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The aftermath of a car accident sometimes takes a long time to deal with. You might have serious injuries that need long-term care, and you must figure out how to repair or replace your damaged vehicle. You should not have to do all this alone. Our legal team can help you take action to get fair compensation so you can get back to your normal life.
One of the most important details of your case is how and where the accident occurred. While a crash might happen anywhere, they often happen on major roads and highways in the area. Traffic violations, speed, and intoxication are common causes of accidents, although your case might differ. The severity of the accident may indicate the extent of your damages. More serious accidents tend to come with more injuries and greater losses for injured victims, and they may be entitled to greater financial compensation. To support your claim for damages, we need as much evidence as we can gather. Exactly where we find evidence will depend on your unique situation.
Get a private case assessment for free from our car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore by calling us at (219) 322-1166.
Vehicle accidents can happen almost anywhere at any time. Accidents on busier roads and major highways are often quite devastating, as speed limits in these areas tend to be greater. In Schererville, major highways include U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 30. These highways may connect drivers to various other towns and cities around Chicago, making for very busy traffic.
Some of the more common causes of crashes are typical traffic violations. Maybe the other driver ran a red light or failed to stop at a stop sign. Maybe they did not signal when they turned or were driving recklessly when they hit you. These are very common traffic violations and happen nearly every day. The police may investigate the accident when drivers call for help, and the other driver might be issued a citation, which our car accident attorneys might be able to use as evidence.
Most of us are guilty of speeding, at least at one time or another. It is common for drivers to go about 5 to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. However, even exceeding speed limits by just a bit might be enough to cause a serious crash. The faster the vehicles are going, the worse the injuries are likely to be.
Unfortunately, another common factor in many collisions is drugs or alcohol. Intoxicated drivers tend to have significantly dulled reflexes and cannot react quickly enough to avoid collisions. In cases of severe impairment, they might be totally unable to operate the vehicle or even pass out on the road. If an intoxicated driver hits you, tell the police and your lawyer immediately.
At the heart of your car accident case are your damages. Damages represent what you have lost and endured because of the accident. They may include the financial costs of the accident in addition to painful yet subjective personal experiences that take a significant toll on your life and well-being.
You may be awarded compensatory damages to compensate for what you have lost and return you to the position you were in before the accident, at least economically. Compensatory damages may be awarded for economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages represent how the accident cost you money. Medical bills, vehicle damage, and lost wages from missing work are common examples of economic damages. However, you might also incur other expenses unique to your situation. Maybe you are so badly hurt that you need to hire a private caregiver to help you while you recover. Maybe you had to fly to a specialist for treatment, paying for airfare and lodgings along the way. All these and more may be factored into your damages.
Non-economic damages are harder to pin down because they are inherently subjective and often not tied to real sums of money. For example, you might claim damages for pain, emotional distress, and psychological damage. If you have permanent injuries or disabilities because of the accident, you might claim the loss of your quality of life or the enjoyment of your life.
Punitive damages are unusual but not impossible in some cases. They may be awarded to punish defendants for their behavior and hopefully deter future bad behavior. However, proving claims for punitive damages is not easy. Not only must the defendant’s behavior be especially outrageous or shocking, but we must meet a separate burden of proof.
According to I.C. § 34-51-3-2, we must prove all the facts needed to support a claim for punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence. This is a high burden of proof and often difficult to satisfy. If you are awarded punitive damages, the maximum award under § 34-51-3-4 may be triple the value of compensatory damages or $50,000, whichever is greater.
To support your claims, we need proof of what happened to you and how the other driver is responsible. People often think of strong evidence as things you can hold up and see. However, testimonial evidence is often very powerful. If other drivers or passengers saw the accident, they may testify about what they saw. The more people can back up your claims and version of events, the stronger your case may be. Your testimony may also be crucial to establish the extent of your damage and how the accident has affected your life.
It is normal for drivers to take photos after an accident, usually to send to insurance companies as proof of damages. However, photos from the accident may also be used as evidence in other legal actions. In fact, photos may be more important than you realize. Accident scenes are usually cleaned up quickly for the safety of other drivers, and important evidence might be lost. Your photos might preserve the scene and important details so we can return to them later.
Get a private case assessment for free from our car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore by calling us at (219) 322-1166.
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.
Contact Us:
Wruck Paupore P.C.
Injury Lawyers
275 Joliet St. Suite #250
Dyer, IN 46311
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