Car Accident Lawyer in Rockville, MD

An accident leaves many people injured on the road each day, as a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD knows too well. You should not have to deal with the financial burden after an accident alone. A trusted lawyer who knows how to help accident victims will be there for you at every step of the way. The skilled and talented legal team at Azari Law, LLC can help you with your case if you have been injured and are thinking of taking legal action against the responsible driver. 

Car Accident Lawyer in Rockville, MD

When you work with a lawyer from Azari Law, LLC you can always expect to receive personalized legal help specific to your unique circumstances. They will be there for you to give you the legal advice you need to navigate your situation and obtain the best outcome. With their years of experience, they have assisted numerous clients obtain the settlement that they deserve and nothing less. Contact us today for a risk-free consultation so that we can get started on your case.

• WHAT TO DO AFTER AN ACCIDENT
• WHAT TO DO FOLLOWING A CAR ACCIDENT
• ASSESS THE SITUATION
• CONTACT A QUALIFIED CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER
• 7 THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO WHEN SPEAKING WITH INSURANCE CLAIMS ADJUSTERS
• FIVE MYTHS ABOUT CAR ACCIDENT LAWSUITS
• QUESTIONS TO ASK A CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER
• CRIMINAL VS. CIVIL CASES
• TRICKS CAR INSURANCE COMPANIES MAY USE TO GET OUR OF YOUR CLAIM
• COMMON CAUSES OF CAR ACCIDENTS
• CAR ACCIDENT LAW STATISTICS

What to Do After an Accident

As a car accident lawyer based in Rockville, Maryland can explain to you, knowing the right steps to take after an accident is crucial. You may be feeling disoriented right after an accident, but try to remember what you need to do so that you can protect yourself and boost your chances of having a strong claim. Some of the basic steps you should take after a serious car accident include:

• Notify police and first responders
• Seek medical treatment
• Exchange contact and insurance information
• Take photos of the accident scene
• Write down witness statements
• Obtain a copy of the police report

Taking these important steps will help you prepare the strongest case possible. If you miss any of these steps, you risk getting less compensation. Failing to receive a proper medical evaluation in time for example can weaken your claim because a medical report is a key piece of evidence. 

Insurance companies will not work in your interest so you have to do the actions necessary to protect yourself. They will use any excuse to discredit your claim or lower the compensation amount they will give you. Do not fall for their tactics, and instead have a lawyer try to negotiate with them. They understand how to secure the offer that you deserve so your full costs will be covered. 

What to Do Following A Car Accident

A car accident is a harrowing experience, and the fallout afterward is no better. The costs of an accident are often dire and you may not know if your insurance will cover them. However, you don’t have to face this situation alone. A car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD from Azari Law, LLC can work with you to make a claim for compensation and take legal action against the responsible driver. To ensure you get the help you need, follow these steps.

Assess the Situation

First, check yourself and your passengers for injuries and, if possible, move off the road and get to safety. Next, call 911—injuries may not be immediately apparent, and even if nobody is injured, the police will file an accident report. Turn on the hazard lights or use road flares to warn oncoming drivers, then wait for emergency services to arrive.

During this time, you should also exchange information with the other driver, including:

• Name and contact info
• Insurance company and policy number
• Driver’s license
• License plate number
• Type, color and model of vehicle

Avoid admitting fault, accepting blame or declaring fault of other parties, as such statements could be used against you.

Document the Incident

Insurance companies try to avoid compensation, and your car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD will need as strong a case as possible to make sure the insurer gives you what you need. This means detailed documentation. Along with the information from the other driver, you should talk to any witnesses and request a copy of the accident report from the police. Also, take pictures of both vehicles to show the damage done, as evidence during the claims process. Don’t rely on memory to relay important information later—get everything in written statements or recordings.

Contact Insurance Companies

Call your insurance agent to start the claims process, ideally while still at the scene. Filing a claim becomes more difficult if you put it off, especially if the other driver files a claim against you. Even if they don’t take action against you, your insurer may need to contact their carrier and negotiate over repair costs. If an insurance adjuster shows up, do not sign or agree to anything, or you may inadvertently waive your right to a claim.

Contact an Attorney

Once the incident has been documented and reported, get in touch with a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD. Legal procedures at this point are often complex, so a firm like Azari Law, LLC gives you the expertise needed to navigate the claims process, build your case and take or defend against legal action.

