Denver, CO Auto Injury Lawyer
According to the CDC, over 30 million people are injured annually in an unintentional incident, also known as negligence, and over 2.5 million are injured in traffic collisions. An alarming 41,000 of these are fatal. With every new vehicle safety feature approved for production comes another new method of travel, such as ride-share and micro-mobility – like scooters, motorized skateboards, and always-evolving bikes. The prevalence of car wrecks is not decreasing, it’s simply changing.
If you or a loved one are involved in an auto injury, our team will take you through the process and protect you from the very beginning. Our list of investigators and experts are on the ground and working for you immediately if necessary. Our experience spans decades, and that has taught us how to best serve you, treating you like you are important… because you are.
What To Do If You’ve Been Involved in an Auto Injury:
As common as car wrecks are, there is a massive void of information about what you should do when it happens. Here are a few highlights:
- ALWAYS collect information from every single person involved, even if you think it was no big deal. That may change down the road, and you want to be prepared.
- TAKE PHOTOS OF ALL VEHICLES INVOLVED.
- If you feel any pain at all, GET MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. Many serious injuries are not immediately apparent due to massive levels of adrenaline pulsing through the body. Make sure you take care of yourself by getting checked out no matter what.
- DO NOT SPEAK TO AN INSURANCE COMPANY about anything other than the damage to your vehicle, INCLUDING YOUR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY. ALL insurance companies are already building a case against you from the minute the wreck happened. If you tell them your initial physical injuries and those injuries increase or change later, you have just given the insurance company a recorded statement they can use against you later.
- HIRE A LAWYER! This may seem self-serving coming from a law firm. However, in reality, it’s you it protects! The insurance company is already building a case against you. They are collecting scene evidence, witness statements, videos, crash data, and so much more. You should have someone doing the same. These things quickly disappear, and you do not want to rely on the insurance company to turn over the evidence you need to fight against them!
Understanding Colorado Car Accident Claims
A car accident claim can become complicated quickly, even when it initially appears clear who caused the crash. Drivers may disagree about what happened, multiple vehicles may be involved, or an insurance company may dispute whether an injury was caused by the collision. In more serious crashes, evidence such as photographs, witness statements, police reports, vehicle data, medical records, and accident reconstruction can become important in determining what happened and who is responsible.
Queener Law represents people injured in car accidents throughout Colorado. Whether a crash occurs on I-25, I-70, a busy Denver-area roadway, or a local street, our attorneys can investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision, identify available insurance coverage, and help injured clients understand their legal options.
What Compensation Can Be Recovered After a Car Accident?
The financial impact of an auto accident often extends far beyond the initial vehicle damage. Depending on the circumstances of the case, an injured person may be able to pursue compensation for medical expenses, future medical care, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, and permanent impairment or disfigurement.
Determining the value of an injury claim requires looking at both the immediate consequences of the crash and its potential long-term effects. A serious injury can affect a person’s ability to work, participate in normal activities, care for family members, or live without ongoing pain. Our attorneys work to document these losses so that an insurance company understands the full impact an accident has had on our client’s life.
How Does Fault Work in a Colorado Car Accident?
Colorado follows a comparative negligence system. This means that more than one person may share responsibility for a collision. An injured person who is found partially responsible may still be able to recover damages in some circumstances, although the amount recovered can be reduced based on that person’s percentage of fault.
Questions about fault can become especially important in intersection crashes, multi-vehicle accidents, lane-change collisions, and cases in which the drivers give different accounts of what happened. Evidence from the scene, vehicle damage, witnesses, video footage, electronic vehicle information, and police investigations may all help establish how the crash occurred.
Common Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
Even a collision that causes relatively little vehicle damage can result in painful injuries. Some symptoms appear immediately, while others develop hours or days after the crash.
Car accident injuries may include neck and back injuries, whiplash, herniated or damaged discs, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, shoulder and knee injuries, nerve damage, soft-tissue injuries, and other orthopedic injuries. More severe collisions can result in spinal injuries, permanent impairment, or catastrophic injuries requiring long-term medical treatment.
Getting appropriate medical attention after a collision is important both for your health and for documenting the injuries associated with the crash.
Dealing With Insurance Companies After a Colorado Car Accident
After a collision, several types of insurance coverage may potentially become involved. These can include the at-fault driver’s liability insurance as well as coverage available through an injured person’s own automobile insurance policy, depending on the circumstances and the coverage purchased.
Claims can become particularly complicated when the responsible driver has inadequate insurance or no insurance at all. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may provide an additional source of recovery in certain cases. Medical payments coverage, commonly called MedPay, may also help with accident-related medical expenses when that coverage is available.
Before accepting a settlement, it is important to understand the extent of your injuries, the treatment you may need in the future, and the insurance coverage potentially available for the claim.
How a Colorado Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
When Queener Law accepts an auto injury case, our job is to allow our client to concentrate on recovering while we handle the legal and insurance issues surrounding the crash.
Depending on the case, our attorneys may investigate the accident, preserve important evidence, obtain police and medical records, interview witnesses, work with accident reconstruction or medical experts, identify available insurance coverage, document lost income and other damages, communicate with insurance companies, negotiate a settlement, and prepare a case for litigation when necessary.
Insurance companies investigate accidents from the moment a claim is reported. Having an experienced attorney investigating the collision on your behalf can help ensure that important evidence is identified and preserved.
How Long Do You Have to File a Colorado Car Accident Claim?
Colorado imposes deadlines on personal injury lawsuits. Many claims involving bodily injury or property damage arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle are subject to a three-year statute of limitations. However, different deadlines or special requirements can apply depending on the circumstances of the accident and the parties involved.
Because evidence can disappear long before a legal deadline expires, it is generally beneficial to investigate a serious collision as soon as possible. Witnesses become harder to locate, video may be erased, vehicles may be repaired, and physical evidence from the crash scene can disappear.
If you were injured in a Colorado car accident and have questions about your rights, Queener Law offers free consultations to help you understand your options.