Recovering Compensation for Injured Car Accident Victims in Williams County and across North Dakota
Causes of Williston Car Accidents
Car accidents are often caused by human error, otherwise known as negligence. When someone makes a mistake not intending to cause harm, this is called negligence. Texting while driving, speeding, road rage, and many other common causes of car accidents is negligence.
In 2019, the most common causes of car accidents were speeding, aggressive driving, and driving under the influence. To prove that someone has acted with negligence and is therefore at fault for your accident and injuries, you’ll need evidence that showcases the following:
- The at-fault party owes a duty of care to the victim. When anyone gets behind the wheel of a car, they owe a “duty of care.” This means that by getting behind the wheel, they agreed to take precautions to drive in a safe manner at all times. This one is easy to prove, as all drivers owe each other this duty.
- The at-fault party breached the duty of care by acting with negligence. For example, they were talking on the phone when they hit you, or they were speeding. You can use photographic evidence and witness statements to prove that the duty of care was breached.
- The breach resulted in your injuries, otherwise known as causation. To showcase the link between your injuries and the accident, you’ll be able to use doctor’s notes and medical records, as well as witness statements.
- Because of the accident and your injuries, you have recoverable damages. You’ll need to show that the injury had an impact on your life in some way. These damages can be economic or non-economic, such as medical bills or pain and suffering.
What to do after a Car Accident in Williston, North Dakota
After you have been involved in a car accident, especially one in which you were injured or think you may have injuries, it is extremely important to take certain steps to protect yourself and your family in the future.
Make no mistake about it, your insurance company, and the other driver’s insurance company, are definitely not on your side. They are on the side of profits and will do anything they can to delegitimize your claim. In order to protect yourself, one of the first things you can do is begin to document the evidence of your Williston car accident.
Follow These Steps after a Williston Car Accident
- Take photographs and videos of the accident scene, of your car and any damages, photos of any injuries, and photos of anything around you that could help prove your accident claim later. Your attorney can always choose not to use a photo, but they can’t create a photo that was never taken. And document all of the details you can as soon as you can, such as eyewitness accounts and license plate numbers.
- Immediately get the medical care that you need, regardless of how badly you think you were injured in the accident. In fact, seek medical care even if you think you aren’t injured since adrenaline and shock can cause serious injuries to not show up until later.
- Contact law enforcement as soon as it is safe so that they can document the motor vehicle accident in order to provide later evidence for your car accident case.
- Collect information from eyewitnesses to your car accident. Get their name, phone number, and email address, if possible. Witnesses to the actual collision will go a long way in helping your auto accident attorney provide you with the best legal representation later.
- Finally, seriously consider contacting a Williston injury attorney who is experienced with car accident claims and who has a reputation for actually taking their cases to trial when necessary. The longer you wait to hire a car accident attorney, the more evidence will be lost and the harder it will be to build a successful personal injury claim.
Keep Records for Your Car Accident Claim
Be sure to create a folder where you can keep each and every record that pertains to your accident injury case. For example, keep copies of medical records, police reports, documents from your insurance companies, correspondence with anyone regarding your claim, and a log of time spent on the phone, time at doctor’s offices, and so on.
Getting Maximum Compensation for Your Car Accident Case
Car accidents are extremely stressful and expensive events. They are always unexpected and almost always threaten to ruin, or serious disrupt, someone financially, emotionally, or physically. Getting compensation for your car accident damages is the best way to ensure that you and your family are not suffering years later because of the accident.
Sand Law will work with you, your insurance company, the insurance adjusters, and any other liable parties to help you recover for your damages. Williston car accidents often leave victims with all kind
s of bills and damages, for example:
- Medical bills
- Hospital and ambulance bills
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Lost wages from missed work
- Future loss of earnings
- Costs of future surgeries
- Pain and suffering
- And so many others, depending on the case
Compensation in a Williston Car Accident Lawsuit
After you’re injured in a car accident, you may be concerned about how much debt you’ve accumulated. From medical bills, to lost wages, pain and suffering, and more, the money can really add up. A talented attorney with experience working on car accident cases can ensure that you get the high settlement or trial win that you’re looking for. We know that compensation won’t solve all of your problems, but we hope that it can help take the weight off of your shoulders while you focus on relaxing and recovering from the accident.
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses include ambulance rides, doctor’s visits, physical therapy, hospital visits, surgery costs, costs associated with labs, x-rays, and more. Any medical expense that you incur because of the injuries you sustained in the accident may be recoverable. Severe injuries, such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury will have many costs associated with them and more expenses compared to a more mild injury.
Lost Income
You can receive compensation for any money that you lose while out of work because of your injuries. More severe injuries may keep you out of work for months. And those lost wages can add up quickly. You can also recover damages for loss of earning capacity. If your injury prevents you from being able to do your job, you can receive compensation for that.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage that is given out based on how much one’s life was affected by their injuries. Basically, the amount is decided based on one’s quality of life before and after the accident. For example, an avid runner with injuries that caused a permanent disability would receive more in pain and suffering than someone who lived a sedentary lifestyle and has injuries that they’ll recover from.
Pain and suffering damages also look at things like loss of consortium. If you lost a partner because of the accident (occasionally, the stress of the accident, bills, and more can cause a partnership to split), you can receive further compensation.
Punitive Damages
While rare, punitive damages can be awarded based on how negligent the at-fault party was in causing your accident. Punitive damages are used as a way to further punish the at-fault party by awarding you a greater sum. Punitive damages may be awarded in drunk driving cases where the at-fault party’s blood alcohol content level was very high or in accidents where the at-fault driver had road rage or intentionally caused the accident.
