Car Accident Lawyer in Philadelphia

Car accidents are one of the most common causes of serious injury in the United States. If you are careful as can be and adhere to all the rules of the roads, the odds are still against your favor and you could be blindsided by a negligent, distracted, or intoxicated motorist. What can you do to set things right after you are unfairly hurt by another driver?

If you live in Pennsylvania, you can contact me, Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Michael P. Forbes, for assistance. I have a passion for helping clients through difficult times. When I see that my clients are given the compensation they deserve after an injury, I know I have done a job well done.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

Building your lawsuit will depend greatly on your ability to prove the cause of your car accident was not your own mistake. For every person out on the road, there is another way a traffic collision can be caused. There are a few causes that are more common than others, though, and being able to identify the cause early on can help your chances of receiving a fair settlement from interested insurance companies.

What to Do Right After a Crash

Knowing how a car accident can be caused is important yet proving how it happened is all the more critical. After any collision, no matter how severe or minor, you need to start thinking about how to build your claim. In general, there are a few steps you should take to help you do this without missing something significant.

1. Call for help: Any injury should be addressed as soon as possible. This means getting emergency medical responders to the scene at once. If you are treated, keep a record of the paramedic’s report for your own case filing.
2. Notify the authorities: The police should also be brought to any serious accident site. With the police there, drunk or texting drivers can be detained, oncoming traffic can be directed away from your vehicles, and they can write up a police report that you can use as evidence.
3. Take pictures: Get your smartphone out and start snapping photographs of the damage from every possible angle, without wandering into the street. Be sure to get images of the surrounding environment in case the weather or road conditions were a contributing factor.
4. Talk to onlookers: People who have stopped to help or look at the wreckage may have seen more than you know. Speak to them and ask for eyewitness testimonies when appropriate. You might be surprised to learn how many passerby are actually good Samaritans.

Contact an Attorney You Can Trust

Before you talk to your insurance company, you should talk to a Philadelphia car accident lawyer from my law firm. We can tell you what should and should not be said to insurers, who are probably going to try to do everything they can to give you as little as possible. If initial negotiations do not lead to a fair settlement, I can prepare your case for litigation. The opposition will find quite quickly that I am not a litigator they want to take on.