The moments hours, and days that pass by in the wake of a car accident can be deeply disorienting. If you have recently been involved in a car accident and were injured as a result, you are likely all too familiar with this reality. You may be struggling with pain, and emotional trauma, and you may be worried about how the financial impacts of your accident will affect your family’s finances.
It is important to understand that even if you were partially to blame for your accident, you may be entitled to significant compensation and justice at this time. Connecting with an experienced attorney in your area can help to ensure that you are not burdened by any financial consequences of your crash that should rightfully be assumed by another party.
Do You Have Cause to File Legal Action?
As an experienced car accident lawyer – including those who practice at The Law Offices of Barry P. Goldberg – can confirm, it isn’t always easy for accident victims to know whether they are in a strong position to take legal action or not in the immediate aftermath of a car crash. This is partially because determining the cause of an accident and who may be held legally and financially liable for any harm caused by a wreck are processes that usually require thorough investigation.
Even if you have a strong sense of what caused your accident, there may have been “invisible” factors at play that you are not yet aware of. For example, you may be blaming yourself for taking your eyes off the road long enough to change the radio station. Yet, what you don’t yet know is that the brakes installed in your vehicle were affected by a faulty mechanism and the road you were driving on had not been maintained up to legal standards.
It is important not to make any “final assumptions” about your legal situation until it has been objectively evaluated by an experienced attorney. Once your case has been assessed, you may discover that another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally destructive conduct has contributed to the cause(s) of your crash. If so, you will likely be in a strong position to demand compensation from that responsible party or parties.
What if You Were Partially to Blame?
Different states handle the issue of victim liability in different ways. In a small minority of states, victims generally cannot pursue compensation from others if they were partially to blame for their own harm. In many states, victims can pursue compensation from others as long as they were not more than 50% to blame for what happened to them. In some states, victims can pursue compensation from others who were partially responsible for their harm even if the victims themselves were 99% to blame for their accidents.
If you are concerned about whether you can still pursue compensation if you were partially at fault for your wreck, speak with an attorney about the specific laws on this subject that apply in your state.
