According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are more than 8 million licensed drivers in the state of Pennsylvania, more than 7.6 million in Ohio, and more than 1.2 million in West Virginia. With close to 17 million drivers in these three states alone, it is easy to see how more than 32,000 people die each year in car accidents. We fight for our clients’ rights to recover compensation from individuals or corporations whose carelessness caused their injuries or death.
The car accident lawyers at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman handle car wrecks including:
- Full tort
- Limited tort
- Uninsured drivers
- Underinsured drivers
- Hit and runs
- Drunk drivers
- Insurance bad faith
- Fatal accidents
WHAT KIND OF SETTLEMENT CAN I GET FROM A CAR ACCIDENT LAWSUIT?
If you were injured in an accident caused by another driver, your settlement may include compensation for the following:
- Medical bills – Medical bills related to your car accident injuries include bills for past treatment, ongoing treatment, and anticipated medical costs for future treatments.
- Property loss – Property loss in your car accident includes damage to both your vehicle and any other property inside of your vehicle that was damaged in the accident.
- Lost wages – If you missed work because of your car accident injuries, you may be compensated for any lost earnings.
- Lost future wages – If you are not able to return to work or if your earning capacity is diminished as a result of your injuries, you may be compensated for those lost future earnings as well.
- Pain and suffering – Your car accident injuries may go well beyond your financial losses to include compensation for the pain and suffering you endured and may still be dealing with as a result of your injuries and damages.
- Loss of enjoyment of life – You may also be able to recover from car accident injuries that have detrimental impacts on your lifestyle and that cause you to lose the ability to enjoy or participate in activities and life pleasures.
- Punitive damages – Punitive damages may be awarded when it can be shown that the defendant’s behavior was so outrageous or willful that it rose beyond the level of gross negligence. Punitive damages are meant to serve as punishment to the defendant for his or her egregious conduct.
CLAIMS FOR AN AUTO ACCIDENT CAUSING THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE
In Pennsylvania, there are two civil claims that are frequently brought against a defendant who was at fault for the death of a person: wrongful death claim and survivor action. Wrongful death claims are made in an effort to compensate family members of the deceased for damages they suffered due to losing their loved one such as loss of emotional and financial support. Survivor actions are intended to recover for injuries sustained by the deceased between the time that the accident occurred and the time that he or she died such as pain and suffering and medical bills. Better! We’ve got your back, not your wallet!
OUR SETTLEMENTS AND VERDICTS
Our attorneys have been securing financial recoveries for car accident victims for a combined total of over 170 years. Although many of our settlements are so large that major insurance companies have prevented us from sharing the settlement amounts, we are still able to share some of our settlement amounts. See below for some of our case settlements and verdict amounts:
COMMON CAUSES OF CAR ACCIDENTS
For over 25 years we have been representing plaintiffs who have sustained injuries and damages in car accidents. There are a number of car accident causes that we repeatedly see in our accident cases that are described below.
Distracted driving
With the technological advances of smartphone capabilities, we are continually seeing distracted driving cases. Our clients have sustained car accident injuries due to drivers’ using their smartphones while driving for things such as updating their facebook statuses, texting, checking email, and watching videos.
Speeding
If there is one thing that our Pittsburgh car accident attorneys know, it is that speed really does kill. Speed is a common factor in our car accident cases that often result in serious injuries and death.
Driving too fast
Even when a driver is not traveling over the speed limit, sometimes dangerous conditions such as snow, rain, and heavy traffic require drivers to operate their vehicles at a slower than typical pace for the safety of everyone on the road.
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a common cause of car accidents, especially in car accidents that occur late at night or in the early morning hours of the weekend.
Human error
Sometimes accidents can only be blamed on human error due to simply making a mistake in driving. Types of human error may include things like failure to notice and yield to a stop sign, following another vehicle too closely, or failure to check blind spots before changing lanes.
Our Pittsburgh car accident attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman are victim advocates who want to see that our clients receive maximum recoveries for injuries and damages sustained in car accidents due to another driver’s negligence. We are not interested in fast case turnovers for quick settlements and we are skilled insurance negotiators. If insurance companies are not making reasonable offers to fairly compensate our clients, we take these cases to trial. If you or a loved one has sustained serious injuries or death in a car accident, contact our Pittsburgh car accident attorney to fight for you and your family.
Pittsburgh ranks among the worst U.S. cities in terms of the frequency of car accidents. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, our city came in at number 187 out of the nation’s 200 largest cities for driver safety.
The report, revealed by Allstate insurance company, showed that Pittsburghers were 51.3 percent more likely to get into a car crash than the country’s drivers as a whole.
