stand by you as you seek legal compensation and justice. At Yosha Law Firm, we protect your rights and help you get compensation for both your economic and non-economic damages.
We walk with accident victims through the legal process, supporting you every step of the way. We believe in providing compassionate legal services to those who are grieving, in pain, or facing significant financial burden because of a car accident that was caused by someone else.
Getting Compensation After an Anderson, IN, Car Accident
It’s not uncommon for our clients to have needed extensive hospital stays, surgeries, ongoing medical appointments, new medications, rehabilitation care (in-patient and/or outpatient), and much more. Most of our clients have missed work or have even lost the capacity to work in the future.
All of this means that car accidents take a huge toll on those who survive them, and also on the families of those who are killed.
These are some of the question we hear from our clients:
- How can I pay for all of these medical bills?
- What happens if I continue to need rehabilitation treatments?
- Will I be able to afford my medications?
- How will I make up for lost wages from missed work?
- How will my life change if I am permanently disabled from this accident?
- How can I focus on healing when I am so stressed about money?
These are the questions that drive our work as car accident attorneys. When you have been injured by someone else’s negligence, it is not fair that you have to face these serious questions and their implications.
Compensation helps. Getting appropriate compensation, instead of the minimal amount that the other party’s insurance likely offered, alleviates these stressful questions and allows you to focus on your recovery.
Any time someone’s injuries were caused by another person’s careless or negligent behavior, they deserve compensation for these damages!
About Car Accident Laws in Anderson, Indiana
Every state has its own set of laws governing car accidents and personal injury cases. Working with an attorney will ensure that you have the most accurate and up-to-date information about Indiana’s car accident laws.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you need to know before filing a car accident case.
Indiana is an “at-fault state.”
When an accident occurs in Indiana, the party who was most responsible for the accident is also primarily responsible for paying damages. Anyone who is 51% or more responsible for a car accident can be held accountable in a car accident claim.
Additionally, the at-fault party is not necessarily another driver. For example, a city could fail to properly warn drivers of hazardous road conditions. In that case, any accident caused by the city’s failure to notify drivers could make the city culpable in a lawsuit.
More than one driver can be found to be at fault.
In Indiana, multiple parties can be found liable for an accident, including two or more drivers. That is because Indiana has a “comparative negligence” rule.
If you can demonstrate that the other party was at least 51% responsible for the accident, you can file a claim. However, the other insurance company may try to argue that you were partially responsible, too. They do this so that they can reduce the total compensation package that they expect to pay out.
If the judge or jury determined that you shared some of the responsibility, your payout would be reduced by the amount that you were responsible. For example, if you were 20% responsible, then your payout would be reduced by 20%.
You have to file your lawsuit within 2 years of the accident.
Indiana’s statute of limitations allows for lawsuits to be filed for up to two years after an accident. This is the case for all personal injury lawsuits, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents.
It is always better to start the process as early as possible, because these cases take a long time to prepare for. Additionally, it is often easier to collect evidence and witness statements before a lot of time has passed.
Using an Anderson, IN, Car Accident Attorney to Prove Negligence
You can’t file a lawsuit against just anyone after an accident. You can only seek compensation from individuals who were responsible for your injuries because of their action or inaction.
Your car accident attorney is responsible for proving that another party was negligent, and therefore at fault for the accident and liable for your injuries.
Proving negligence involves demonstrating that each of these statements is true:
- The other party had a duty of care to you (i.e.: another driver had a duty of care to drive safely and responsibly)
- The other party breached that duty of care (typically by driving recklessly or irresponsibly)
- You suffered tangible injuries that required medical care, including immediate, after-the-fact, and ongoing medical care
- The other party directly or indirectly caused the accident
Common Causes of Car Accidents in Anderson
Car accidents in Anderson are caused by the same things that cause accidents in small cities all over America. Each of these causes involves the negligent, reckless, or otherwise dangerous behavior of other drivers on the road.
Distracted drivers
Many car accidents in Anderson happen because drivers are distracted. It is against the law to use a phone while driving in Indiana, but some people text, email, make calls, or look things up anyway.
Other distractions include eating, taking eyes off the road, messing with controls, and paying attention to passengers instead of driving.
Despite the hands-free law that went into effect in 2020, Indiana still saw 68 fatal accidents that were caused by distracted drivers in 2021, and 85 fatal accidents caused by distracted drivers in 2022.
Reckless driving & speeding
Driving over the speed limit, tailgating, unsafe passing, ignoring signs and conditions, and not yielding the right of way are reckless behaviors that cause crashes every day in Indiana.
