Florence Car Accident Lawyer

Mississippi laws regarding car accidents are complicated, and making mistakes can be costly. Having a car accident lawyer on your side can help ensure that everything is done correctly and in a timely manner. For example, Mississippi has a statute of limitations, a deadline for filing a lawsuit, of three years from the date of the accident, and you must file on time or the courts will refuse to hear your case. Other ways an attorney can help include:

• Determining whether you have a valid lawsuit
• Investigating your case and gathering and preserving evidence
• Dealing and negotiating with insurance companies and their attorneys to get you a fair settlement
• Taking your case to court if necessary.

Avoid Mistakes by Talking to a Car Accident Lawyer in Florence, MS

The sooner you contact us after the accident, the less likely you are to make mistakes that can be used against you, and the greater the chance that we can find the witnesses, videos and other information we need to build your case.

SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENTS CAUSE DEVASTATING PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL INJURIES. THEY CAN ALSO CAUSE FINANCIAL RUIN. OUR CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER IS SKILLED AT BUILDING SOLID CASES THAT RESULT IN FAIR COMPENSATION FOR NEGLIGENTLY INJURED VICTIMS.

Don’t wait to speak with a Florence car accident lawyer. The sooner we are able to start gathering evidence and fighting for your rights, the sooner you may receive compensation. Call Ringer Lingold & Spencer today at (601) 845-5050.

The costs, losses, and injuries from your car accident are called damages, and the awards you may receive to cover them are classified as economic and non-economic damages. These are considered to be compensatory damages, awarded for the purpose of making a plaintiff whole again.

Economic Damages in a Car Accident Case

Economic damages cover your monetary losses and expenses, such as:

• Medical, hospital, and rehabilitation expenses
• Lost wages if you are unable to work, and lost future earning capacity
• Vehicle repair or replacement costs
• Other out-of pocket-costs or property damage.

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages are not actual monetary costs, but compensation payments for the negative effects of the accident on you and your family, including:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and mental anguish
• Loss of consortium and companionship
• Disability or disfigurement
• Wrongful death.

Punitive Damages

In some rare cases of extreme wrongdoing, punitive damages may also be awarded. This is a monetary award to punish the wrongdoer for bad acts and to deter similar bad conduct by others in the future.

The amount of damage awards varies greatly, depending on the individual situation, and may range from the thousands to millions of dollars. Some factors that would be considered are:

• The severity of your injuries
• Whether your disability is permanent and requires long-term care
• Whether you will be able to return to work
• The value of the destroyed property
• Your age, earning potential, and family responsibilities
• Whether a death is involved
• The extent of insurance and the assets of the defendants
• The individual judge and jury that may be involved
• The strength of your case and your attorney’s ability to present it.

Mississippi does not cap, or limit, economic damages, but it does limit non-economic damages.

Get Answers from a Car Accident Lawyer in Florence, MS

• What should I do when I’ve been in a car accident?

  The first thing you should do is get medical attention. Even if you don’t seem to be hurt, injuries can show up later. Keep copies of all your medical records. These records will be important evidence in your insurance company claim and if your case goes to trial. Next, contact a Florence car accident attorney for help.

• Why should I hire an attorney?

  An attorney will help ensure that you get the compensation you need for your medical bills and other costs. Experienced car accident lawyers know how to aggressively and strategically negotiate with insurance companies to get clients fair settlements. And they can take your case to court if necessary. If you handle your claim yourself, you could leave money on the table.

• Is it better to settle with insurance or go to court?

  Most car accident cases are settled with insurance companies. When a reasonable settlement is offered, you will get your money faster than if you go to court. But if settlement isn’t possible, going to trial may be the only option. It can take much longer to resolve but you may also receive more money. However, if the jury doesn’t find in your favor, you won’t get anything.

• How long does a car accident case take?

  When fault is not being disputed and the other driver’s insurance company is motivated to settle, it can take as little as a few weeks or a couple of months. The more complicated a case in terms of injuries and the number of parties involved, the longer a settlement can take. Cases that go to trial can take a year or even a few years.

• Why should I hire your law firm for my car accident instead of a big firm?

  Our attorneys live and work in the community, which gives us increased insight into civil courts in the area and how, why and where accidents happen. This insight can be beneficial to Florence clients. For example, we might know that a particular street or intersection has high accident rates, which could mean it is poorly designed. This could potentially lead to a public agency’s also being named in a legal claim.

