Motor Vehicle Accident FAQ

Beware of an insurance company offering you a “quick settlement” following a car wreck.  This is the WORST TIME to settle your case.  Why?

First, adrenalin in your body is released during an accident and can often mask serious injuries for several days.  Never settle a car accident claim before you have fully recovered from your injuries or at least understand the extent of your injuries.  What may seem like a good offer a day after your wreck can look like pennies compared to how you feel a few days later.  

Second, in the days after an accident, you may not be thinking clearly, especially if you suffered a concussion or severe whiplash during the wreck.  Now is not the time to analyze a settlement offer.  

What happens if you accept an insurance company’s settlement offer?  In order to finalize the offer, the insurance company will send you a “release.”  This is a statement they want you to sign in order to give up any claims you may have in exchange for the settlement money.  By signing a release, you literally sign away your rights to ever bring a lawsuit against the at-fault party or their insurance company, even if a hidden injury pops up later.  

If you have received a settlement offer from an insurance company following a wreck and would like to review it with an attorney for free before you accept it!

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Car Accident?

If you've been hurt in a car accident you need to speak with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

Car accidents can cause tragic losses, including death.  When the driver who caused an accident dies as a result, the car accident victim may still pursue an accident claim against them through their insurance company or even their estate.  

In these unfortunate cases, the deceased driver’s insurance company is still responsible for any injuries and damages suffered by the victims. If the at-fault driver did not have insurance or did not have enough insurance to cover the injuries and damages caused by their negligence, the victims may have a claim against their estate.  

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Car Accident?

If you've been hurt in a car accident you need to speak with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

The most common excuse an at-fault driver has when accused of running a red light is that their light was green.  “Green light-red light” accidents are common and insurance companies love to deny insurance claims based on their insured’s own self-saving statement.  So, how can you establish fault after a red-light accident?

First, it is very important to study the police report for any evidence the police may have gathered during their investigation.  Were there any independent witnesses who saw the accident?  Perhaps a fellow driver who was nice enough to stop and provide their statement?  

Second, a trip to the accident scene may be useful to see if there are any stores or residences around with cameras which may have captured the accident.  It is important to do this as soon as possible, since many surveillance systems erase footage after a certain amount of time.  

Finally, we sometimes use an accident reconstruction expert to analyze the details of the accident, including damage to the vehicles, skid marks, etc., in order to prove how the accident occurred.  

These are just a few ways we attempt to establish fault when the other driver denies running a red light.   

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Car Accident?

If you'be been hurt in a car accident you need to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help families throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

We often get phone calls from injury victims who are not satisfied with their current lawyer and are looking to hire another law firm to handle their case.  I always encourage those callers to contact their current attorney and schedule a meeting to discuss their concerns and to get a clear understanding of what is being done in their case.  Most times, a simple meeting with their attorney solves the problem.  

If a person is already represented by another attorney, we cannot discuss the specifics of their case with them unless they have discharged their present attorney.  The primary reason is that doing so may compromise the attorney-client confidentiality they have with their current lawyer.  

A client who fires their attorney should do so in writing.  The client should also request their entire file so that their new lawyer can review it.  It is important to note that firing an attorney does not mean that they will not be owed money at the end of your case.  In fact, a fired attorney may have a claim for repayment of case expenses and for fees, depending on the amount of work they did prior to getting fired.  

Communication with your current attorney is always encouraged prior to making the decision to switch lawyers.

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Car Accident?

If you've been hurt in a car accident you need to speak with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

Delay is one strategy used by insurance companies, including big truck insurance companies, to deter people from pursuing their claims following an accident.  The longer insurance companies can keep their money, the better for their bottom line.  

Big truck insurance companies are different than the typical car insurance companies with which you may be familiar.  Oftentimes, they are from out of state and unfamiliar with Louisiana’s laws concerning property damage adjustment, timely claims handling, and third-party bad faith law.  

At Grady J. Flattmann, Attorneys at Law, we help our clients through all aspects of their big truck cases, including their claims for property damage.  If the insurance company is delaying the process, we find out the reason, make sure the insurance company has satisfactory proof of our client’s loss, and put them on notice as to Louisiana’s laws on timely claims handling.  

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Truck Accident?

If you've been hurt in a semi-truck or large vehicle accident you need to speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

Sometimes insurance companies deny car accident claims based on a lack of evidence to show which party was at fault for causing the accident.  When liability (fault) is an issue in a car accident case, it is important to quickly identify and gather evidence to piece together how the accident occurred.  

