Asheville Car Accident Lawyer

Hiring a Car Accident Attorney in Asheville, NC

Before you hire an Asheville car accident lawyer, make sure the attorney meets the following criteria.

Trial Experience

Whether a car accident lawyer wins or loses at trial, it’s important that a lawyer consistently tries cases before a jury. Insurance companies know who is willing to try a case and who is not. Those willing to try cases in front of juries will always get higher offers than those who are not. The attorney you choose should have extensive experience in negotiating and litigating car accident cases in the event that you do have to go to court.

Car Accident Attorney Advertising

Attorneys who advertise on billboards or television will almost always have a harder time trying cases in front of juries that have seen their ads. Juries assume that attorneys who advertise are “ambulance chasers” and not to be trusted. Consequently, attorneys who advertise heavily rarely try cases, and insurance companies know it.

The Number of Clients the Car Accident Lawyer Handles at One Time

Generally speaking, personal injury law firms that handle hundreds of clients try to settle their car accident cases quickly and cheaply. This can hurt your case if your attorney sees your case as a number and not a person or family who needs help. Look for a law firm that handles fewer cases and has fewer lawyers – these firms tend to treat car accident cases with more attention and consequently get higher offers and better results in a trial. When you work with our law firm, only Lakota Denton is your car accident attorney, and he will give your case the personal attention it deserves.

Trial Strategy if Your Car Accident Case Goes to Litigation

Look for a small firm and a lawyer who has recently tried cases. Talk to the car accident lawyer and ask about his trial strategy and how he or she intends to prove your case. Your attorney should have a plan for litigation if it becomes necessary. A good car accident lawyer will always have in mind how to take your case to trial, not just how to get the insurance company to make an offer.

When you need an Asheville car accident lawyer, you’ll find your best choice is Lakota Denton. He “checks all the boxes” of the criteria you should use to evaluate an attorney. Find out how he can help you. Give our team at call at 828-333-5996 today.

Car Accident Injuries and How They Can Impact Your Case

Injuries could vary widely in a car accident. The severity depends on several factors, including speed, the size of the vehicle involved, and how a vehicle hits you. Injuries include:

• Bumps, bruises, scratches, cuts and scrapes
• Strains and sprains
• Pulled and torn muscles, and other soft-tissue injuries
• Simple and compound fractures
• Head, neck and shoulder injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and penetrating brain injuries
• Back and spinal cord injuries
• Amputation of limbs or digits
• Heat and chemical burns
• Road rash.

You could also suffer from secondary injuries, such as infections. The defendant is also responsible for those injuries because accident injuries caused them. Additionally, if your accident injuries exacerbate conditions and diseases you already have, the defendant may be held responsible for the extra medical expenses and pain and suffering.

Our car accident attorney will be sure to pursue compensation to cover the full extent of your injuries that result from the crash.

How Much is My Car Accident Case Worth?

Your case worth depends on the severity of your injuries and the defendant’s actions or inactions. You could collect two types of damages in your car accident case: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are divided into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages in a Car Accident Case

Special damages, often referred to as economic damages, have a monetary value and are meant to make you financially whole again. They include past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, replacement or repair of destroyed or damaged personal property, and funeral, burial and/or cremation expenses.

Non-Economic Damages

General damages, often referred to as non-economic damages, are harder to put in terms of dollars and cents, but they are still meant to make you financially whole again. They include:

• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress
• Loss of quality of life, including loss of companionship and loss of consortium
• Loss of use of a body part or bodily function
• Amputation of a limb or digit
• Excessive scarring and/or disfigurement
• Inconvenience should you have to hire someone to do your normal chores, such as grocery shopping, house cleaning, and lawn and home maintenance.

Punitive Damages

The court orders a defendant to pay punitive damages in a car accident case only if you can prove that his or her actions or inactions were wanton, willful or reckless. Instead of making you financially whole again, the court uses punitive damages to punish the defendant’s behavior.

How Our Asheville Car Accident Lawyer Determines the Value of Your Case

An experienced car accident lawyer knows that there is no set answer or single formula for determining the value of your case, especially for damages for pain and suffering. The value depends on several factors, including the severity of your injuries, whether doctors expect those injuries to be long-term or permanent, and the actions and inactions of the defendant.

1) The extent of your injuries. If you suffered only minor bumps and bruises, the value of your car accident case is low. This makes sense, as juries do not put as much value on a sprained ankle as they do on someone with a fractured neck. Generally, the more serious your injury, the more value a jury or insurance company will place on your case.

