Skilled and Caring Advocacy for You and Your Family
At Conybeare Law Office, we know that no one is ever really prepared to deal with a life-changing injury, especially if it involves a car accident. Unfortunately, these circumstances can occur when we least expect it, and if someone else was responsible, you deserve compensation for all of your losses, from medical bills and lost wages to pain and suffering and lost quality of life.
The dedicated and compassionate personal injury lawyers at our firm protect the rights of injured clients throughout Calhoun County and Battle Creek, Michigan. If you live in Marshall, Albion, Springfield, or any other community in the area, get in touch today to schedule your free injury claim consultation. Call The Bear at 269-769-BEAR or fill out this contact form and we’ll reach out to review your legal options.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Settle a Battle Creek Injury or Accident Claim?
While it’s not mandatory to hire a lawyer, there are certain circumstances where having legal representation can be significantly beneficial.
- Severe Injuries or Significant Damages: If you’ve suffered serious injuries, or there’s substantial damage to your property, a lawyer can help ensure that you receive adequate compensation. Insurance companies aim to minimize payouts, and an experienced attorney can negotiate effectively to get you a fair settlement that covers all your medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.
- Disputed Liability: If there’s a dispute over who is at fault for the accident, a lawyer can help prove liability. They can gather and present evidence, such as accident reports, witness statements, and expert testimony, to support your claim.
- Difficult Legal or Insurance Issues: If your case involves legal challenges or if you’re dealing with multiple parties and insurance companies, a lawyer’s expertise will be crucial in navigating these complexities.
- Insurance Company Refuses to Pay or Offers a Low Settlement: If the insurance company denies your claim or offers a settlement that doesn’t cover all your losses, a lawyer can negotiate on your behalf. They understand the tactics used by insurance companies and can counter these effectively.
- Serious Long-term or Permanent Disability: If the accident has led to long-term health issues or permanent disability, calculating the compensation becomes more complicated, as it needs to cover future medical care, loss of earning capacity, and ongoing personal care. A lawyer can work with medical experts to accurately estimate these costs.
- Peace of Mind: Dealing with legal proceedings and insurance negotiations can be overwhelming, especially when you’re recovering from an accident. A lawyer can handle these aspects, allowing you to focus on your recovery.
For minor accidents with no injuries and clear liability, you might be able to settle the claim on your own. However, in more complicated situations, a lawyer can help you file your claim, deal with insurance companies, and ensure that you receive fair compensation for your losses.
What to Do After a Battle Creek Car Accident
When you’re involved in a car accident in Battle Creek, Michigan, it’s important to remain calm and take certain steps to ensure your safety, follow legal obligations, and facilitate the insurance claim process. They include the following:
- Immediately check yourself, passengers, and others involved for any injuries. If anyone is injured, call 911 right away to get medical help.
- If the accident is minor and the vehicles are operable, move them to the side of the road to avoid blocking traffic and to reduce the risk of further accidents. Turn on your hazard lights to alert other drivers.
- In Michigan, you’re required to report car accidents where there’s property damage, injury, or death, so call the local police, sheriff, or state police. A police report can be invaluable in legal and insurance processes.
- Exchange names, addresses, phone numbers, insurance companies, policy numbers, and driver’s license numbers with the other driver. Also, note the make, model, and license plate number of the other vehicle.
- Use your phone to take pictures from different angles of the vehicles involved, the surrounding area, road conditions, traffic signs, and skid marks. If there are physical injuries, photograph those as well.
- Talk to witnesses who can provide unbiased accounts of the event. If there are any bystanders who saw the accident, ask for their names and contact information.
- Seek medical attention. Some injuries, like whiplash, may not be immediately apparent. Visit a doctor or an emergency room to get checked out, even if you feel fine. This also provides a medical record of your condition after the accident.
- Contact your insurance company as soon as possible to report the accident. When discussing the accident, be cautious with insurance adjusters and avoid admitting fault or giving a statement before speaking with an attorney.
- Call a Battle Creek car accident lawyer. They can collect evidence on your behalf, deal with insurers, and negotiate or litigate for the compensation you need to cover your damages and heal from the crash.
When you are involved in a car accident in Battle Creek, Michigan, it is important to follow these steps to protect your legal rights and ensure your safety. Although dealing with the aftermath of a motor vehicle collision can be stressful, being proactive and hiring a personal injury lawyer can increase your chances of a successful outcome.
How Much Compensation Can You Get in an Injury or Accident Claim?
The amount of compensation you can receive in an injury or accident claim varies greatly depending on several factors, including the specifics of the accident, the extent of your injuries, and the impact on your life. Compensation in car accident claims generally falls into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
These are quantifiable costs directly resulting from the accident. They include:
- Medical Expenses: This covers immediate medical treatment, hospitalization, surgery, medication, rehabilitation, and any future medical care related to the injuries.
- Lost Wages: If the injury affects your ability to work, compensation can cover the income lost during your recovery period.
- Lost Earning Capacity: If your ability to earn money in the future is impacted (long-term disability or chronic issues), you can be compensated for this loss.
Non-Economic Damages
These damages are more subjective and not easily quantifiable. They include:
- Pain and Suffering: This is compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress suffered due to the accident.
- Emotional Distress: These damages account for the psychological impact of the accident, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: If the injuries prevent you from enjoying hobbies and other life pleasures, you can claim this compensation.
- Loss of Consortium: These damages address the impact on the relationship with your spouse or partner.
