Over four million people in the State of Wisconsin are licensed drivers. With so many personal vehicles on the road across the state, it should come as no surprise that car accidents are a leading cause of personal injury and fatality every year.
If you ever find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you can take several steps to protect your physical and financial recovery, such as calling 911, gathering certain types of evidence at the scene, and seeking medical attention as soon as possible.
When dealing with such serious matters, you deserve serious legal assistance to match. To get a free initial case evaluation from the dedicated Wisconsin car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore, call our offices today at (219) 322-1166.
Of course, car accidents can happen on any road, avenue, or highway across the State of Wisconsin. However, certain locations prove to be more troublesome than others, even to the point of becoming notorious. Our Wisconsin car accident attorneys have highlighted a few of these infamous interchanges and intersections below so that you are aware of the danger you may face.
On their own, I-41 and Capitol Drive are dangerous routes in the Milwaukee area, complete with traffic congestion and frequent speed limit violations. But the three-tiered intersection where they come together poses an additional danger, as many drivers, particularly those unfamiliar with the area, can get confused by which signals they are to obey.
I-94 creates several problems at several different places. Perhaps the most troubling in recent years has been where I-94 connects via interchange in the quaint city of Delafield. Two off-ramps from I-94 in proximity pose a particular risk to those approaching Highway 83 who are looking to make a right turn into a difficult merge.
This intersection, which lands between Brookfield and New Berlin, is one of the most populous and congested intersections in the entire state. More than 60,000 vehicles per day are estimated to travel through the intersection, which also boasts significant foot traffic. While some changes have been made to the intersection in recent years to create greater visibility, the main cause of the issue– the amount of traffic– cannot so easily be solved.
Car accidents are scary and catch even the most seasoned drivers off-guard. If you find yourself in a collision on a Wisconsin road, you should be aware of the steps you can take to preserve your health and recovery.
Any accident, particularly those that occur at night, in areas with higher speed limits, or highly trafficked areas, can be made substantially worse when other vehicles get involved through secondary impacts. It is important that you get out of the way as much as possible. Pull your car over to the shoulder, and if the vehicle is inoperable, turn on your hazards or deploy flares and get all passengers out of the car and off to the side.
You should always call 911 at the scene of the accident. In addition to sending ambulances where necessary, the emergency dispatcher will send a law enforcement unit to the scene to investigate the accident and compile information for an official police accident report. This report is vital to your recovery, whether through insurance claim or lawsuit. If the other driver tries to convince you that you can sort the matter out yourselves, this is even more of a sign that you need the help of the authorities. There are also legal requirements to contact law enforcement to report an accident in Wisconsin after it occurs.
One way or another, much of the physical evidence that you could use in your recovery efforts will disappear once you leave the scene without you knowing what is relevant to your case. That is why it is so critical for you to document as much of the scene as possible through your smartphone’s camera. You should look to capture the damage to vehicles and other property, the location of the accident, and the conditions of the road, such as the effects of inclement weather or tire tracks left by the vehicles involved.
Another form of evidence that is nearly impossible to obtain after leaving the scene is the testimony of bystanders who saw what happened. If you are able, make your best effort to get names and contact information from any willing bystanders that could paint a picture of how the accident happened.
You should always visit your nearest emergency room after any type of car accident. You should take this step as soon as possible to create a direct connection between the collision and your medical records. You may not even realize the extent of your injuries immediately, but they will still require professional treatment. Emergency rooms are your best option, as urgent care facilities may not be able to diagnose your injuries, and primary care offices may not have space for you to get an urgent appointment when you need it.
Once you have received medical attention, you should seek legal help as soon as possible. Your attorney can help you gather evidence, estimate damages, and evaluate your options for recovery. These options only last so long under Wisconsin’s statute of limitations, so it is always better to act sooner rather than later.
When you contact the seasoned Wisconsin car accident lawyers at Wruck Paupore right now, you can get your first case evaluation free of charge. To learn more about our services and your case today, call (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.
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