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Auto Accidents

Lafayette Auto Accident Attorneys Maximize Your Claim

Experienced trial lawyers fight for what is fair

As Americans, we depend heavily on our cars and take driving for granted. That is, until tragedy strikes. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto accident, you deserve full, fair compensation for your monetary losses and your pain and suffering. Goforth & Lilley provides high-quality legal representation for car crash cases. Our partner attorneys have more than 75 years of combined experience. We know how to negotiate settlements, or fight a case in court to deliver the appropriate results. Don’t try to settle your auto accident case alone. The best way to ensure that you get fair compensation through a settlement or jury verdict is to retain capable and determined representation as soon as possible after your accident.

Injury accidents and fatal crashes are far too common in Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Transportation reports that there were 47,437 motor vehicle crashes that resulted in 76,492 injuries and 757 deaths in 2017. In Lafayette Parish, where our law firm is based, there were 2,905 crashes that injured a total of 4,645 people and killed 18. The most dangerous roads in our area include I-10, I-49 and U.S. 90, where highway speed crashes are all too frequent and often deadly. In our practice, we have helped numerous victims of Louisiana car crashes recover compensation for devastating injuries, such as facial fractures and scarring, loss of limb, nerve damage, back and neck injuries, broken bones, and wrongful death.

Insurance issues with Louisiana auto accidents

Louisiana law requires that all drivers carry liability insurance with the following minimum amounts of coverage:

  • Bodily injury for a single person — $15,000 per incident
  • Bodily injury for more than one person — $30,000 per incident
  • Property damage — $25,000 per incident

Unfortunately, according to the Insurance Information Institute’s estimate, about 13 percent of Louisiana drivers do not carry liability insurance, which is about the average across the country. Failure to carry the requisite insurance can negatively affect your claim in two ways:

  • If you are uninsured at the time of the accident — You are subject to Louisiana’s “No Pay, No Play” law, which prohibits uninsured motorists from collecting the first $25,000 in property damages and the first $15,000 in personal injuries regardless of who causes the accident.
  • If an uninsured motorist hits you — The driver will not have insurance to cover your losses and may not have personal assets to satisfy your claim. You must file a claim against your own uninsured motorist coverage. But this is an optional form of coverage, so if you didn’t opt to purchase this separately, you may not be covered.

If you do file a claim with your own insurer, don’t imagine the process will be any easier. It’s amazing how fast a cozy relationship becomes adversarial when you’re filing claims instead of paying premiums. It helps greatly to have a personal injury attorney on your side even when you’re dealing with your own company.

Steps to take immediately following an auto accident

You never know when or where a car crash will occur, so you should be prepared at all times. What exactly you must do depends on the specific circumstances of where you find yourself and how badly injured you are. But in general, you should do the following:

  • Pull over to a safe place on the side of the road.
  • Administer first aid to any injured passengers.
  • Render reasonable first aid to parties in other cars.
  • Call 911 and request police and an ambulance.
  • Exchange identifying information with the other driver. (If a driver appears to be intoxicated, do not engage with that person. Wait in your car with the doors locked until the police arrive.)
  • Get contact information from any witnesses who stop.
  • Take cellphone photos of the accident scene, damaged vehicles and injured parties.
  • Go to the emergency room and get yourself thoroughly checked out.
  • Call an auto accident attorney at our law firm.

The sooner you engage our law firm for your auto accident case, the stronger your case will be. We can act almost immediately to preserve physical evidence of the crash and get witnesses on record.

Contact a reputable Lafayette law firm for your auto accident case

Goforth & Lilley is an established Lafayette law firm with a substantial record of success in auto accident cases. To learn how we can assist with your car accident claim, schedule a free consultation and case evaluation. Call us today at 337-446-4239 or contact our office online.

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