If the other driver in your crash was driving recklessly, your lawyer can show how their actions caused the collision.
Driving under the influence
Drivers impaired by drugs, alcohol, or some prescription meds are dangerous on the roads.
Impairment is a big problem in Indiana. In 2020, 106 people died in crashes involving an impaired driver. These are such unfair accidents, caused exclusively by the bad choices of intoxicated drivers.
Driving while drowsy
Drowsy driving is also very dangerous.
Tired drivers have slower reflexes and are less attentive. In fact, some studies have found that sleepy drivers are just as dangerous as a drunk or impaired one.
It can be hard to prove drowsiness caused a crash, but an experienced lawyer can interpret the evidence to see if it was a factor.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Car accident injuries can range from minor to severe, with fatalities occurring in just under 1% of accidents.
Some of the most common types of injuries that people receive in car accidents are:
- Skull injuries (skull fractures)
- Brain injuries (TBIs, concussions, etc)
- Spinal cord injuries (including paralysis)
- Lacerations and cuts
- Serious bruising
- Broken bones (including limbs, ribs, fingers, etc)
- Injuries from seat belts
- Whiplash and neck injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Burns (from fire and road debris)
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Limb or digit amputation
- Torn ligaments
- Joint injuries
- Penetrative injuries (from flying objects)
- Wrongful death
Your accident is likely to cause you to miss work, spend time in the hospital, need surgery, and experience a lengthy recovery period. Accident victims may have weeks, months, or even years of recovery ahead of them. Tragically, these accidents can even cause lifelong disability or disfigurement.
When Should You Call a Car Accident Attorney in Anderson?
Some very minor accidents may not require medical attention, such as scraping against a pole in a parking lot at a low rate of speed. However, for the vast majority of accidents, you should seek medical attention right away. Sometimes injuries do not show up until hours or days later!
As for when to call an attorney, ask yourself these questions. If you can answer yes to any of these questions, it is advisable to contact an attorney to review your options:
- Were you seriously injured in the accident?
- Will you need long-term medical treatment to recover?
- Was another motorist, pedestrian, or cyclist seriously injured?
- Did the accident cause the death of any individual(s)?
- Did you have to miss work because of your injuries?
- Did you have to leave your job altogether because you can no longer work?
- Was your car totalled or badly damaged?
- Are you having trouble with your insurance company or the other party’s insurance company?
- Did an insurance company ask you to sign a release?
- Is an insurance company offering you money to settle your claim?
- Were you the victim of a hit-and-run?
- Is liability for the accident in dispute?
Was your accident serious enough to need an attorney?
We often hear potential clients ask this question: Is my accident serious enough to get an attorney? We understand that some people hesitate to reach out to a personal injury lawyer because they don’t want anyone to think that they are overreacting. But the truth is that almost every accident comes with a heavy physical and economic burden, meaning that every accident is worth discussing with an attorney.
At Yosha Law, we will inform you of your legal options based on your specific circumstances. We will never push you into filing a lawsuit that you are not comfortable with filing, and we will always answer your questions as accurately as we can.
It is always a good idea to contact a car accident attorney to discuss your case with them before it’s too late to get legal help.
Yosha Law Firm is Here to Help You After an Accident
You don’t have to try to recover from your accident on your own. You can avoid the mountain of paperwork, the complicated negotiations, and the stress of trying to get compensation by retaining an experienced and knowledgeable attorney.
At Yosha Law Firm, our Anderson, Indiana car accident attorneys use our knowledge, experience, and empathy to help you take the next steps toward wholeness.
We’re here to help set things right.
At Yosha, your lawyer only gets paid when you do
We only take our personal injury clients on contingency. This means that we don’t get paid until we win your case, either in the form of a settlement or a court award.
Hiring Yosha Law Firm is a risk-free arrangement. We don’t accept any payment from our clients until they have received their compensation. That means no upfront fees.
What Can I Get Compensation For After an Anderson, IN Accident?
We work tirelessly to get you the composition you deserve.
You may be able to receive compensation for things like the following:
- Medical expenses
- Medications
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
Yosha’s Anderson Car Accident Lawyers Are Here for You
We’re ready to talk when you are!
Indiana residents only have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the faster you get started, the sooner we can get you the compensation you are owed.
Reach out to us to schedule your free case review. We’re looking forward to discussing your case with you and helping to create a plan that will alleviate your stress and help you get on the path to healing.