Published on: 03 May 2021
Last Updated on: 02 January 2025
Car accidents are common. The figures are earth-shattering – at least three million crashes every year. With too much at stake, victims must file for a claim, either with their insurance company or that of the other drivers. Many people shy away from hiring professional lawyers because they believe that lawyers are expensive.
Most people do not know that when you speak to a St. Petersburg Car Accident Lawyer for the first time, it is usually free of cost. Most professional accident lawyers accept their fees after their clients get their claims settled by the insurance companies.
How to File a Car Accident Compensation Claim?
Nonetheless, if you have chosen to go alone and on your own, you need to follow these steps to get a justified claim settled.
Assess the damage to your car. The first step is to inspect your car to get an estimate of the damage. If you have no experience, get an experienced person to do so.
Assess your injuries and estimate the same. You will have your medical records and bills to get an estimate of what you have already spent on your treatment. Under this subhead, you need to mention the future expected expenses too. It could be a bit difficult calculating all of this and putting a sum. With an experienced lawyer, this step can become easier and convenient.
It would help if you also tuned in financial losses resulting from a loss in work.
The next stage is after filing your claim application. The insurance company will send over their insurance adjusters to assess the damage and make an estimate. Even if the adjusters seem friendly, they are obligated to keep the costs of the insurance company low in their hearts. Therefore, they will try all tricks under the sun to pressurize you to accept and settle for a lower amount than you originally estimated. There will be some amount of negotiation, too, and you need to be extremely careful and cautious.
If your insurance company is pressurizing you to accept a lower claim amount, you need to put in your demand letter. In this letter, you need to present your side of the story. Tell the insurance company why you deserve a higher value. Ensure to present all medical records, car repair bills, etc., as pieces of evidence.
Now, the insurance comes with a counter-offer. If not, they will negotiate hard with you. It is time to keep your cool and not panic. If your evidence is in place and you are sure about your claim, stick by it. You may now decide to go to court.
Many insurance companies will agree to an out-of-court settlement – so, you might want to consider the same. If not, ensure to prepare your case with due diligence. Your records and evidence have to be intact and enough to prove your case. Also, take into account the expenses that you would need to bear additionally.
The Final Word:
Yes, you can get a claim settlement without a lawyer. There are lots of ifs and buts in this, though. With a qualified and licensed St. Petersburg car accident lawyer, you have a better chance to get a fair claim settlement.
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Before we get to know why it might be necessary to hire a redundancy solicitor, it is much more important to know who is a redundancy solicitor and why you might need one.
When I say Redundancy, it is among the limited numbers that have the potential for fair reasons while dismissed from work. This happens when the employer is required to decrease the workforce and also close the business premises.
So now, if you get dismissed from work for a reason of redundancy, then you are entitled to a few statutory rights, including a redundancy payment. Now that you know what is a redundancy solicitor, let’s get into why you might need a solicitor and for what purpose.
Why Would I Need A Solicitor When Being Made Redundant?
There are certain situations when you might need a redundancy solicitor, so let’s get to know these situations.
You might suspect that you are not in a redundancy situation.
You might suspect that your selection is unfair.
You might suspect that the procedure that your employer followed is incorrect.
It is possible that a settlement agreement has been offered to you.
You might have been as to become a volunteer for redundancy.
You might not be sure whether you are getting the full redundancy package.
These are a few instances where the need for redundancy solicitors might be of great assistance.
Related: How A Solicitor Can Help You To Set Up A Business
What Are The Circumstances Of A Genuine Redundancy?
A redundancy is to be considered if the following are maintained:
Suppose the whole business is closing temporarily or maybe permanently.
It is possible that a particular workplace you are working in is either closing or maybe moving to another location.
Suppose the job you have ceased to exist or has diminished, or maybe you are expecting your job to cease to exist or diminish in the future. This will happen if your employer is considering certain restructuring in the workplace.
The redundancy is not to be considered to be genuine if the following happens:
Suppose your employer is replacing you with someone else, maybe with someone with someone who is willing to work for less amount.
It is possible that the business is about to transfer its ownership, and maybe the new owner is going to employ you on totally different employment terms.
It is more likely that the latter will become a Transfer of Undertaking (TUPE) situation. Before you apply for this, it is better to get legal advice, or you might be in trouble since it is a grey area.
An Employer That Has Not Followed A Fair Procedure
In an ideal world, the employer’s redundancy process should have a set employment contract or handbook in place. Now what your employer should do is look for redundancies that can be avoided quite easily. Certain ways you can avoid redundancies are:
Your employer can ask you to volunteer for a redundancy or even opt for an early retirement.
The employer can also choose to lay off the employees who are self-employed.