There are many different ways car accidents can occur. The most common car accidents include head-on crashes, T-bone wrecks, rear-end collisions, and sideswipes. Sometimes rollovers or pole impacts can happen too. With each car accident, specific forces tend to impact body parts. Due to this, the types of injuries we see will vary. The most common injuries we handle are below.
NECK, BACK, OR SPINE INJURIES
The most common injury one can sustain from a car accident is the neck, back, or spine. The strength of the force from the collision can cause the spine to bend quickly in one direction. It just as well can cause it to turn in the exact opposite direction too. The back-and-forth motion can damage the spine in numerous ways.
To better understand spinal injuries, though, it is essential to become familiar with the basic structure of the spine. Everyone’s neck, back, and spine consist of bony blocks, or what we know as the vertebrae. Each vertebrae stacks on top of each other. They range from the tailbone to the bottom of the skull. Furthermore, soft discs or intervertebral discs separate each block. Each disc keeps one bony vertebrae from scraping against the vertebrae above and below it. The sole purpose of every disc is to allow for the neck, back, and spine to bend or flex without any pain.
In a car accident, the vertebrae can break or fracture if someone sustains severe neck, back, or spine injuries. In minor cases, the fracture is small. However, a piece of the vertebrae can chip away or break off in more severe instances. When this happens, it is often excruciatingly painful, and the damage is permanent. In a rollover accident, the vertebrae are susceptible to shatter if there is enough force behind the crash. Doctors refer to that as a burst fracture. These injuries are hazardous because the victim will suffer permanent paralysis if the bone cuts the nerves that run up and down the spine.
CONCUSSIONS AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES
Car accidents may cause concussions and other traumatic brain injuries. The most obvious way it happens is when the victim’s head slams into the steering wheel, window or B-pillar.
The tell-tale signs of traumatic brain injury are persistent headaches, light and sound sensitivity, disorientation, vertigo, balance difficulties, amnesia, mood changes, or difficulty remembering or concentrating. Anger and personality changes are signs as well.
BROKEN BONE AND ORTHOPEDIC INJURIES
Hand and wrist injuries are common because the victim driver usually holds the steering wheel when the crash occurs. These types of injuries may happen when airbags deploy during a car accident, or from the trendendous force of an impact.
WHAT TO DO AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT?
Although most motorists who get into car crashes cannot think straight at the scene of a car crash, there are certain things you should do in order to strengthen your personal injury case. If you fail to do any of these things, you risk getting your personal injury claim denied, which is why our experienced car accident lawyer in Pittsburgh recommends that you:
- Call the police to get a police report, which will serve as a priceless piece of evidence in your case.
- Get a medical evaluation even if you do not think that your injury is bad enough (the rush of adrenaline might be masking the symptoms).
- Collect evidence and relevant information at the scene such as the other party’s name, address, phone number, insurance information, and the names and contact information of any witnesses who saw what happened.
- Take pictures of the crash, especially the vehicle damage, skid marks, and road conditions.
- Be careful about what you say at the scene and refrain from admitting fault straight away.
- Contact a Pittsburgh car accident attorney to discuss your legal options.
DOES YOUR CAR ACCIDENT INJURY QUALIFY FOR FINANCIAL COMPENSATION?
In order to answer that question, different factors about your case must be taken into account, including but not limited to:
- The severity of your injury.
- Whether you were partially or fully at fault for the crash.
- Whether any other party was partially or fully at fault for the crash.
- Whether you have all the necessary pieces of evidence to demonstrate that the other party is liable.
- The type and amount of insurance coverage available.
- Whether you suffered any damages as a result of your injury (lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damages, etc.).
- Whether you are represented by a skilled lawyer.
HOW MUCH IS YOUR CAR ACCIDENT CLAIM WORTH IN PITTSBURGH?
That is an even trickier question to answer because each personal injury case is unique and there is no formula to calculate the value of your car accident claim without considering all relevant factors (we have mentioned some of these factors above).
Some of the most important factors when determining how much your car accident claim is worth are your type of insurance, the severity of your injury, how much coverage is available, the types of economic and non-economic damages that you suffered due to the car accident, etc.
In Pennsylvania, your insurance coverage will only cover $15,000 worth of damages, so anything beyond that will have to be covered by the other party’s insurance, which is also $15,000. If the other motorist’s insurance coverage is not enough to compensate for your damages and losses, filing a lawsuit with the help of a Pittsburgh car accident lawyer is the only option you have left.
Speak to our attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman to determine how much your car accident claim is worth and help you recover maximum compensation. Call our offices at 888-988-9467 for a free case evaluation.