2) The behavior of the at-fault person. Juries do not appreciate people who cause car crashes and then refuse to take responsibility for their behavior. When the person at fault accidentally crashes into your car, and they jump right out and apologize and tell you that they’ll pay for your medical bills, their behavior is not likely to add to what a jury thinks your case is worth. However, when the at-fault person was drinking and driving or refusing to accept responsibility for a wreck that everyone knows is their fault, juries tend to get more upset and place more money on the case.

3) The severity of the crash. The more serious the crash, the more value an insurance company or jury will place on your case. You can imagine that a small bump to the back of your car will not arouse a jury the way it would if your car is totaled. A picture of the damage to both of the involved vehicles will be a helpful way to determine the severity of your crash.

4) The amount of your medical bills. Generally, the more bills you have as a result of your accident, the more value for your case. However, be careful. Many “car accident value calculators” will try to tell you that your claim is worth three times your medical bills. This is grossly oversimplified.

As you can imagine, some people have $20,000 worth of medical bills just from X-rays, MRIs and CT scans – all of which may show no injuries. A case with no injuries is not worth $60,000. On the flip side, some people are catastrophically injured, but only have medical bills of $10,000.

For example, our car accident attorney represented a person who had a concussion that left him with permanent vertigo – a pretty serious head injury. His bills were only $18,000. But our attorney recovered $100,000 for his case after filing a lawsuit – much more than three times his medical bills.

It’s important that you work with an experienced car accident lawyer in Asheville. When an attorney understands the process of car accident cases and has a proven record of wins, you can feel confident you are getting the best representation possible. Lakota Denton has this experience and has a proven record of wins. Call him today at 828-333-5996 to talk about your case.

Steps to Take After a Car Accident

If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident that was not your fault, you’re likely going to have a lot of questions on handling the situation. When a new client asks our car accident lawyer for help, here is what we do to help with their case:

1) We investigate the accident to prove who was at fault in the wreck. This usually includes obtaining photographs of the vehicles and the crash scene; obtaining video surveillance of the crash, if possible; obtaining witness statements from any eyewitnesses; speaking to the investigating officer; and obtaining the police crash report.

2) We communicate with all the car insurance companies to ensure that your claim for injuries and damages is handled to your best advantage. This includes the auto insurance company for the at-fault driver as well as your own car insurance company. In some situations, three, four or five insurance companies can be involved. Our car accident attorney lets them know that he is involved and investigating the accident. After the investigation, Lakota Denton will document your injuries and damages to the at-fault insurance companies to ensure that you receive a full and fair settlement offer.

3) We review all of your medical records and medical bills so that we can fully understand your injuries and how much money you owe to medical providers. We have a former nurse on our staff who will go through all of your medical records to make sure that we document every injury related to the crash. Our car accident lawyer will summarize your medical records for the insurance company in a way that forces them to calculate your pain and suffering settlement as high as possible. We will also contact your doctors and have them provide statements that detail your injuries to the insurance company.

4) We will file a lawsuit if necessary. Sometimes insurance companies refuse to make a reasonable offer in your car accident case. When this happens, attorney Lakota Denton will file a lawsuit and litigate your case to trial if necessary. While it is not always necessary, filing a lawsuit is the only way to force insurance companies to act reasonably in some situations. Our car accident lawyer has handled dozens of cases where he has dramatically increased the insurance company offer after filing a lawsuit and proceeding to litigation.

5) We will try your case before a jury if necessary. Many car accident lawyers will avoid trying your case if at all possible. Insurance companies know which lawyers are afraid to talk to juries. Because Lakota Denton has tried cases and won, insurance companies are likely to make better offers to his clients to prevent the case from going to trial.

6) We will work to reduce how much you owe in medical bills for injuries suffered in the car crash. When we review your medical bills, we will look at ways to reduce your bills through filing with health insurance and Medicare or Medicaid. We will also look at ways to negotiate your bills to a lower amount with your medical providers. Reducing your bills after settlement allows you to receive more money in your pocket to compensate you for your injuries.

Most importantly, our goal is to allow you to work on recovering from your injuries with the knowledge that we are taking care of everything else.

We will gather all the needed documents. We will obtain statements from witnesses. We will negotiate with the insurance company. Your job is just to work on getting better. Contact Asheville car accident lawyer Lakota Denton today for a free consultation.