Car accidents often involve severe injuries and costly vehicle damage. Many injured victims cannot afford all these expenses and rely on financial compensation to make ends meet.

After a car accident, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver to claim compensation for your injuries. Accidents might be caused by numerous factors, including traffic violations, unsafe conditions, inattentive drivers, and drunk driving. Your damages will likely include economic losses, like medical bills and the value of your damaged vehicle. You can also claim non-economic damages related to your subjective, personal experiences from the accident. To support your claims in court, you need evidence Photos and videos from the scene, in addition to witness testimony, can be very compelling and help you get compensation. An attorney can help you gather evidence, assess damages, or negotiate a settlement if you want to avoid a full trial.

The driver who hit you and caused your injuries should be held liable for their negligence. Our Elizabeth, NJ car accident attorneys can help you make this happen. For a free case assessment, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.

Common Causes Behind Car Accidents in Elizabeth, NJ

Car accidents happen every day, and many people are seriously hurt. Accidents happen for a vast number of different reasons, and determining how your accident happened is an important step toward holding negligent drivers responsible. Talk to our Elizabeth, NJ car accident lawyers about how your accident happened, and we can help you get compensation from the other driver.

Traffic Violations

Many accidents stem from traffic violations. Most of us have probably broken the traffic laws at one point or another. Often, these violations are so minor that they go unnoticed by almost everyone, including the person committing the violation. Other times, they lead to severe accidents, injuries, and expenses.

For example, going over the speed limit is something most, if not all, drivers are guilty of. When speeding gets out of control, drivers might lose control of their vehicles, and they could hit other cars or people on the road.

In many cases, multiple violations come together to create the accident. For example, a driver who is speeding might not have time to stop for a red light because they are going too fast. When they blow through the intersection, they might T-bone your car and cause severe injuries.

Unsafe Driving Conditions

In other cases, car accidents stem from unsafe road and weather conditions. When the weather is bad, drivers must adjust their driving to be safe and secure on the road. For example, it is not illegal to drive in the snow, but you must slow down, sometimes drastically, to stay safe and avoid collisions. If a driver does not slow down in poor weather conditions, they might skid into other drivers, sometimes with great force. Even if the negligent driver was not speeding, they can still be held liable because their driving was not safe under the circumstances.

Inattentive Driving

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States. One of the most significant distractions behind the wheel is the cell phone. Cell phones are more than just phones; drivers are often distracted by texts, emails, and social media. When drivers take their eyes off the road for more than a quick second, the odds of a collision go way up. Distracted driving often leads to drivers plowing through intersections, drifting into other lanes of traffic, or sideswiping other vehicles, among other crashes.

Intoxicated Driving

It is not only wildly unsafe but also illegal to drive with alcohol in your system. According to N.J.S.A. § 39:4-50(a), anyone driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher may be criminally charged. Even those with a BAC of less than .08% can be charged if they are intoxicated enough to be unable to drive safely.

Alcohol-related accidents tend to be more severe because drivers’ reflexes are much slower, and their ability to recognize the danger of the situation is inhibited. If the other driver in your case was intoxicated at the time of the accident, they might be criminally prosecuted in addition to your civil lawsuit.

Damages You May Recover After a Car Accident in Elizabeth, NJ

Economic damages are the losses and injuries that cost injured victims money. There are many economic expenses related to car accidents, and our Elizabeth, NJ car accident attorneys can help you add up all your economic damages to maximize compensation.

A significant source of economic damages is your medical treatment. Medical bills are often very high, even for a single visit to the emergency room. Injured drivers with health insurance might still end up paying a high deductible. The negligent driver who caused your accident should have to cover these expenses. Other economic damages may include the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and the value of lost wages from missing work due to your injuries.

Non-economic damages are the losses and injuries that did not cost any money but still took a significant toll on your life. Your physical and mental pain and suffering after an accident might be traumatic. These experiences do not come with a price tag, and their value is based on your subjective experience. Other non-economic damages can include damage to your reputation or humiliation related to the car accident.

Evidence to Help You Prove Your Car Accident Claims in Elizbeth, NJ

Every car accident lawsuit turns on evidence. Without evidence, you cannot prove your claims and get compensation for your damages. Our Elizabeth, NJ car accident lawyers have handled car accident cases before and know what kind of evidence to search for and where to find it.

If possible, you should begin gathering evidence immediately after a car accident. You should safely exit your car and begin taking photos and recording videos of your vehicle, the other driver’s vehicle, and the surrounding area. Doing so helps preserve important details that might be lost when law enforcement clears away the accident scene.

You should also speak to anyone nearby who might have seen the accident. Witnesses are extremely important and can help back up your claims if you lack physical evidence. The more people who can support your claims and testify that they saw the other driver cause the accident, the better for your case.

Physical evidence includes real items and objects from the accident scene that help to establish the other driver’s liability. In car accidents, physical evidence is often unmovable, which is why we rely on things like photos and videos. The damaged vehicles are important pieces of physical evidence. Additionally, things like skid marks on the road and other signs of the crash are important to document.

Call Our Elizabeth, NJ Car Accident Lawyers for A Free Case Review

If you were hurt in a car accident, our Elizabeth, NJ car accident attorneys can help you get compensation for your injuries and losses. Contact our team for a free case evaluation to get started. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.