A person or family injured in a motor vehicle collision can face many unexpected challenges. During the time when an injured person should be focusing primarily on restoring health and maintaining employment, numerous legal issues may present themselves. The first problem is figuring out who is at fault. In some cases there is a police report and clear liability like a rear-end collision. In others, any number of factors may affect the fault of the parties such as:

Who was driving?
Whose car was it?
Was the driver distracted in any way?
Were there any mechanical issues related to any of the vehicles?
Was the driver working at the time of the collision?
Had the driver consumed any prescription drugs or alcohol prior to the collision? Did the driver have to swerve to avoid a different accident?
Were the actions of the driver who hit you caused by a defect in the roadway?
Were you injured further after the collision because of a defect in the roadway?

Once fault is determined, the next task is to make sure every person injured by the negligence of another is fully compensated. Some key questions in many cases include:

Is the driver sufficiently insured to compensate everyone she injured?
Does he or she have any excess coverage beyond the minimum?
How many people were injured in the collision?
Is the owner of the vehicle insured?
Can the driver’s employer help with the costs?
Did anything outside of the vehicles help to contribute to the collision?
Maybe the at-fault driver had to swerve from a deer in the road, which caused the collision. In that case, there may be other avenues of recovery beyond the driver’s insurance.

Even after a settlement is reached between the parties, issues can prevent an injured person from receiving full compensation for his injuries. DF&A will help negotiate medical liens, ERISA liens and doctor’s bills. We will make sure the proceeds land in the rightful hands if the motor vehicle collision resulted in a death. We will set up the legally required trusts and protected accounts for settlements for minors injured in motor vehicle collisions.

After an accident, when you are focusing on getting all the medical attention that was made necessary by the collision, rest assured that DF&A will deal with all of the legal issues that may surround your case. Don’t talk to the insurance company without your lawyer. If you are able, you should keep a journal of all your experiences in getting medical attention and missing work and leave the rest of the worries to DF&A.