One of the first things we do when we are hired for a car accident case is to identify the evidence available.  While the police report is not itself evidence, it typically contains very useful information, including a description of the accident, the identification of witnesses, and even diagrams of the wreck.  

When we need more information as to how the accident occurred, we may visit the accident scene and take photos of the scene, and of any tire marks or debris.  We also consider the damage to the vehicles and sometimes use an expert to download “black box” data from the vehicles.  

Witness statements are also very important, and we may contact witnesses to better understand what they saw.  In this day and age of modern technology, we also assess if there is any video of the accident, such as from a dash cam or other surveillance nearby.  

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Car Accident?

If you've been hurt in a car accident you need to speak with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

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A majority of personal injury claims are settled before a lawsuit has to be filed.  Even in cases where a lawsuit is filed, many are resolved before a trial occurs.  

However, whether your case will go to trial depends on many factors including the extent of your injuries, the amount of insurance available, and whether the at-fault insurance company is willing to be reasonable in their evaluation of your damages.  

Knowing the difference between an insurance claim and a lawsuit is important.  An insurance claim is simply the opening of a claim against the at-fault driver through their insurance company.  An insurance claim allows the insurance company to consider your damages and the liability of their insured to determine whether they are willing to negotiate with you toward the settlement of your claim.  A lawsuit is the continuation of an insurance claim through the court system.  After filing a lawsuit, both sides (you and the insurance company) have the ability to ask questions of each other and uncover additional facts in order to ultimately present those facts at a trial.  

In Louisiana, injury victims have a very short (one-year) time frame within which to either resolve their personal injury claim or file a lawsuit to preserve their claim.  Waiting too long to contact an attorney can be a big mistake.  

Have You Been Hurt In A Covington Area Accident?

If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident you need to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

Being a police officer is a hard job and it doesn’t get easier when it comes to writing accident reports.  The police officer comes onto the scene of the accident after it has happened, after vehicles have been moved, and sometimes, even after one or more of the parties has been transported to the hospital.  A police officer is oftentimes tasked with writing a report without the benefit of having key facts.  

If a police report contains a minor error following a motorcycle accident, you should get in touch with the police department and ask if they can have the officer contact you to discuss the report.  If there is a minor error, the officer will most likely work with you to correct the problem.  

If you disagree with the officer’s assessment of fault following a motorcycle wreck, the officer will be less likely to amend their report, unless you present important evidence (such as video of the accident), which they didn’t have before.  

While a police report cannot be used as evidence in a civil trial, the insurance company will definitely rely on it to make their decisions.  
 

Have You Been Hurt In A Covington Area Motorcycle Accident?

If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident you need to speak with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

If you have been involved in a wreck with a big truck, chances are that the truck company or their insurance company will look to blame you for the accident.  

 

Common defenses to a big truck accident include the following:

 

• Blaming the other driver for coming to a sudden stop in front of the truck.

• Blaming the other driver for being in the truck’s “blind spot.”

• Blaming the other driver for “scooting” in front of the truck at the last second.

 

Oftentimes, these defenses can be refuted with evidence from the accident scene, including photos of tire tracks, analyzing vehicle damage, and even accident reconstruction.  Sometimes, we will collect the truck’s “black box” data, which includes information on the truck’s speed and braking just before impact. 

 

Big truck accidents can get complicated quickly.  

Have You Been Injured In A Covington Area Truck Accident?

If you've been hurt in a semi-truck or large vehicle accident you need to speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help clients throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.

A wrongful death claim arising from a car accident is a type of car accident claim.  The big difference is that in a wrongful death claim in Louisiana, the law dictates the family member(s) who may pursue the claim.  

When a death occurs as a result of a car wreck, certain family members of the decedent may bring “wrongful death claims” and “survival actions.”  These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are different.  Wrongful death actions seek damages to the decedent’s family member, suffered by them personally as a result of their loved one’s death.  Claims include, but are not limited to loss of love and affection, funeral expenses, and in some instances, loss of financial support. 

Survival actions, on the other hand, are the claims the decedent would have had if they had not died.  They include the decedent’s own pain and suffering and mental anguish from the time of injury until the time of death, as well as any medical bills they incurred prior to death.

If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one due to a car accident, please let us help explain your rights.  We offer free, confidential, and “no pressure” consultations. 

Has Your Loved One Died Due To The Negligence Of Others?

If you lost a family member due to a negligent act you need to speak with an experienced Covington area wrongful death attorney as soon as possible. Please contact me online or call my Covington office directly at 985.590.6182 to schedule your free consultation today. I help families throughout Louisiana including Mandeville, Slidell, Bogalusa, Franklinton, Hammond, New Orleans and Metairie.