Burlington, VT Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of bodily injuries in Burlington. Any type of collision carries the real possibility of major injury, sending people to the hospital for expensive medical care and forcing them to hole up at home for months. These accidents change lives, often rendering someone unable to work as they attempt to recover. Contact Larson & Gallivan Law today. Our Burlington, VT car accident lawyers can meet in a free consultation to go over the facts of your case. We will also discuss whether you can seek financial compensation.

Common Causes of Car Accidents in Burlington, VT

Car accidents can happen anywhere in Burlington. The main causes include:

• Negligent drivers. A motorist can speed, fail to use their mirrors, make an illegal turn, or drift over the centerline because of distractions, like cell phones. Any failure to use reasonable care will qualify as negligence.
• Road defects. Potholes, crumbling shoulders, and missing guardrails can lead to accidents, as can missing signage or signs obstructed by foliage. We might sue the government responsible for the road.
• Car defects. A defect on the vehicle could lead to a collision. Examples include defective tires that blow or brake pads which fail.

Call our law firm if you are involved in any type of accident. Sometimes, the motorist who struck you flees the scene, which is illegal. You will want an attorney who can act as a detective and uncover what really happened.

Common Car Accident Injuries

The most common car accident injuries include:

• Soft-tissue injuries: Sprains, strains, contusions, muscle tears, and compartment syndrome.
• Nerve damage: Pinched or compressed nerves, regional pain syndrome, and chronic pain.
• Skin injuries: Abrasions, road rash, cuts, burns, disfigurement, and infections.
• Head injuries: Concussions, traumatic brain injuries, intracranial hemorrhage, and other injuries.
• Neck injuries: Whiplash, fractures, neck strain, and more.
• Organ damage: Heart contusion, punctured lung, and perforated bowel.
• Back injuries: Slipped discs, narrowing of the spinal column, and spinal cord injury.
• Psychological injuries: Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Catastrophic injuries: Paralysis, blindness, amputation, and crush injuries.

Some of the injuries will heal within a couple of months, but others could result in lifelong injuries. The sooner you receive treatment, the more likely you are to recover.

Compensation Available After a Burlington Car Accident

Our firm helps accident victims determine if they can sue for their injuries. When a negligent driver hits your car, we usually seek compensation for all your out-of-pocket financial losses, as well as compensation for your pain. We can also sue if a road hazard or car defect leads to a collision.

Some of the most common damages suffered include:

• Medical expenses. Our clients usually need to go to the doctor or hospital for treatment, which can include surgery, a cast for broken bones, antibiotics, pain medication, and other treatment. Medical expenses also include rehabilitation and devices like wheelchairs or canes.
• Lost income. Some individuals cannot work after an accident, whereas others will need to take a brief break until they feel rested. If they can’t work, these individuals should seek lost income or wages.
• Car and other property damage. T-bones, rollovers, and rear-end collisions will damage your car, forcing you to seek repairs. We have helped clients seek financial compensation for this purpose. Other property inside the car might get damaged, also.
• Pain and suffering. A car accident settlement should cover non-economic losses. Bodily pain, fatigue, sleeplessness, anxiety and depression are some of the non-economic losses which deserve financial compensation.

Our lawyers will negotiate with the other driver’s insurer to obtain a fair settlement. You can help your case by seeking immediate medical treatment and preserving hospital and doctor bills.

Drunk Driving Accidents and Punitive Damages

Dozens of people are injured in collisions with drunk drivers each year in Vermont. These accidents leave victims with serious bodily injuries and expenses, and we can help you seek damages for medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering.

Vermont law might also allow you to seek punitive damages against the impaired motorist. These damages punish defendants who intentionally injure people or who act without regard for someone else’s safety. Punitive damages are helpful at seeking justice when drivers engage in horrible conduct. They are not merely careless—they are dangerous.

