If you have been the victim of a car crash in Utah, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced Utah personal injury lawyer will conduct a full investigation of the car accident, determine who is at fault, make sure that you receive full benefits from the insurance company, and help you obtain medical care even if you do not have health insurance or cannot afford your co-pays. Additionally, an experienced Utah personal injury attorney makes sure you do not miss any of the strict time deadlines that the law imposes in your case. When considering filing an auto accident claim, you need to remember a delay can mean losing important evidence, and if you wait long enough there is a statute of limitations. We understand the confusion you face with the hurdles ahead of you. At Hepworth Legal we’re experienced and successful Utah personal injury auto accident attorneys who stand ready to help you overcome those hurdles, move forward with your recovery and get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

n Utah, all drivers are required to carry a minimum of $3,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance that will cover treatment for their injuries, up to $250 per week in lost wages, and up to $20 per day in household help, regardless of who was at fault. Unfortunately for many Utah car crash victims, this coverage does not cover the full cost of medical bills and lost wages, and does not compensate Utah car accident victims for pain and suffering. An experienced personal injury lawyer helps manage the costs associated with medical treatment and possibly defer some of the bills while your case is going on. Once you finish your medical treatment or your medical condition stabilizes, our office attempts to negotiate the best possible outcome for your personal injury case. Your recovery depends on a number of factors, such as the damages you suffered as a result of the other driver’s negligence. Economic damages, also known as compensatory damages attempt to compensate a car accident victim for monetary losses. Some common types of economic damages awarded in car crash lawsuits include:

• Medical Expenses, including emergency room visits, hospitalization, surgery, doctor’s appointments, medical devices, physical therapy, and chiropractic care.
• Future Medical Expenses, if the car accident victim can prove that he or she will need ongoing care.
• Lost Wages, between the time of the accident and the conclusion of the lawsuit.
• Loss of Earning Capacity, if the car accident victim can show that his or her ability to earn a living has been negatively impacted by the accident.
• Pain and Suffering, including compensation for the physical pain suffered as a result of the injuries sustained in the car accident. Generally, the jury or insurance company will examine the nature of the injury, extent of the treatment, and the length of time the victim is expected to suffer ongoing pain.

When you’ve been injured in a car accident as the result of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else, your right to compensation for your damages is triggered after you’ve exhausted your $3,000 of no-fault insurance coverage. Most emergency room bills from an accident exceed $3,000. After that, Utah law gives you the right to seek both economic and non-economic damages that can include:

• Past and future medical bills
• Past and future lost earnings
• Permanent disfigurement, if any
• Permanent disability, if any
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of a normal life.

With many insurers, the only way to get their attention is with a lawsuit. Don’t believe that you’re in good hands or have a good neighbor. It’s the job of that insurance adjuster on the other side of the case to delay, deny and defend claims in order to protect their employer’s bottom line. Our job as your personal injury lawyers is to maximize the net proceeds of any settlement or verdict that we obtain for you.

If your medical expenses exceed these first $3,000 and you cannot afford to get treatment for your injuries because you do not have health insurance or because your co-pays are too expensive, an experienced Utah personal injury lawyer can help you make financing arrangements with healthcare providers. In many cases, our office arranges for healthcare to be provided on a lien. This means that you sign papers promising to pay healthcare providers back from any settlement you receive at the end of your case. We want you to focus on your recovery instead of worrying about expensive medical bills. Preparation is the key to a quality personal injury lawyer. We thoroughly investigate every detail of your case. That requires a visit to the scene and photos of the scene and the vehicles involved in the crash. If traffic camera or security camera footage caught the events leading up to the impact, we’ll find it, examine it and use it on your behalf. We interview any witnesses to the collision and take their statements. We also obtain copies of all appropriate medical records in order to get your medical history, subjective and objective symptoms, radiological results, diagnosis, response to treatment and your prognosis. By the time we have built your case and negotiate it with the opposing insurer, it’s prepared for trial. Insurance companies know that, and it often makes them more reasonable.

Ascertaining the nature and extent of the injuries that you suffered in a car crash can take weeks to months. Serious injuries can require surgery and lengthy therapy or rehab to reach maximum medical improvement. You’ll be faced with overwhelming medical bills, lost earnings, pain, suffering and quite likely, a degree of permanent impairment. You need an experienced, aggressive and successful personal injury lawyer at your side to get you the compensation you deserve.