Contact a Qualified Car Accident Lawyer

We understand that obtaining legal help after an accident can be a stressful decision to make. You are likely focused on moving past your accident and focusing on your recovery so that you can get back to normal life. However, you want to first explore your legal options before dismissing legal help. If you’re struggling with bills for medical expenses and other costs, then seeing a car accident lawyer is valuable. They can explore ways you can obtain the highest compensation that you can. Contact a car accident lawyer that Rockville, MD trusts today for legal assistance. 

The lawyers at Azari Law, LLC combine a dedication to providing high-quality legal services and advocacy with diligent investigation and legal research, so we can provide effective and affordable legal services for our clients.

How to Take Photos of a Car Accident Scene

If you were injured in a car accident, it is important to gather as much evidence as possible. Photos of the actual scene are one of the most powerful pieces of evidence you can have. Here are a few tips for taking photos of a car accident scene.

• Use any camera. When it comes to taking car accident scene photos, any camera will do. You definitely don’t need a high-tech camera to capture decent photos. In fact, you can even use your smartphone camera. These days, many smartphone cameras have a flash built in and can take clear photos.
• Capture shots at different angles. It is better to have too many photos than too few. As such, you should try to take photos from multiple different angles.
• Don’t forget the details. The more details your photos have, the better. Take up close photos of the damage to your vehicle, skid marks on the road, traffic signals and other vehicles involved in the accident.
• Take photos of your injuries. Did you suffer visible injuries from the car accident, like bruises or cuts? If so, you should take photos of them promptly.
• Ask someone to take photos for you. If you are too injured to take photos of the car accident scene, don’t hesitate to ask a bystander to do it for you. Photos can dramatically increase the credibility of your personal injury case, so you shouldn’t miss out on your opportunity to do so.

7 Things You Should Not Do When Speaking With Insurance Claims Adjusters

Azari Law, LLC, a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD, educates clients about insurance investigations. You have the right to delay your response to insurance company calls and to protect your personal information. Before you pick up the phone, learn about seven things you should not do when talking to claims adjusters.

1. Forget To Ask the Caller for Their Identifying Information

When you reach the adjuster handling your injury claim, you should get their full name and their contact information. Make sure the person states the name of the insurance company they represent. Keep records of all your phone calls and share the adjuster’s phone number with your car accident attorney at Azari Law, LLC.

2. Provide Personal Information

Insurance claims adjusters hope to gain as much information as they can from an investigative call. Proceed with caution and do not provide any personal information other than your full name, address and phone number.

3. Discuss the Details of the Accident

You might be eager to share your side of the story, but it’s best not to disclose any information about the accident. Even if the insurance company asks a few yes or no questions, you shouldn’t try to clarify any details for them. A car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD can coach you on what to say. You could also use a script when you speak to the claims investigator.

4. Disclose Your Injuries or Medical Treatments

The insurance company will try to minimize the severity of your injuries. If you tell them your arm is better or you were discharged from occupational therapy, adjusters will use this information to justify an insufficient settlement offer.

5. Apologize or Admit Fault

Even if you were partly to blame for causing the accident, don’t admit to any wrongdoing with the insurance adjusters. You should also avoid apologizing, even though you might feel compassion for the other party involved in the accident.

6. Lose Your Temper

Azari Law, LLC reminds clients to keep their composure when speaking to insurance company representatives. It will not help your case if you argue or lash out at the claims adjuster. Plus, you may forget important details if you are too upset during the call.

7. Call the Adjusters Before You Meet With a Lawyer

Don’t try to handle the insurance claims process on your own before speaking with a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD. Call Azari Law, LLC so they can help you get the compensation you need for your injuries.

Five Myths About Car Accident Lawsuits

If you’ve been in a car accident, you’ve likely sustained some degree of property damage as well as personal injury. You think you know what’s coming: a long, drawn-out legal battle to get your medical bills paid and your car repaired. You don’t want to deal with all the stress of dealing with insurance companies; you’re just overwhelmed. This is where a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD, can help.

Myth: Insurance Companies Always Offer Fair Settlements

Fact: Insurance companies never offer fair settlements. They’re in the business of making money, not paying it out to car accident victims like you. If they do offer a settlement right off the bat, it’s going to be an extremely low offer. With an Azari Law, LLC car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD on your side, you may receive a fair settlement after your crash.