The employer can choose to ban or reduce any overtime.
Your employer can offer you to get alternative work.
Now if your employer still wants to proceed toward redundancy, then they should really identify the certain employees who are to be made redundant. But the selection should be made in a fair way.
While selecting the employees, there are a few characteristics that should not be considered as the selecting factors, they are such as gender, ethnicity, or any such discriminating factor.
The selection criteria that are to be considered fair and impartial are:
Aptitude
Skills
Qualifications
Performance
Record/Discipline
Attendance
Now depending on these selection factors, the employer has to consult with these candidates; if they don’t, then the redundancy will be considered to be unfair as well. At least one meeting with the employer is important to discuss every aspect of this situation.
Well, suppose your employer has selected over 20 candidates for redundancy, in that case, a special rule is applied that the candidates need to follow through.
You should also be given a proper notice period to prepare yourself. The notice period should be like this:
1 week notice if you have been working in the organization for between one month and about two years.
1 week's notice for each of the years the employee has worked in the company ranging between 2 to twelve years.
Lastly, 12 weeks of total notice period; if the employer has been working in the company for over 12 years.
Which Is Better, Being Offered A Redundancy Package Or A Settlement?
Well, now, suppose you have been working in a company or organization for over two years; then, you are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment as well. For this, the specific calculation goes something like this.
About 5 week’s payment is given to employees who have worked a full year after their 41st birthday.
About a week’s worth of payment is given to employees who have worked a full year after their 22nd birthday.
About half a week’s worth of payment is given to employees who have worked a full year till their 22nd birthday.
The total length of your service is capped at 20 years. Then your weekly payment is averaged over what you earn per week over a 12-week period till your redundancy notice.
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A criminal conviction, in essence, is capable of changing your life in an instant. Whether you have been arrested for thievery, driving under the influence, or anything else - your future and freedom will be at stake here. So, who’s going to be your savior?
In a jurisdictional system where it feels like everything’s you, only one individual can protect you against everyone - a criminal defense lawyer. They’ll take care of your psychological health, attempt to unearth the truth, and ensure that you’re getting the best possible outcome for you.
The Role Of A Criminal Defense Lawyer
A criminal defense lawyer, who’s specifically trained to handle a criminal case, can be quite a help in your war against the defendant. Here’s how they can offer their assistance in this aspect.
Responsibility - 1: Investigate The Case.
A professional attorney from The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall will always begin by listening to what you have to say. The situation has been experienced and dealt with by you. So, they’ll talk to you first, ask you about what happened, and note everything down.
While discussing the case with them, you should ensure that you’re telling them the truth. If you lie to them, it’ll be impossible to jot down the story for you and back it up with proper proof. This way, you might end up losing your case if you’re not careful.
Responsibility - 2: Looking At The Police Conduct.
Sometimes, the police might make misconduct while arresting you. It may include violating your constitutional rights, preventing you from gathering the required evidence, etc.
Hence, if something as such happened in your case, it’ll be best for you to tell your attorney all about it. This way, they can pin the case on the office for misconduct and reduce your sentence to some extent. If you’re lucky, you might become a free bird as well.
Responsibility - 3: Offering Legal Insights About The Case.
The legal procedures, which govern a criminal case, can be quite complicated. Hence, unless you’ve studied law or have a clear idea regarding the same, it’ll be nearly impossible for you to take care of everything alone. You may end up getting entangled in a false claim too.
However, a professional criminal defense lawyer will have a proper idea of how criminal law works in the state where you live. Hence, with them, it’ll be easier for you to tackle the case and avoid any kind of dodgy situation accordingly. They can also protect you from violation of your rights. Moreover, if you're in need of a criminal defense lawyer, consider the exceptional legal services of Greg Brodsky who offers top-notch legal services to clients in need of expert representation, and you can learn more about his services by visiting gregbrodsky.ca.
Responsibility - 4: Developing The Right Defense Theory.
If you’re tackling a defense case, you have to create a storyline for your own sake. And, it has to be believable, backed with the right sort of evidence. Even if a minor aspect looks a bit out of place, you’ll get arrested and convicted for the same. There are no two ways about it.
An attorney, on the other hand, will look at your case thoroughly and start creating a defense theory from the beginning. Apart from that, they’ll also investigate everything and collect the right information needed to keep the storyline intact. So, there won’t be any loopholes at all.
Responsibility - 5: Supporting You At The Trial.
Your attorney is going to your voice in the courtroom.
And, they’re also going to work on your behalf against the jury and try to convince them of your innocence. Additionally, they’ll also object to any kind of improper testimony and evidence the defendant is throwing at you. Besides, their role will also include -
Examine and cross-examine your and the opponent’s witnesses.
