Auto Vehicle Accident Lawyers

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Personal Injury: Auto Vehicle Accidents

An auto vehicle accident can have a devastating impact on you and your family. If you or a loved one has been injured, contact our firm to schedule a consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Car Accident Legal Information — Baton Rouge

Being injured in a car accident creates a lot of uncertainties — How will I take care of medical bills? What if I am unable to work for an extended period? Will compensation cover physical therapy? What about repairs to my car? What if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured? An insurance adjuster keeps calling, should I accept their offer?

We at The Tadda Law Firm want to answer your questions. Some of your preliminary questions may be answered by looking through the information below. For answers to more specific questions about your particular situation, call our Baton Rouge, LA, office to schedule a free initial consultation.

What should I do after and accident?

After making sure everyone involved is safe, you should contact the local police department. This ensures that a police report is filed and documentation of all drivers and passengers is collected. It is also a good practice to take pictures of the vehicles involved from multiple angles, especially if the vehicles are still in the place of collision. If you are feeling any pain following the accident, it is pertinent that you report it to a medical provider. It can be severely detremintal to an injury claim, if there is a large time period before the first report of injury. Finally, you should contact the Tadda Law Firm for further assistance with your claim.

Property Damage and Rental Vehicles

The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is responsible for repairing your vehicle and providing you with a rental vehicle during repairs. Before the at-fault driver’s insurance will begin this process, a liability determination (a decision on who is at fault) must be made by the liability insurance company. This process can take anywhere from 1-10 days depending on the insurance company’s contact with the at-fault driver and/or access to a police report. To avoid this delay, it is often faster to go through your own insurance company (if you have comp and collision coverage). This will not cause your insurance rate to rise, if you are not at-fault, but you will have to pay your agreed deductible. The deductible is sometimes waived and will be returned if the other driver is found to be 100% at-fault.

Once either insurance begins the property damage claim the process is the same. An examination will be performed on your vehicle (via photographs or in person) and an estimate will be created. You may choose any repair shop to perform the repair, but if it will cost more than the estimate a supplemental estimate will need to be performed. In the meantime, the insurance company is responsible for providing you with a rental vehicle while your car is being repaired. Generally, you will be provided with a claim or confirmation number to present to the closest rental car location.

How is a bodily injury case valued?

Bodily Injury Damages are broken into two categories special damages and general damages. Special Damages are anything that is calculable such as lost wages and medical expenses and General Damages are damages which exact dollar values cannot be calculated. Theu consist primarily of past, present, and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost enjoyment of life. These damages are awarded by a judge or jury based on the type of injury, the type of treatment, and the length of treatment.

Watch Attorney Erik Tadda discuss uninsured motorists