Property Damage
In car accident cases, the property damage is most often the damage to your vehicle. Your own personal insurance will often cover the total amount of damages or even cover the complete loss of the vehicle. But in the case that they can’t, you can recover damages for the damage to, or the loss of, your vehicle.
Common Injuries Caused By Car Accidents
There are many different types of injuries associated with car accidents. Additionally, someone can suffer more than one type of injury at the same time. More severe injuries, such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, can be more costly and life-changing. Whereas smaller injuries often don’t require as much treatment and can be easier to recover from.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
TBI (or traumatic brain injury) is caused by an object striking or penetrating the head with great force. Traumatic brain injuries can cause severe brain damage, coma, vegetative state, and death. TBIs can also be minor, such as a concussion.
A more severe type of brain injury is called a coup/contrecoup injury. These occur when the brain moves around inside the skull, causing damage at the site of the blow (coup) and the opposite side of the skull (contrecoup). Damage on the opposite side of the skull occurs when the brain moves forcefully, slamming against the skull.
Brain injuries often require long-term treatment and can be very expensive. Other injuries may be present alongside a brain injury, such as burns or broken bones.
Neck and Back Injuries
Neck and back injuries include herniated discs, whiplash, lumbar sprains, spinal stenosis, and joint injuries. Back injuries often require physical therapy or surgery. Depending on how the speed of the cars involved in the accident, back injuries can range from mild to severe. If you have a history of back problems prior to the accident, your injuries may be more severe.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are serious since they can cause paralysis. The higher up the damage is on the spinal column, the more serious the injury will be. Paralysis may be complete or incomplete. Complete paralysis refers to function that has been completely lost below the site of the injury. By contrast, incomplete paralysis refers to only a partial loss of function that has occurred.
Spinal cord injuries can be expensive as there’s no cure for spinal cord damage. Treatment options include surgeries, physical therapy, and injections. Treatment may be lifelong.
Broken Bones
Car accidents often result in broken bones, which generally aren’t too serious. A clean break will be set in a cast to heal. However, a more severe break may require surgery before setting it into a cast to heal. If you’ve endured multiple different breaks, you may require physical therapy.
Burns
Burns from car fires can cause serious damage to the skin. To repair burned skin, a skin graft may be used. However, you may be left with disfigurement or scarring because of the burn. More severe burns are at risk for infection, and deep burns can cause nerve damage.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue is the connective tissue between your bones and muscles, including skin, connective tissue, fat, ligaments, and tendons. Common soft tissue injuries include whiplash, soft tissue sprains or strains, contusions, and lacerations. Minor soft tissue injuries require rest, ice, compression, and elevation to help the pain subside. More severe injuries may require immobilization, physical therapy, or surgery.
Amputated Limbs
In crush accidents, it’s possible to have a limb amputated. Limbs can be amputated at the scene of the accident or later on at the hospital if the limb cannot be saved.
Internal Injuries
Internal injuries include damage to the organs and internal bleeding. These injuries can be dangerous, as many don’t realize they have them until it’s too late. Internal injuries most often require surgery to repair the organs or stop the bleeding.
Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer You Can Trust
Ensuring that you have a good attorney-client relationship can go a long way in making you feel comfortable during what can be an arduous process. The attorneys at Sand Law PLLC promise to treat you and your family with the utmost respect while ensuring that we are zealous and relentless when dealing with those who were negligent in causing your injuries.
Other law firms treat clients like another number in the books; we treat our clients like an important and integral part of our lives–because you are. Without our clients, we couldn’t do what we do, and because of that, we are grateful and go out of our way to show it.
Sand Law’s attorneys are more than just your average personal injury attorneys. We are made up of trial lawyers that have real courtroom experience and a proven track record of getting our clients fair and just compensation for their injuries and damages.
Contact the Experienced Williston Car Accident Attorneys at Sand Law
Do not wait to reach out to an attorney. The longer the wait, the more evidence will be lost, and the greater your chances are of the insurance companies using the delay against you.
If you or a loved one were injured in a North Dakota car accident, or you believe that a car accident caused the wrongful death of your loved one, contact Sand Law PLLC today for a free consultation. We can be reached by clicking on the chat box on this page, by filling out our online contact form, or by calling us at (701) 609-1510. We look forward to hearing from you.
Learn More about Sand Law's Reputation
Our reputation is reflected in client and peer evaluations, along with numerous accolades and awards, such as:
- Many 5-Star Ratings from Prior Clients Posted on Legal Portals and Websites Rating Professional Service Providers (See Facebook, AVVO (William Sand), AVVO (Richard Sand), Google Reviews;
- Rated 4.9 (5.0) Scale Based on Peer Review (Martindale.com);
- “AV Preeminent” (Highest Rating) Martindale-Hubbell;
- Designated “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers;
- Average Rating of “Excellent” from AVVO (Service Rating All U.S. Lawyers); &
- Selected “Top 40 Under 40” by Super Lawyers.
Related Topics
How To Document Evidence at the Scene of a Car Accident
Steps To Take if You're in an Uber Accident
Four Ways a Semi-Truck Accident is Different from a Car Accident
From Negotiation to Litigation: Understanding the Tactics Used by Car Accident Lawyers
Can a Passenger in a Car Accident File an Injury Claim?
Important News about Drinking and Driving