Were you recently injured in a car accident in Berwick, PA? Call Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law, PC at (570) 714-4878 for immediate legal assistance. The time after a crash can be critical, and the sooner you involve an experienced Berwick car accident lawyer, the better.
You may deserve significant compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more. Unfortunately, recovering compensation is rarely a simple process. Our Berwick car accident attorneys have over 100 years of experience helping clients successfully recover compensation for their injuries. In fact, we’ve recovered over $150 million in settlements and verdicts since we opened our doors 25 years ago.
It’s never too early to start evaluating your legal options and learn about this area of law. You can get the legal advice you deserve by contacting our law offices in Berwick, Pennsylvania, to schedule a free consultation today. There’s never any risk or obligation.
How Can Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law, PC Help Me Recover Compensation After a Car Crash in Berwick?
Dealing with a car accident claim can be stressful and frustrating. Dealing with the insurance adjuster can be overwhelming. They may try to undervalue your damages or even blame you. It can be incredibly difficult to know whether any insurance offer is really fair.
Working with experienced Berwick personal injury attorneys can make a huge difference. Our attorneys at Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law, PC have over a century of combined experience. We’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers and The National Trial Lawyers for our skilled legal advocacy. We’re more than ready to put our proven track record of experience to work for you.
When you hire our award-winning legal team, you’ll benefit from an experienced team who will:
- Sit down and explain all of your legal options
- Conduct our own investigation into the crash
- Compile the strong evidence you need, including police reports, medical records, video footage, witness statements, and more
- Work with experts in medicine, accident reconstruction, economics, vocational rehabilitation, and other relevant fields
- Identifying and determining your damages
- Helping you understand whether an insurance settlement offer is fair
- Defending against claims that you were responsible for your own injuries
- Handling the paperwork and legal filings
- Negotiating with the insurance company for a full settlement
- Taking your personal injury case to court if necessary
Our Berwick personal injury lawyers are dedicated to helping accident victims like you recover full compensation for their losses. To learn more about how we can help you fight to hold the at-fault driver responsible, call for a free consultation today.
Why Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
It can be difficult to handle a car accident claim on your own. Without an experienced lawyer, you risk walking away with less compensation than you really deserve. Even dealing with the paperwork and insurance requests can be stressful.
Here are some of the reasons injury victims with attorneys tend to recover more compensation than those who go it alone:
- You’ll likely be dealing with a large insurance company. They have vast resources to fight your case and downplay your losses. Your lawyer can use their experience and resources to level the playing field.
- In complicated cases, expert testimony may be necessary to prove your case. Experienced lawyers have access to experts who can be critical to maximizing your compensation award.
- Insurance companies love to blame victims. An experienced attorney will anticipate this tactic and other insurance strategies. Your lawyer will be prepared with strong arguments to minimize the impact of Pennsylvania’s shared fault laws.
- Experienced personal injury attorneys know how to handle the complex legal issues that you may be unprepared to handle. Your lawyer can take care of the insurance and legal issues while you focus on your recovery.
Insurance companies are much more likely to take a personal injury case seriously when an experienced lawyer gets involved. Most personal injury law firms offer free consultations, so there’s no risk in learning about the benefits of legal representation.
How Much Compensation Can I Recover By Filing a Car Accident Claim?
Calculating the value of a personal injury claim requires careful consideration of many unique factors. All injury victims are different.
Here are some of the factors experienced accident attorneys evaluate when determining how much a case is worth:
- The severity of the car accident injuries
- How the injuries impact your daily life
- The cost of your medical care and rehabilitation
- How the injury has impacted your earnings
- Whether the injury will impact your future earning capacity
- The available insurance coverage
- Whether you are partially responsible
- The strength of the evidence
- Your physical pain and trauma
- How the injury has impacted your emotional health and wellbeing
The most severe injuries tend to be worth the most. That’s because they’ll require more extensive treatment, which will result in missed time at work and cause significant personal losses.
That said, the insurance company is counting on the fact that you don’t know exactly how much your personal injury case is worth. It’s always smart to have an experienced lawyer assess your case value and handle the negotiations.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Car Accident in Pennsylvania?
Under Pennsylvania law, most injury victims have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. The deadline is called the statute of limitations. The two-year clock starts to run on the date of your accident.
There are exceptions to the rule. You could have less time if a government party is a defendant in your case. You could have more time if you were a minor when the accident occurred.
It’s always best to consult an experienced accident attorney sooner rather than later. If you wait too long, you risk losing your right to recover compensation.
What Types of Damages Can I Recover in a Car Accident Lawsuit?
When your car accident case succeeds, you should receive compensation for any loss you have suffered. Car accident victims in Pennsylvania can recover compensation for economic damages and non-economic damages. Punitive damages may be available in limited cases.
What Types of Economic Damages Can I Recover in Pennsylvania?
Economic damages cover the financial costs that stem from an accident and injury, including:
- Current medical bills
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Nursing care
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Medications and medical devices
- In-home assistance
- Property damage
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Your settlement or verdict should account for all financial expenses you’ve incurred due to the ordeal.
What Types of Non-Economic Damages Can I Recover in Pennsylvania?
Non-economic damages compensate for the more intangible harm you may experience, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of companionship or damage to relationships
Proving the value of non-economic damages is always difficult. Insurance companies often use multipliers and base their value on your economic damages. Our lawyers often rely on skilled experts to testify about the losses you have experienced. You can count on us to negotiate for every dollar you deserve.
When are Punitive Damages Available in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania courts award punitive damages in cases where the defendant deserves to be punished for their actions. Punitive damages are only available if you can prove the defendant’s acts were intentional or showed a shocking disregard for your safety.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
Contingency fees are the most common structure in Pennsylvania. When a lawyer works on a contingency fee basis, they don’t charge any upfront fees. Instead, your lawyer takes a percentage of the financial compensation they recover in your case.
When you hire us, you’ll agree to pay a percentage of your settlement or verdict. We only take attorneys’ fees if and when we recover compensation in your case. That way, you can afford sound legal advice even if you’re struggling financially after an accident.
What Happens to My Compensation Award if I’m Partly Responsible for Causing a Car Accident in Berwick?
It’s still possible to recover some compensation if you share some blame for a crash. Whether you can recover some compensation depends on the amount of fault you share.
Pennsylvania has comparative negligence laws. If you share some blame, your compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault allocated to you. For example, if you were 25% to blame, you can take home 75% of your compensation. Once your share of fault exceeds the defendant’s share of fault, you lose your right to compensation.
Insurance companies often use this law to their advantage. They may manipulate the facts to make it seem like you caused your own injuries. When they succeed, they can pay less than you deserve. If someone is blaming you, hiring an experienced accident lawyer is the best way to protect yourself.
Will My Car Accident Case Go to Trial?
A trial is unlikely. About 95% of all personal injury claims settle out of court. Experienced lawyers can typically get the insurance company to hand over a fair settlement through the negotiation process.
That said, a trial may be the best option in some car accident cases, especially if:
- The other side refuses to negotiate in good faith
- The insurance company refuses to offer an acceptable amount
- Multiple defendants are involved
- There are particularly complicated disputes about the facts or liability
You greatly increase your chances of receiving a favorable insurance settlement if you hire an experienced trial lawyer. Insurance companies don’t want to risk trials any more than you do. Trials take much more time and effort, and the outcome is always unpredictable.
When you hire an experienced trial lawyer, you tell the insurance companies that you mean business and won’t walk away with a lowball settlement amount.