A car accident can leave you dealing with painful injuries, vehicle damage, medical bills, lost income, and uncertainty about what to do next. Even when you expect to recover, the physical, emotional, and financial effects of a crash can last for months or even years.
At Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers, our Covington car accident lawyers help injured drivers and passengers pursue compensation for the losses they have suffered. Our team has earned recognition for excellence from organizations including the Louisiana Bar Association and the American Association for Justice.
Whether you were injured in a rear-end collision, distracted driving accident, intersection crash, or another type of car accident, a Covington personal injury lawyer can help you understand your options and pursue the compensation you may be entitled to.
Steps to Take After a Car Accident
You can take steps to strengthen your potential car accident claim right at the incident scene. First, exchange contact details with the other party or parties involved and take photos of their driver’s licenses, registration, and insurance cards. If there are witnesses, get their contact information and ask them to send you a description of what they saw via text or email.
Take pictures and video of the accident scene and the surrounding area. Capture the positions of the vehicles and any nearby cameras, traffic patterns, signals and road conditions, damage to the vehicles, and your own injuries.
Your well-being is a top priority, so if taking any of these steps will cause you further injury, just stay still until law enforcement and emergency care arrives.
We cannot overstress the importance of seeing a doctor after a car accident. Do not assume you have escaped the scene with minor injuries–sometimes, the effects of injuries take a few hours or a day to show. Swift diagnosis, treatment, and documentation of those injuries will protect your health and your injury claim.
A Covington Car Accident Attorney Knows How Louisiana Laws Affect Your Case
Once your safety is in hand, connect with a car accident lawyer in Covington. Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers has been serving Louisiana car accident victims since 2015, and we are ready to apply our solutions-focused approach to your case. Once we enter a partnership, you can leave all the legal details of your accident claim to us.
Determining Fault in Your Accident
As per Article 2323 of the Louisiana State Legislature, you have the right to seek damages for your accident-related losses, payable by the party who caused the accident. If you bear a percentage of fault for those losses, the compensation you can collect is reduced by that same percentage.
Your attorney will work to protect you from unwarranted blame and conduct a thorough accident investigation to determine the true at-fault party and find evidence to prove their negligence.
Louisiana's Statute of Limitations
To protect your right to seek compensation after a car accident, it is important to file your claim within Louisiana’s applicable statute of limitations. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:1209, workers’ compensation claims are generally subject to a one-year prescriptive period, but this statute does not govern ordinary car accident injury lawsuits. For most car accident injury claims arising on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana law generally allows two years from the date the injury or damage is sustained to file a lawsuit. Claims arising before that date are generally subject to the former one-year deadline. Contacting a Covington car accident attorney promptly can help you understand the deadline that applies to your case and preserve important evidence, including eyewitness accounts, photographs, and accident records.
Possible Liable Parties in Covington Car Accidents
You can only collect a settlement or trial judgment if you can prove the at-fault party’s negligence caused the accident and your subsequent damages.
We will take great care to make an accurate determination and file an evidenced-based claim to hold that party accountable. There are a variety of possibilities regarding who the at-fault party could be.
Other Drivers
A driver’s error, inexperience, or decision to drive while impaired could cause an accident. Fatigued drivers put everyone on the road at risk, as do distracted drivers. We also know your legal rights if an aggressive driver has hurt you and will fight to hold reckless or speeding vehicle operators accountable.
Car Manufacturers
Defective cars or malfunctioning parts can cause devastating crashes. If your accident was caused by failed braking or steering systems or weak tires, we will work to hold the manufacturers responsible. If you sustain more serious injuries because of faulty safety features, we will also seek compensation for that negligence.
Vehicle Mechanics
You trust your mechanic to verify your vehicle’s safety with every yearly inspection. You also expect them to repair problems before telling you your car is safe for travel. Inferior repair work puts you and everyone else sharing the roads with you in danger.
Government Agencies
Different government entities are responsible for overseeing elements of road safety. Road conditions, streetlighting, and traffic signals are some of the elements falling under government purview. If your accident results from a respective government office’s failure, that office may bear culpability.
Securing the Damages Your Case Deserves
Your Covington car accident attorney will consider every aspect of your accident-caused losses when computing a settlement amount. Your medical costs, income loss, property damage, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and any other financial or quality-of-life cost will be part of that equation. After arriving at a just amount, your lawyer will send the at-fault party’s representatives a settlement demand.
Most likely, those representatives will respond with a lower amount. Your attorney will continue negotiating, always seeking true financial justice, until both sides come to an agreed-upon amount. Many injury cases are resolved this way, and victims never have to enter a courtroom.
But sometimes, the at-fault party does not offer justice through negotiations. If this happens in your case, you can trust your lawyer to explain your legal options fully and help you decide if going to court is in your best interests. Our legal team is not afraid to take your fight to court–you can rely on us for bold, strategic advocacy at every proceeding.
Put Our Experience to Work for You
Car accidents are scary experiences, and Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers is here to make the aftermath less stressful and more just for you. Helping injury victims get back on stable financial footing and look toward a more hopeful future is what we do, and we are committed to doing it well.
Reach out to schedule your free case consultation or call us at 504-474-6158 and get the experienced, effective representation you need and deserve.
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- Covington Personal Injury Lawyer
- How Is Fault Determined in a Car Accident in Louisiana?
- How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Louisiana?
- How Much Do Car Accident Lawyers Charge in Louisiana?
- Should I Call a Lawyer or Insurance First After a Car Accident?
- What to Do After a Louisiana Car Accident
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Insights and Updates from Our Legal Team
- Covington Personal Injury Lawyer
- How Is Fault Determined in a Car Accident in Louisiana?
- How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Louisiana?
- How Much Do Car Accident Lawyers Charge in Louisiana?
- Should I Call a Lawyer or Insurance First After a Car Accident?
- What to Do After a Louisiana Car Accident