Myth: Car Accident Lawsuits Take Too Long

Fact: While no two car accident lawsuits are the same, they are generally resolved on the order of months, rather than years. The length of time and amount of effort on your part can be reduced by hiring a car accident attorney to fight for you.

Myth: If I’m in Pain, I Can Sue for Pain and Suffering

Fact: “Pain and suffering” has a very specific meaning, and just being in pain usually isn’t enough to qualify you for it. Normally, there has to be severe disfigurement, such as loss of a limb or serious facial deformities, and an impairment of bodily function to allow you to sue for pain and suffering.

Myth: I Can Work It Out With the Other Driver

Fact: You shouldn’t even talk about the accident with the other driver. It’s easy to say something to damage your case, such as “I’m sorry” or “I’m fine.” “I’m sorry” can be construed to mean you’re admitting the accident was your fault. “I’m fine” may negate any injuries you could have sustained during the accident — injuries that could be masked by adrenaline or shock immediately after the collision.

Myth: I Don’t Need a Car Accident Lawyer

Fact: You absolutely need a car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD, from Azari Law, LLC. An attorney can handle all the heavy lifting of your case, taking care of all the finer points of law you may not be aware of. Let your lawyer deal with claims adjusters and insurance company lawyers on your behalf so you don’t have to worry about doing so yourself.

Questions to Ask a Car Accident Lawyer

Following a car accident, it is important to speak to a qualified car accident lawyer in Rockville, MD as soon as possible. During your initial consultation, it is a good idea to ask your lawyer many questions to make sure he or she is the right person to represent you. Here are several questions you may want to ask.

• What percentage of your practice is dedicated to car accident cases?
• How long have you been practicing law?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses in my case?
• What’s your contingency fee?
• How long do you think my case will take to resolve?
• What types of damages am I entitled to receive?
• Do you have trial experience?
• What steps should I take to protect my car accident case?
• Will you be the only lawyer working on my case?

Work-Related Car Crashes

If your auto accident occurred while you were engaged in work-related activities, you may be in a position to pursue more than one kind of compensation. Almost all auto accident injury victims—who are not solely responsible for the cause(s) of their collisions—are entitled to seek insurance settlements from relevant providers and are entitled to file personal injury lawsuits to hold those responsible for the harm in question legally and financially accountable for their conduct. However, car accident victims who are engaged in work-related activities at the time of their collisions are often eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits as well or instead of personal injury compensation.

If you know that you are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits, it remains important to speak with a Rockville, MD car accident lawyer from Azari Law, LLC about your legal options. If anyone other than your employer may be held legally and financially responsible for the harm that you have suffered, you may choose to file a personal injury lawsuit against that party (or parties) in addition to collecting your workers’ compensation benefits. The workers’ compensation system only insulates employers from legal liability in personal injury cases.

If you are unsure of whether you are in a strong position to pursue a workers’ compensation claim and/or personal injury claim, that is okay. The Rockville, MD car accident lawyer team at Azari Law, LLC is here to clarify your options and offer you any legal support that you may require at this time.

Criminal vs. Civil Cases

If another individual involved in your car accident has been charged with criminal wrongdoing related to your crash, know that this criminal law process is separate from any civil suit that you may choose to file against them. Meaning, that regardless of whether the charges stick or are dropped, the individual is convicted or not, etc., your right to hold that individual accountable for the harm that they caused you is in no way affected in a civil context.

The burden of proof in civil cases is much lower than it is in criminal cases. This means that it is easier to secure a verdict against the defendant in a civil case than it is in a criminal case. Therefore, if you are hesitating to explore your legal options due to the other party’s criminal case, please contact our firm today to discuss your situation—their criminal situation should have no bearing on your decision to file a civil case or not.

Legal Assistance Is Available

If you have been injured in an accident—or have lost a loved one as a result of an accident—and another’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally harmful conduct is totally or partially to blame for the harm that resulted from the accident, please take some time to explore your rights and legal options now. The sooner that you schedule a risk-free consultation with the experienced Maryland legal team at Azari Law, LLC, the sooner that you can make informed decisions that may be to your significant benefit. Our Rockville, MD car accident lawyer team takes great pride in advocating for our clients and will be honored to answer any and all questions that you may have at this time.