WHEN YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CAR ACCIDENT, A FLORENCE CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER FROM OUR LAW FIRM HAS ANSWERS. DON’T DELAY WHEN YOU’VE BEEN INJURED IN A CRASH. CALL US RIGHT AWAY TO REQUEST A CONSULTATION BY DIALING (601) 845-5050.

To win a car accident lawsuit, our car accident attorneys will have to show that the party you are suing, the defendant in the case, was negligent by acting or failing to act in some way, that this negligence caused the accident, and that you suffered damages as a result.

Sometimes there may be multiple parties responsible for the accident. In addition to the driver who hit you, other possible defendants might be the manufacturer of an auto part that failed, such as a defective tire or faulty brakes, or a municipality or road repair company that failed to make road repairs or left debris on the road. Every potentially liable party should be named in your lawsuit, as they all may have insurance.

Proving negligence legally means showing the following elements exist:

1. Duty. The defendant owed you a duty of care to act responsibly and not to cause harm.
2. Breach. The defendant breached that duty.
3. Cause. The breach caused your injuries.
4. Damages. The injuries resulted in actual damages, such as medical bills and property damage.

For example, anyone who gets behind the wheel has the duty of care to drive in a manner that a reasonably prudent person would in similar circumstances. If they failed in that duty, such as by speeding, driving drunk or while distracted, or running a red light and hitting your vehicle, they would have breached their duty of care.

Our Car Accident Attorney Knows How Negligent Crashes Happen

To prove your injuries resulted in damages, you would have to show actual losses caused by your injuries, such as medical expenses that went beyond the cost of insurance reimbursement.

Our car accident lawyers at Ringer Lingold & Spencer will work to prove negligence by:

• Investigating the accident scene to look for and gather evidence such as debris, tread marks, and videos from traffic and surveillance cameras
• Interviewing witnesses and first responders
• Examining police, ambulance, and medical reports
• Hiring experts to reconstruct the accident and testify on your behalf, if necessary.

Some of the main ways negligence causes vehicle accidents include:

• Distracted driving, usually due to texting, cellphone use, and use of on-board technologies
• Driving while intoxicated
• Speeding
• Reckless driving

NEGLIGENT INJURY CRASHES HAPPEN IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS. NO MATTER THE CAUSE OF YOUR ACCIDENT, IF ANOTHER PARTY WAS AT FAULT, OUR DEDICATED CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY WILL FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO BE COMPENSATED FOR YOUR LOSSES.

If you have done something that contributed to the car accident, you may still be able to get some compensation. Mississippi uses the pure comparative negligence system, which allows you to receive damages as long as you are less than 100% at fault. Your settlement will be reduced by the proportion of fault you are found to have, but you can still collect the proportion that the other parties are found to be at fault.

For example, if you have $50,000 in damage, but you are 10 percent at fault, you may still collect $45,000.

Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you, and they will try to get you to accept the lowest amount possible and sign a release in return for getting your money quickly. If you take their low-ball offer and your injuries get worse in the future, you will have no recourse to have your settlement adjusted.

Having our attorneys represent you from the beginning may make the difference between being taken advantage of and receiving a fair and just settlement. Having worked for insurance companies before and having represented many clients, we know what is a reasonable settlement, and we will fight on your behalf to get it. We can help protect your rights if your insurance claim is denied or the offer is far less than what’s reasonable and fair.

Insurance companies do not want to have to go to trial and are more likely to negotiate fairly when they know you have a car accident attorney on your side.

Car accidents cause a wide range of injuries that can lead to permanent damage, disability, and death. Among the most common are:

Head and brain injuries –concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and skull fractures

Neck and back injuries – including whiplash, disk, or spinal cord damage that could lead to paralysis

Broken bones – which can sometimes be accompanied by compound fractures

Internal, soft tissue, and facial injuries – can occur in very violent crashes, from safety restraints and airbags, and in rollover accidents

Burn injuries – can range from mild first-degree to fatal fourth-degree burns and may require skin grafts and plastic surgery.

The time it takes to get a settlement from a car accident can vary from months to years, depending on the complexity of the case and whether it goes to trial. The sooner you call our car accident lawyers, the sooner we can get to work gathering evidence, dealing with the insurance companies, and building your case to fight for the settlement you deserve.

Call Ringer Lingold & Spencer today at (601) 845-5050 so we can answer any questions you might have and start working on your behalf.