Present your defense case to the jury.
Offer supportive evidence regarding your case.
Select and eliminate a jury member or two.
Provide whatever evidence you have regarding your case to prove your innocence.
Furthermore, an attorney will also teach you how to dress and talk in the courtroom. Hence, even if you’re inexperienced, you’ll be ready for everything when the time is right.
Responsibility - 6: Bridging The Gap Between You And Your Family.
If you’ve been arrested by the police due to committing a crime, it’ll be nearly impossible to see your family even once. This, in turn, can increase the sense of tension within them. And, in some cases, they might become restless and end up doing something wrong as a whole too.
However, with an attorney, you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. With their sense of judgment and experience, they’ll take out the time to meet them and offer insights about you. It will ease up their anxiety and you’ll get to know how they’re doing as well.
Responsibility - 7: Negotiate If Needed.
Before the case goes to court, it usually follows through a specific negotiation procedure. In this aspect, you can talk to the opposing party and come to a proper conclusion.
If you’re the one at fault here, you might have to pay a certain amount of money to the team of the defendant. And, if you’re the one who made the claim, then you can get whatever you are looking for as well. The whole thing will be sorted out by the negotiation procedure.
However, if you’re tackling it alone, the opposing party will surely weasel you out a little on the money department. And, you might not even get what you were looking for in case you don’t have a sweet tongue. So, in this case, a lawyer's help is needed for you. If you need help from a lawyer, click to find the Top-rated Rockford criminal defense lawyer.
Finalizing It All Up!
When it comes to tackling a criminal case, most people tend to make the same mistake again and again - calling the lawyer at the eleventh hour. But, that’s not how it’s supposed to be.
In fact, you should hire a professional right after you’ve been convicted of a crime. It’ll help you get adequate time to create your case and strategize accordingly. And, with their help, you can also ensure that you’re not making a costly mistake in any way. So, give up on overthinking and hire a criminal defense lawyer today!
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Questions To Ask Your Fort Worth Car Accident Lawyer
Getting yourself involved in an auto accident might be a distressing experience. However, it's essential to remain calm and further take necessary actions to ensure your safety and protect your legal rights after an accident. By following a structured approach, you can navigate the aftermath of an accident more effectively.
In this article, we will outline five crucial steps you need to take post an auto accident to help you handle the situation with confidence and care.
Safety First, Always
The first priority after an accident is the protection of everyone involved. Assess the situation and, if possible, take your vehicle to a much more secure location far from the crowd. Turn on hazard lights along with creating flares or warning triangles to warn other drivers. Check on the well-being of passengers, drivers, and pedestrians and call emergency services if medical attention is required.
Contact Law Enforcement As Well As Exchange Information
In most cases, it's crucial to contact law enforcement officers and disclose the accident details. Dial the emergency services hotline or the non-emergency police line to inform them of this incident. While you wait for their arrival, exchange data in case other parties are involved. Procure their names along with other relevant details like license numbers of the drivers, license plate numbers as well as insurance data. If there were witnesses, ask for their contact information as well.
Document The Accident
Gathering evidence is essential for insurance claims and potential legal proceedings. Use a camera or your smartphone to click pictures of the spot where the accident took place from various angles. This might include damaging the vehicles, road conditions, and of course, skid marks.
Note down important details like the time, date, location, weather conditions, and/or significant factors that may have contributed to the accident. These records will assist you when Steps To Take After An Auto Accident.
Make The Concerned Insurance Firm Aware
Promptly make the insurance company aware of the accident. Offer them accurate and comprehensive information about what transpired. They will inform you everything about the claim process, including any necessary paperwork. It's important to adhere to the reporting deadlines outlined in your insurance policy, as late reporting may result in claim denial. You must completely cooperate with your insurance agency during the investigation.
Ask For Medical Attention And Legal Guidance If Needed
Even when you think you haven't suffered any serious injuries, it's advisable to seek medical help after an accident. Some injuries may not be immediately apparent, and a medical evaluation can identify underlying issues. Additionally, if you experience any ongoing pain or complications, consult a personal injury lawyer, further specializing in auto accidents. When you want guidance on legal matters, help to protect your entitlements, and assistance with any potential legal claims, they are the ones to trust.
Being indulged in an auto accident is no less than a stressful and overwhelming experience. However, taking the appropriate steps in the aftermath is crucial for your safety, well-being, and legal protection. Remember to prioritize safety, contact law enforcement, exchange information with other parties, document the accident scene, notify your insurance agency, and seek medical help if necessary. By following these steps, you can navigate the aftermath of an auto accident more effectively and ensure a smoother claims process.
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