Tricks Car Insurance Companies May Use To Get Out of Your Claim

If you drive a car then you most likely have insurance, especially true because a lot of states require insurance to drive. And you purchase this insurance so that if you are in an accident your expenses will be covered but this is not how it works in reality, in fact it might be very difficult to obtain the settlement needed because insurance companies have the goal profiting, which means they need to pay out nothing — because paying out large sums of money is not cohesive to the plan.

Insurance companies always can put themselves first and they will try to deny your claim. Let’s talk about some of the most common ways that the insurance company may try to deny your claim so that you can recognize it.

Acting Like They Care

When you are feeling vulnerable after a car accident, and likely if you are filing a claim and have a lawyer on your team when you are injured and are filing for compensation for that injury. While, the insurance company recognizes vulnerability in the emotional time that you are going to try to heal and get treatment, and they are going to act like they care. If they act like they care, they’re going to try to earn your trust, and by doing so they are trying to get you to say things to them that may damage your claim.

 Use your own words against you

The insurance company is not going to have any issue with using your own words against you, handing me even asking for records or details of what happened. You should not speak to an insurance adjuster, no matter how nice they seem, because they will twist your words. You are not obligated to speak to an insurance adjuster without your lawyer present and you do not have to agree to be recorded.

They try to talk you out of hiring a lawyer

After your adjuster is going to have your trust they may try to convince you that you should not hire a lawyer, and there are often cites that you have to share your settlement with the lawyer in question. They do not explain that your settlement will often be larger with the help of a personal injury lawyer, because these lawyers have experience negotiating with insurance companies. The insurance company wants to minimize your compensation return, which means if you do not hire a lawyer then you do not know that they are lowballing you.

They request all of your medical records

You may think it’s reasonable for an insurance company to request all of your medical records, because they need to understand her injury, therefore they need to know your medical history in order for you to recover compensation. Right? Wrong. Insurance companies often request all of your medical records to look for a pre-existing condition that they can claim you had prior to the accident which worsened your current injury. Once this is done they can then minimize your financial recovery to the insurance company because they’re claiming you had a pre-existing condition prior to the accident.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

Getting involved in a car accident is as frightening as it can be frustrating. Sometimes, the crash is so sudden that you honestly have no idea what happened nor where the at-fault driver came from. But not knowing exactly what happened does not mean that you do not have a personal injury case nor that you can’t sue for compensation. In general, the causes of car accidents are typically the same across the country. Common causes are:

• Distracted driving
• Poor weather conditions
• Faulty tires
• Bad brakes
• Drunk driving
• Fatigue driving
• Speeding
• Not yielding to the right-of-way
• Poor vehicle manufacturing

Common Car Accident Injuries

The injuries you sustain from a car crash can range from minor to severe. But your injuries will rarely only ever be physical. Usually, drivers who experience a car accident are left feeling afraid to drive for quite some time. In fact, some drivers won’t get back on the road for years after such an incident. Some drivers, particularly motorcyclists or bicyclists who experience a car crash, experience a loss of enjoyment for the roads.

Whatever your injuries, you should know that a court will divide your injuries into economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are your out-of-pocket expenses that are easily quantifiable. These include the cost of car repairs, the cost of the ambulance ride (if applicable), medical bills, and any lost wages that you missed from having to take sick days off from work. Your non-economic damages, however, are your emotional damages that are best left to a qualified car accident lawyer in Rockville MD to gage. Non-economic damages may be your pain and suffering, loss of consortium between you and your spouse, and humiliation (if, perhaps, you suffer a physical injury such as an amputation or disfigurement). 

Now that we have covered the types of damages you may sue for, let’s list some common car accident injuries.

• Broken bones
• Sprained bones
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Amputation
• Headache or migraine
• Paraplegia
• Quadriplegia
• Sore muscles 
• Burns

Car Accident Law Statistics

According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, there were 563 total fatalities in Maryland in motor vehicle crashes. This includes drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and those involved on bicycles. As difficult as it is to discuss and think about, car accidents can be gravely serious. After your car accident, you may require physical therapy. You may struggle walking or making use of certain limbs. This predicament can negatively impact your work capacity, as well. For example, let’s suppose that you work for a construction company. Such a job requires lots of heavy lifting. If you can no longer make full use of your limbs or if your injuries are such that it will take months or years of therapy to improve, you’ve now lost your earning capacity because you will have to take a different, usually lower-paying job, such as a desk job. Even a desk job, where you must sit for prolonged periods of time, may exacerbate any spinal injuries that you sustained.