Car Accident Attorney in Hilton Head

Seek Medical Care

Your health and safety are priority, so you should always seek medical care after a car accident. Some injuries, like whiplash or a concussion, are often not felt until the shock of the accident wears off, sometimes even days afterward. By then, the damage can be worse. It’s essential that you seek medical care after your accident, even if you think you’re fine.

Medical records from the accident can also be critical to your case. The better documentation we have of your injuries, the more evidence we have for a settlement.

Contact an Attorney

After a car accident, it’s unnecessarily stressful to deal with an insurance company. Its loyalty lies with its shareholders, not you, and insurance companies will often try to minimize your compensation through intimidation and misinformation. When all you want to do is get your life back, we know how discouraging and frightening this can be.

Our experienced legal team will help you find a doctor, perform a thorough investigation of your accident, draft a demand letter, and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. And if the insurance company won’t settle fairly, we’re prepared to go to court with the full force of our knowledgeable, award-winning attorneys.

The insurance companies know our name and they know we won’t back down. In fact, our recovery is, on average, nearly 20 times higher than the initial pre-trial offers.

Damages

A car accident can be costly. You can be saddled with medical bills, lost property, and lost wages (if you need to take time off work). Severe injuries can necessitate long-term care, cause job loss, and more.

Our goal is to help you receive the compensation you deserve in order to cover costs accrued from the accident. This may include:

• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity (if you’re no longer able to work)
• Medical expenses
• Long-term care
• Pain and suffering
• Wrongful death

Don’t Delay

South Carolina has a strict statute of limitations for car accident claims, which means that you have a limited amount of time to file your claim.

It’s also important to preserve evidence. Evidence can be lost, crash scenes can be altered, and witness memories can fade. The sooner you reach out, the sooner we can begin an internal investigation of your crash to preserve critical evidence and create the strongest case possible.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

You will need to collect contact information for the other driver after a car accident. This information includes:

• License plate number
• Driver’s license number
• Car registration information
• Name, address, and phone number
• Car insurance company name and policy number

The best way to get this information is to take pictures of documents and the license plate of the other car. This way, you can ensure that you don’t make a mistake when collecting the information, and it makes it easy to share with other parties.

Yes. You are required to provide the other driver with the same information that you collect from them. If you don’t share your information, you can get cited for a hit-and-run, even if you weren’t responsible for the accident.

If the accident is serious enough that police are dispatched, you should wait until they arrive, as long as it is medically safe to do so. You aren’t required to immediately provide a statement to the police, but you do need to give them contact information so they can speak with you later.

If your injuries are serious, the police will likely meet you at the hospital. Medical necessity is the one justifiable reason for not waiting and not sharing contact information with the other driver.

If you have the opportunity, you should collect contact information for any witnesses to the accident and document the condition of your vehicle. Your car accident lawyers will need this information to support your case, and this is usually the best time to collect it.

Your claim will eventually be filed against whichever insurance policy belonged to the person most at fault for the accident. However, you should probably file a claim with your insurance company as quickly as possible. That starts the process, which will speed up how soon you get paid.

The best time to file an insurance claim is while you are still at the scene of the accident. Most insurance companies have apps that let you file electronically. Also, attach any pictures you took earlier so the insurance company won’t have to request that information later.

Preferably, you will contact a car accident law firm before you file your insurance claim. An attorney can help you with the claims process and prevent you from making common mistakes.

The most common mistake that people make after a car accident is talking about the accident. It is entirely natural that you might want to talk to the other driver and compare notes about what happened. Ignore the urge, and avoid this type of conversation.

Anything you say to someone else about the accident can potentially be used as evidence against you later. For example, if you say something like, “I don’t think I was hurt that badly,” an insurance company could use that statement to deny your claim or pay you less money.

We prefer that you don’t post anything about your accident on social media until your case is over. But if that isn’t possible, our car accident lawyers will help you craft a social media post that protects your interests while also sharing important information with friends and family.

If an insurance company denies your claim, you have two options: appeal or sue. Every insurance company has an appeal process that you can use to dispute any decision the insurer makes. It is generally worth appealing because you can still sue if you lose your appeal.

If you choose to sue, your attorney will file a lawsuit on your behalf with the court system. A jury can force the insurer to reverse a decision or may just award you money directly.

Yes. Your Morgan and Morgan attorney can represent you during an appeal. Our car accident lawyers have decades of experience dealing with the claims process and will take the lead on your appeal. We stand by our excellent record of appealing insurance decisions.

Typically, we determine fault by looking at the evidence. This process may require speaking with witnesses, visiting the accident scene, examining a police report, or getting physical evidence like video footage from nearby cameras. 

Once we have collected that evidence, we present it to the insurance company to prove that the other driver was responsible for the accident.

No. In the majority of cases, we never even get close to suing the insurance company. We usually negotiate a fair settlement offer based on the severity of your injuries. Filing a lawsuit is the last resort.

The value of your claim depends on the severity of your injuries and how much they have disrupted your life. For example, a simple broken arm will likely be worth considerably less than permanent paralysis. 

The car accident lawyers at Morgan and Morgan will determine the value of your claim during your initial free case evaluation.

Yes. Many injuries sustained in car accidents seem less serious than they are. If you don’t get evaluated and treated by a doctor, it could have severe consequences, including death.

Furthermore, your car accident lawyers will need medical records to prove the severity of your injuries. If you don’t get treated by a doctor, there’s no way to prove to the insurance company that you were hurt or how bad your injuries are.

Yes. Assuming that you have a policy that covers your injuries, you can get compensation from your insurance company. However, you should speak to a lawyer before you file a claim with your insurance company. Your lawyer can determine what your policy covers and help you file a claim that’s likely to be approved.

Some of the most common serious injuries from car accidents are:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Broken or shattered bones
• Organ damage
• Spinal damage
• Death

If you suffer a serious injury, you will probably need weeks, months, or even years of medical treatment. A car accident attorney can help you get the money you need to pay for prolonged medical care.

You should only accept a settlement offer if it will provide you with enough money to fully recover from your injuries. This means that it should pay for your medical bills, other expenses resulting from your injury, and any wages you lost due to your injury.

Most people don’t know how to determine whether an offer is fair. That’s why it’s important to hire an experienced attorney. Car accident lawyers understand the costs that result from serious injuries and can accurately assess whether an offer is fair.

Car accident attorneys from Morgan & Morgan are free up front.

How is this possible? We take all cases on contingency, which means that we only get paid if you receive money. Our fee is always a percentage of the money we get for you. Regardless of how much compensation you receive, you will always have more money at the end of the case than you had at the start. 

And in the unlikely situation that we fail to get you money, we will never send you a bill. We guarantee that in writing before you hire us.

Your initial case evaluation and consultation appointment are also free. During this meeting, we examine the facts of your case and determine whether you have a strong claim. If we think the law is on your side and we can win you money, we will take your case.

Even if we don’t take your case, we will advise you of your options and wish you well. However, we will not send you a bill.

At Morgan and Morgan, we have decades of experience winning money for our car accident clients. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident in Hilton Head, SC, contact our law firm immediately to schedule a free case evaluation.