Generally speaking, the value of a car accident claim is influenced by:
- Severity of Injuries: More severe injuries generally lead to higher compensation due to increased medical costs and longer recovery periods. For example, if you suffer a traumatic brain injury, your compensation will be higher than if you suffered broken bones.
- Impact on Quality of Life: If the accident results in permanent disability or chronic pain, it increases the claim’s value.
- Liability: The degree to which each party is at fault for the accident affects compensation. In Michigan, if a car crash victim is more than 50% at fault, they can’t recover any pain and suffering damages, although they would still be able to collect other losses. However, the amount received would be reduced by the victim’s degree of fault.
A Battle Creek car accident lawyer can significantly influence the amount of compensation you receive, as they can negotiate effectively with insurance companies and present a strong case in court if necessary.
Our Personal Injury Claims Expertise
Here at Conybeare Law Office, we specialize in accident/injury cases. We founded our law firm on the principle of providing our clients with superior face-to-face service from reliable, experienced attorneys. Whether you’ve suffered from a serious car crash outside Battle Creek or been injured in a slip and fall while shopping in downtown Marshall, we will fight to get you the medical treatment you need and the compensation you deserve.
Car Accidents
Various factors can contribute to car accidents. Among the most common are head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, sideswipe accidents, and rollover accidents. Drunk driving, distracted driving, or speeding can all lead to a crash that takes away your ability to work and live without pain.
According to the Michigan State Police, there were 3,422 car accidents in Calhoun County in 2020. Twenty were fatal and 467 resulted in serious injury. No matter what caused the crash, passengers, other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians can suffer catastrophic injuries that take years to heal. A Calhoun County and Battle Creek car accident lawyer at our firm can help you seek fair compensation for your injuries.
DUI Accidents
Driving while intoxicated is not an accident, it is a crime that threatens innocent lives. If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one because a drunk driver was negligent, you shouldn’t be on the hook for your medical bills and other accident-related losses.
According to the 2020 Michigan Drunk Driving audit, 77 people were injured in Calhoun County that year by drivers under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both. Another eight were killed in fatal collisions. DUI accidents can cause physical, financial, and emotional harm to victims, and our Calhoun County accident lawyers are here to help.
Pedestrian Accidents
The number of pedestrian deaths in Michigan in 2020 was 175, which represents 16.2% of the 1,083 traffic fatalities reported that year. In a collision between a car and a pedestrian, physics dictates that the pedestrian will lose every time.
The impact often leads to severe, catastrophic, and irreversible injuries such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and paralysis. When a careless driver changes your life forever, the Calhoun County and Battle Creek pedestrian accident lawyers at Conybeare Law Office will fight to win you the best possible settlement.
Bicycle Accidents
Biking to work can be faster, easier, and cheaper than driving a car, especially if you live in larger communities like Battle Creek or Marshall. Unfortunately, motorists don’t always keep a lookout for cyclists or share the road safely with them.
When bicycle accidents happen, riders suffer serious, life-threatening injuries, since they are completely unprotected. Wearing a helmet only reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury: you can still suffer broken bones and irreversible damage to your spinal cord. Let a bicycle accident lawyer at our firm help ensure you receive the settlement you need to cover your expenses while you heal.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists are at greater risk than motorists when they change lanes, accelerate, make a turn, or do any other legal driving maneuver. Drivers don’t always look out for them or yield to them, and the risk of injury or death during a crash is extremely high because motorcyclists are only protected by a helmet or special gear.
At Conybeare Law Office, our motorcycle accident lawyers understand the unique issues that you face when you’ve been injured in a collision. They have settled and litigated many personal injury cases involving motorcycles and can help you obtain the benefits you need.
Truck Accidents
Due to their large-scale damage and severe injuries, crashes involving tractor-trailers and flatbed trucks can be devastating for victims and their families. Furthermore, truck accident claims are challenging due to the complexity of the injuries involved and the fact that victims often face long recovery times.
Unlike car accidents, trucking accidents are governed by complex regulations, so don’t settle for a lawyer with regular car accident experience. Our Calhoun County and Battle Creek attorneys at Conybeare Law are familiar with federal and state regulations related to truck accidents and know how to get the best settlement for your case.
Wrongful Death
If you have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, obtaining a fair settlement in a wrongful death claim can be difficult. The wrongful death lawyers at Conybeare Law Office are dedicated to helping you pursue your legal rights after a family member has been killed in a preventable accident.
A fatal accident changes your life forever. We understand how devastating these crashes are. We will work tirelessly to gather evidence and maximize the value of your claim.
Other Injury Practice Areas
In addition to accidents involving motor vehicles, we represent clients in the following areas of personal injury law. The attorneys at our top-rated Michigan firm have the knowledge and experience to get the best results in your case.
Injured? Get a Free Consultation From Our Calhoun County Car Accident & Injury Lawyers!
The consequences of an accident can be life-changing. You start your day normally, but before it ends, you’re in a hospital bed, injured and facing an uncertain future. Within a short period of time, mounting medical bills, missed work, and inability to support yourself financially become a distressing reality for you.
Our firm is dedicated to helping injured clients obtain the financial recovery they deserve. If you have been seriously injured or forced to cope with the tragic loss of a family member, call the Calhoun County and Battle Creek accident lawyers at Conybeare Law Office today. We want to hear your story and help you get justice.
We also serve the following areas:
Call The Bear today at 269-769-BEAR or fill out this contact form to schedule your free consultation. Remember: if it’s not fair, call the Bear!