What You Need to Know about Hiring a New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer: Part 1

Someone else’s bad day or questionable judgment can have a permanent impact on your life. All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time for a split second for things to change. Before you can even receive financial compensation for a car accident, you need to prove that someone else was responsible for the crash. Then, you must haggle with the insurance company to get all the money that you deserve. Neither of these is an easy thing for families dealing with car accident injuries. Dealing with an insurance company is not something that you should attempt to do on your own. 

You Can Hire a Lawyer Without Money from Your Pocket

The one thing that you have going for you in the car accident legal process is that you can hire an experienced attorney without having to pay any money upfront. You can leave the details of your case to us, and we will do the heavy lifting, helping you make the decisions that can put you in the best position to receive financial compensation. 

There are reasons why car insurance costs a small fortune in Louisiana. One is that the state ranks in the upper third in the country for fatal auto accidents. Wrongful death claims are expensive for auto insurance companies because of the extensive damages that families suffer. 

Why New Orleans Roads Are Getting More Dangerous

Road safety in Louisiana is getting worse, as it is in the rest of the country. Here are some of the common causes of car crashes in Louisiana:

• Aggressive driving – this problem has gotten worse, especially since the start of the pandemic, as people have gotten used to driving with fewer cars on the road
• Distracted driving – motorists simply will not put down their mobile devices to concentrate on the road, even though it is harshly punished in Louisiana
• Drunk driving – Louisiana has a higher than national average rate of drunk drivers who have a blood alcohol level between .08 and .14
• Inexperienced drivers – it takes a level of experience to handle New Orleans roads that many drivers do not have

Examples of Car Accident Negligence

In any car crash, you must prove that the other driver did something wrong. The mere fact that the crash happened is not enough evidence to put you in a position to receive financial compensation. You need to show that the other driver was negligent. Not everything that a driver does in an accident is considered negligent. It will only be negligence if the driver departs from the standard of care.

Here are some examples of things that could be considered negligence:

• Not looking before changing lanes and sideswiping a driver
• Running a red light or a stop sign
• Causing an accident while speeding
• Aggressively weaving in and out of traffic

The other driver would be liable whether they were reckless or negligent. 

Stay tuned for Part II of this blog series.