Car accidents happen across Milwaukee far more commonly than we would care to think. When another driver’s negligence caused an accident that left you injured, you have legal options for recovery.
Negligent drivers can cause crashes in various ways, including speeding, texting while driving, tailgating, and driving under the influence. When you are in an accident, make sure that you and your passengers are safe before calling 911, collecting potential evidence, and seeking medical attention.
Once you have received medical care, do not hesitate to call the Milwaukee car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore. We offer free initial case assessments to all potential clients who reach out with questions about their possible case. To get yours, call us today at (219) 322-1166.
Whether speeding down I94 or working your way through downtown rush hour traffic, the possibility of a car accident is more likely than most people realize.
Every year, around 25,000 car accidents are reported in Milwaukee County. These accidents occur in a variety of circumstances, but the vast majority of them can be attributed to driver error. Our Milwaukee car accident lawyers are prepared to help some of the most frequent negligent or reckless causes of car accidents in Wisconsin, as well as more unusual circumstances. Some of the most common causes of negligence we encounter:
Roughly one-third of all accidents across the state of Wisconsin occur while one of the vehicles involved was traveling above the legal speed limit. Drivers who speed have less time to react to changing circumstances on the road, creating a higher potential for collisions. When vehicles are moving at high speed, the injuries suffered in a subsequent accident are more likely to be severe or even life-threatening.
It only takes a few seconds for a safe driving situation to turn dangerous. Today, more drivers than ever have smartphones, which can draw their attention away from the road. Even when the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, texting can be viewed as negligence, as the driver may erroneously believe that the light has changed and accelerate into the intersection inappropriately.
Impatient drivers who are dissatisfied with the pace of traffic may decide to ride up closer to the car in front of them. Not only is this behavior pointless, but it creates a smaller window to react to traffic pattern changes ahead. Drivers are responsible for leaving a safe amount of room between their vehicle and the one in front. For this reason, the driver in the rear is almost always found to be at fault for rear-end collisions. If you are not sure how to evaluate fault in your case, our Milwaukee car accident attorneys can help.
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is an epidemic in the State of Wisconsin and the country as a whole. Impaired drivers account for a disproportionate amount of accidents and are the leading cause of car accident fatalities in Milwaukee County. Talk to our Milwaukee car accident lawyers about what additional punitive damages you could recover in a lawsuit for reckless driving practices like drunk driving.
After a car accident, it can be hard to process what steps to take to benefit you in the long run. However, our Milwaukee car accident attorneys have provided the following checklist so that if you ever find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you can keep yourself safe while preserving evidence that you can use for your ultimate recovery.
When an accident happens, the first step that you should take is to move out of the way of traffic so that other drivers can avoid compounding the situation. If your car is functional, pull over to the nearest shoulder or safe place off to the side of the road. If you cannot drive your car, turn your hazards on and deploy flares if you have them, and get yourself and your passengers away from the car. This is particularly important if your accident occurred at night or in low visibility conditions.
You should alert the authorities to every accident, regardless of how severe it may seem to you at the time. There are legal requirements to report an accident in Wisconsin after it occurs, as well as practical ramifications. We urge you not to accept the other driver’s insistence that you can “settle it yourselves.” This may be a sign that the other driver is uninsured or does not have a license to drive so that they may flee the scene. Give the emergency dispatcher a description of where the accident occurred, as well as the parties and vehicles involved. You can also call for an ambulance if someone at the scene requires emergency care.
The police officer called to the scene will collect information at the crash site that they will use for an official accident report. However, that should not stop you from collecting your own evidence that you can use later on. Take pictures and video of the conditions at the scene, the damage to the vehicles, and other potentially useful visuals such as tire tread marks on the road. If you or loved ones have visible injuries, take as many photos of these as possible, as they are valuable evidence in establishing the extent you were impacted by the crash.
After the investigation at the accident scene, you should immediately pay a visit to the emergency room, even if you are not sure whether you were injured. Even so-called “minor” collisions have the potential to cause serious injury. Conditions such as internal bleeding or traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions and post-concussion disorder, may not present themselves without professional medical evaluation until much later, at which point it may be too late.
Once you have received care for your injuries, you should then look to contact a lawyer. As soon as possible, you should reach out to one of our Milwaukee car accident lawyers because the ability to collect and preserve evidence begins to fade after days. For example, skid mark measurements and on-board vehicle data can be lost within a matter of days. Similarly, the ability to timely and properly document your medical injuries often requires immediate action to maximize your chances of recovery.
When you call the Milwaukee car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore today, you can benefit from a free assessment of your case. You can reach us at (219) 322-1166 at any time.
Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.
More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.
In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.
Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.
For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.
Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.
Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.
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