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Suppose the accident is ‘all my fault’?
First, don’t be so sure that the accident is all your fault. Many accidents result from things people think are their fault but really aren’t. For example, suppose your car suddenly ran off the road on a curve when you were at or near the speed limit? You feel badly as you recognize, with the benefit of hindsight, that you should have slowed down further. Yet if you were driving a Chevrolet Corvair – the car Ralph Nader demonstrated was "Unsafe at Any Speed" – there was a design defect that was responsible for numerous accidents. A lawyer can often help you assess the facts and determine whether it was "all your fault" or someone else at least shares some of the responsibility.
Second, even if the accident was all your fault, it is possible that someone else is responsible for the extent and severity of the resulting injuries. For example, it may have been your fault that you got into an accident with your pickup truck, but because the gas tank was in an unsafe place and broke during impact, it may have turned a minor fender bender into a major catastrophe. Or perhaps your local emergency room sent you home without telling you the danger signs you should be aware of, or perhaps your HMO wouldn’t authorize the tests your doctor felt should have been performed? Again, an attorney can help you evaluate matters.
Third, if anyone else was injured, or any one else’s property was damaged in the accident, you may be fully or partly responsible for the injuries, at least to the extent that they will not be covered by your insurance company. A lawyer can help make sure your insurance company will stand by you, and may be able to help you protect your rights and assets. |
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Should I try to settle with the other person’s insurance company?
How do insurance adjusters work on car accidents?
Are different types of accidents treated differently?
What if the ‘accident’ involves intentional wrongdoing?
Suppose the accident involves an inherently dangerous activity?
What about ‘reckless’ conduct?
What about accidents occurring from plain old negligence or carelessness?
Suppose the accident is ‘all my fault’?
What about ‘accidents’ that result from an ‘act of god’?
What about ‘accidents’ resulting from defective products?
If I go to a circus knowing that wild animals are there, or to a baseball game and get hit by a foul ball, do I ‘assume the risk’?
As ‘accidents happen’ why are lawyers involved?
Do people need a lawyer for all accidents?
Do I have to pay the lawyer in an accident case up front?
If I am in an accident do I have to speak to the other side’s insurance company?
I injured somebody in a car accident. The insurance company refused to settle within my policy limits, and the jury awarded damages in excess of my policy limits. Must I pay the excess?
While driving next to a golf course that had no fencing, my car’s window was cracked by a golf ball. The course manager claims no responsibility and told me the person who hit the ball is liable (but is impossible to find). Can I sue the owner of the golf course?
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