How Our Burlington Car Accident Lawyers Can Help

Some accident victims want to handle their own claims. The law doesn’t prevent you from doing so, but there are benefits to hiring our firm:

• Case analysis. Not every accident victim has a right to compensation. Let us analyze the facts to determine whether you can make an insurance claim and on which policy.
• Evidence collection. We need to prove how the accident happened and who is to blame. Those steps require finding evidence. Our Burlington, VT car accident lawyers can interview witnesses and find other evidence in support of your claim.
• Claim valuation. Do you know how much to request in compensation after a wreck? In our experience, accident victims settle for too little. In particular, they don’t know how much they can receive for pain and suffering. We rely on research and our own experience to value your claim.
• Communication. Our firm will complete all paperwork for you and act as a gatekeeper so that insurance adjusters do not pester you with questions.
• Negotiation. Larson & Gallivan Law has obtained hundreds of settlements for injured victims. We can put pressure on the other side to increase the amount of compensation they offer.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Burlington, VT

An accident victim should take the following steps after a crash:

1. Obtain emergency medical care, if necessary. Some accidents cause life-threatening injuries. Call an ambulance to come to the scene to whisk someone with serious injuries to the hospital. If you aren’t immediately immobilized, you can work down through the remainder of this checklist.
2. Call the police to report the accident. An officer should create an accident report, which is useful when making an insurance claim. It should include information about the date and time of the crash, as well as its location.
3. Swap information with the other driver. Get their name, address, license, and registration, as well as their insurance information. Share the same info with them.
4. Speak to witnesses. They might be able to testify about the crash. Ask them for a method of contact, like an email or cell phone number. Our lawyers are usually eager to talk with witnesses, who can really boost a claim.
5. Document the accident scene. Photograph all vehicles involved in the crash. Also take a picture of anything else that looks significant, like tree branches obscuring a stop sign.

 What to Avoid After a Burlington Car Accident

To avoid undermining your legal rights, we recommend that you:

1. Don’t admit fault, or say anything that remotely sounds like you are accepting responsibility. Any contributory negligence will reduce your compensation—and maybe defeat your legal claim outright.
2. Avoid fleeing the scene. That is a crime, which can result in criminal charges. You also will struggle to get compensation.
3. Never answer insurance adjuster questions without a lawyer’s assistance. You can expect an insurance adjuster to ask for a recorded statement. Say “no” until you hire a lawyer.
4. Do not accept a settlement offer without a lawyer. We will go over the settlement with a magnifying glass to make sure it is fair. Once you agree to a settlement, you can’t go back for more money.

The Role of Insurance in a Burlington, VT Car Accident

One confusing issue is which insurance to use for a car accident. When you are struck by another motorist, you typically submit a claim on their liability coverage:

• This is fault-based insurance. The motorist at fault must pay compensation to the victims.
• Vermont requires that drivers carry minimum liability coverage to register a vehicle.
• The current policy minimums are $25,000 for bodily injuries to one person, up to $50,000 when two or more are injured. Another $10,000 for property damage is required.
• According to one estimate, about 7% of Vermont motorists are uninsured.

Sometimes, we turn to other insurance. If an uninsured driver hit you, then we can make a claim on your uninsured motorist insurance:

• This insurance is required by Vermont. If you have liability insurance, you should have UM coverage.
• The limits should be at least the same as your liability coverage.
• Although you pay for this insurance, it is still fault based. You can only make a claim if another driver is at fault.

We might also make a claim on collision coverage, which will pay to fix your car. It is no-fault insurance, usually required by your car loan lender.

 Vermont Comparative Negligence and Car Accident Claims

In many accidents, both motorists share some blame. For example, a driver might have made an illegal U-turn, crashing into you. But you were reading a text message while driving, so you are careless yourself.

Vermont’s law on comparative negligence is found at12 VSA § 1036. This law prohibits you from seeking compensation if you are more at fault than the other driver. So you can only recover compensation if you are 50% or less at fault.

Any comparative negligence will shrink the value of your claim by your share of fault. If you were 20% at fault, your damages are reduced by 20%. If you were 50% at fault, you would receive only 50%.

Comparative negligence is little understood—but can take a big bite out of your settlement. We always fight to minimize our client’s negligence in the eyes of the insurance company.

Vermont’s Car Accident Statute of Limitations

If you were hurt in a car accident, please contact our law firm quickly. Vermont’s statute of limitations is only three years. That’s how much time you get after a crash to file a lawsuit. Once you go past this deadline, a judge can dismiss your case with prejudice, and you lose any leverage over the defendant.

Three years might sound like a lifetime. But it passes quickly. Let our Burlington, VT car accident lawyers get a lawsuit filed before then so you can negotiate confidently with the other driver.

Speak with a Burlington, VT Car Accident Attorney

Car accidents are shocking events. Many people need months of intense medical care to recover physically, and the emotional scars sometimes never heal. You deserve compensation when someone else is to blame for your wreck. Please call our law firm today to schedule a free consultation with one of our seasoned legal advocates.