Car Accident Lawyer in Hammond

The Hammond metro area is the fastest-growing in the state, and with all that growth comes more people, more cars, more traffic, and sadly, more traffic accidents. If you’ve been in a car accident in Hammond or its surrounding areas, you’re likely experiencing pain, missing work, and feeling overwhelmed by medical bills. In a matter of seconds, a car accident can change your life, and it can feel especially unfair if you’re the victim of another driver’s carelessness or distraction.

You need a Louisiana car accident injury lawyer who will fight for your rights as a car wreck victim. The Hammond personal injury lawyers at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys have 679+ years of combined legal experience helping Hammond car wreck victims get the compensation they need to heal. Call our personal injury firm in Hammond at 985.888.8888 for a free consultation about your case today.

Hammond Car Accident Claim Types

Louisiana state law defines three paths to seek compensation for car accident and truck accident victims in Hammond through civil courts, meaning your claim must fall into one of these categories. Your lawsuit’s strategy will be guided by which of them applies to your case. This is a big reason why retaining an experienced car wreck attorney in Hammond is so important. The types of claims Louisiana law defines are the following:

Negligence

The most common civil claim after a car accident is negligence, which means the person at fault neglected their duty of care to ensure your safety. Examples of cases where negligence would apply include drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and aggressive drivers.

Product Liability

Sometimes, a wreck is caused by defective car parts: your brakes could fail suddenly, for example, or the other driver’s tires blow out. You could also have a product liability case if your airbag didn’t properly deploy during a crash, or a seatbelt improperly latched, since these can lead to more severe injuries.

Wrongful Death

If you lost your partner, parent, child, sibling, or other loved one in a car crash, Louisiana law might allow relief under its wrongful death statute. This law allows victims to seek compensation for funeral and burial costs, lost wages, medical expenses, and loss of consortium from the party who’s at fault.

Most Dangerous Roads in Hammond

Traffic patterns, road construction, and time of day can all affect the probability that you’ll be involved in a Hammond car accident. Be especially cautious when driving on these roads, because they have a higher incidence rate than others in the Hammond area:

• US-190 is heavily trafficked by all sorts of vehicles, including big rigs, delivery vans, commuters, and more. As a result, it experiences the second-highest rate of fatalities of any road in the state.
• Wardline Road, especially near its junction with I-55, has a reputation for being a dangerous byway in Hammond.
• SR-1065 experiences a number of fatal wrecks along its length each year.
• The intersection of US-190 and N Coburn Road is also particularly prone to deadly crashes.

Who Is Liable for a Car Accident in Hammond?

Civil courts in Louisiana determine liability, or who’s at-fault for an accident, using a concept called pure comparative negligence. Under this system, a car accident can legally be caused by more than one person or company, and each party is liable for a share of the damages based on their percentage of liability.

Applying this concept to your case means two things:

• Multiple parties could owe you compensation for your losses, for example
  • Other drivers or passengers, if they contributed to the crash, or their employers
  • Government entities, if they failed to properly maintain infrastructure
  • Product manufacturers or auto repair shops, if they made or repaired a faulty part
  • Or others
• Even if you’re found partially at-fault, you might still be awarded a portion of the damages you seek. For example, if you and another driver are found to share equal blame in an accident that cost you $10,000, the other driver can be ordered to pay 50% of your losses, or $5,000.

Of course, the various parties involved usually have insurance as well, and their insurance claims can complicate matters considerably. The complicated nature of motor vehicle accident claims is one of the reasons finding a competent personal injury attorney in Hammond, LA is so important to finding the compensation you deserve.

Compensation You Could Recover After a Hammond Car Accident

Every case is different, so you need a Hammond car accident lawyer to examine the evidence before you can know how much you can recover. However, the following are some types of recoverable damages that you might be able to recover after being a car accident victim:

• Medical expenses
• Physical therapy costs
• Lost wages, including future wages if you can no longer work
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage

If you lost a loved one to the accident, your family might also be entitled to specific, wrongful death damages, including the following:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Loss of protection and support
• Loss of wages and benefits previously provided by the deceased
• Loss of consortium

Even though it’s fairly uncommon, in some cases you may be able to recover punitive damages, which are intended to punish the defendant to discourage them from the behavior that led to the accident.

Do I Need a Police Report to File a Claim?

While you can file a claim without a police report, a report can serve as a crucial piece of evidence in your case. Louisiana law stipulates that you must contact the police after an accident involving drunk driving, bodily injury, death, or property damage over $500, but you should report even minor crashes to the Hammond Police Department.

Why should you always file a police report? The answer is simple: the details in the official police report will serve as a definitive record of your accident’s circumstances. If you don’t have an official report to document everyone’s actions, the jury will have to weigh your word against theirs, which will probably lead nowhere.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Car Accident?

Even after a minor car accident, it’s always a good idea to hire an experienced car wreck lawyer. You could have suffered property damage or injuries that aren’t immediately obvious, so it’s also vital to visit a doctor and have your car checked for damage after the accident.

A dedicated car wreck lawyer with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys can help you determine the damages you’ve suffered and submit a demand for remuneration. Call us today for a free consultation.

Start the Healing Process—Call Gordon McKernan Car Accident Lawyers in Hammond Today

The team of lawyers at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys in Hammond will begin investigating your auto accident injury immediately. Contact us 24/7 at 985.888.8888 to speak with someone about your case.

Our goal as your car wreck attorney is to help you through this traumatic situation and get the financial support you need to cover the costs you have incurred as a result of your injuries. When you hire our team, you will get the protection you deserve, and you will pay no money to us until we win your case—that’s the G Guarantee!