Car Accidents

Stop your vehicle in a safe place if possible, and be aware of oncoming traffic. Do not leave the scene of the accident!
Stay calm and see if you are injured, or tend to others who might be injured.
If possible, call the police and, if needed, an ambulance
Exchange information with the other driver(s) involved
Identify witnesses and get names, addresses, phone numbers, and statements
Get an accident report with the police as soon as possible. Notify the police if any of the other drivers seem to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs
Seek to a hospital or seek medical care if you think you might be injured
Contact a personal injury law firm and schedule a free consultation
Go to a hospital or seek medical care if you think you might be injured

After all injured persons receive medical care and information is gathered from all involved parties and witnesses, you should call a car accident attorney who is experienced in handling personal injury cases as soon as possible. When you contact Chernosky Law Offices, we will discuss your accident, injuries, and aspects of your claim with you that same day and give you advice on how to move forward with your potential claim. If you decide to retain our services, we will have our investigator conduct an investigation of the accident, so we may begin protecting your rights without delay.

It is always important that you seek immediate medical attention if you think you may be injured in a motor vehicle accident. Once emergency services have been called (i.e, police or EMS), obtain the following information:

The names, addresses, phone numbers, insurance information, drivers’ license numbers, and license plate numbers of all of the drivers and vehicles involved.
If a driver is not owner of the car he or she is driving, also get the name, address, phone number, and insurance information of the owner of the vehicle.
The names, addresses, and phone numbers of any passengers in all of the vehicles, as well as any additional witnesses to the accident.
If the police respond to the accident, obtain the officers’ names and badge numbers and get the accident report or report number.
Take pictures of the damage to the vehicles involved and the scene of the accident. Additionally, take pictures of your injuries.

If you are involved in accident, you should make observations and record notes about the following:

What was the location of the accident and at what time did it occur?
In what direction and how fast were the vehicles traveling prior to the accident?
What were the weather and road conditions at the time of the accident?
Did any of the motor vehicles have any defects which contributed or caused the accident such as a broken headlight or brake light?
Who and what caused the accident?
What parts of the vehicles were damaged from the accident? How significant was the damage?
Did anyone accept responsibility for the accident or make comments such as: “I was changing the radio station,” or “I was not wearing my glasses,” or “My coffee just spilled on me,” or “I just glanced for a second at a text message,” etc.?
Did the police respond to the scene and issue anyone a ticket?
Did EMS respond to the scene? Was anyone transported to a hospital?
Were any of the people involved driving a company-owned vehicle or driving as a part of their job?

Making an insurance claim after an accident is usually complex and can also be confusing. The claim process starts by contacting – or being contacted by – a claims adjuster of your insurance company, and/or the insurance company of the party at fault. They will inquire about the nature of the accident, what happened, your injuries, where you obtained medical treatment, and your history relative to your injuries and treatment. They may also attempt to record your conversation/interview to attempt to discredit your claim in the future.

If the party at fault for the accident is uninsured or has insufficient coverage and you have Uninsured/Underinsured (UM / UIM) coverage, you will be able to start a claim with your own insurance company. At this point, your own company considers you an “adversary claimant” because you are attempting to obtain compensation from them, which all insurance companies try to prevent or at the very least minimize. Do not be fooled— any perceived loyalty by your own insurer does not exist when you are making a claim with them!

After the property damage claim is resolved, the next matter that needs to be addressed is compensation for your injuries, medical treatment, lost wages, and other areas of loss. This area of compensation is typically a major focus of attention by an insurance company because this is where they have the most exposure to potentially paying out large, expensive settlements. As such, the claims adjuster will usually resort to a number of tactics to minimize this possibly significant expenditure.

The injury claim is initiated by crafting a “demand package”, which you present to the insurer once all medical treatment is finished or your injuries are deemed to be permanent. This process should be carefully and fully documented and you need to include your complete medical chart, separate records of radiologists, attending doctors, and all relevant medical bills. These documents will serve to support the legitimacy of your injuries and pain & suffering and explain how they were caused by the accident at issue. You will also want to support the legitimacy of your past and future medical treatment, and past and future lost wages. Often times, it is very helpful to obtain expert reports to further explain the proximate cause and all complex or unclear medical issues that relate to your injuries and necessary medical care.

If the negotiations process results in a mutual settlement, you will be provided a liability release to sign and a check will be issued to you. Make careful note that you will have to pay all medical providers with outstanding balances, subrogate (reimburse) all medical insurers including Medicare or Medicaid, med pay from your own insurer, and anyone else who has a lien on the claim. It is advisable to attempt to negotiate all of these bills, liens, and expenses down. After all expenses and doctors, medical insurers, lien holders, and possibly the government are paid back, you are left with the net proceeds of the settlement. Such proceeds are not taxable by the I.R.S. Hopefully the net proceeds are a fair amount of compensation for all of the losses that you suffered as a result of the negligence of the party at fault.

If you are not satisfied with the final offer that the insurance company tenders to you and do not agree to settle your claim, you always have the right to file a lawsuit in the jurisdiction where the accident happened or where the defendant lives.

Once your case is fully documented and presented to the insurance company and they have reviewed all of the records, reports, and bills, the negotiation process commences. At this point, the insurer will offer a very small sum of money, explaining the problems with your claim and why it is not worth much in the way of monetary compensation. They will attempt to diffuse and undermine the legitimacy of your claim through their own information, investigation, research and experience, and often play “hardball” in an attempt to resolve the claim at the lowest dollar amount possible. You will need to explain the basis for a higher settlement figure and counter their arguments with your own rationale as to why your compensation demand is in fact fairer and more equitable.

Auto, truck, motorcycle, and bicycle accident injury cases require the expertise of an experienced personal injury attorney. Our firm has represented motor vehicle accident victims, including accidents caused by cell phone usage and drivers operating their vehicle under the influence of alcohol. We also handle uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage cases, as well as many types of bodily injury, emotional distress, and wrongful death claims.

After we accept a claim, our team begins to collect all pertinent evidence to prove liability. Your focus, however, will be to get appropriate medical care and tending to your usual daily responsibilities, while we handle all interactions with the insurance company. We will work with your physicians and other health care providers to assess and review all of the short- and long-term medical aspects of your case and make sure they are properly documented.

Our firm understands the different recovery options available to car accident victims and their families. We are also experienced in advocating for the maximum amount of compensation that they our client’s are entitled to. For more information, schedule a free consultation today to discuss your accident and learn about your rights under the law.

Always keep in mind that an insurance company’s goal is to minimize your claim and settle it for the least amount of compensation possible. As such, insurance adjusters often rush to meet with claimants right after an accident (before they retain an attorney) to offer a very small settlement in return for a signed release that closes the claim. Other times, claims adjusters will “disappear” and stop returning phone calls and delay paying on the claim for a number of weeks or even months. Insurance adjusters know that over time claimants often become so desperate and worn down that they will eventually accept an unfair, minimal amount of compensation.

Do not let an insurance company take advantage of your inexperience with the claim process. Even if you are partially at fault for the accident, you are likely entitled to much more financial compensation than is being offered, even after your legal and medical bills are paid. You deserve to be fully and fairly compensated under the law, regardless of what an insurance company tells you.

Upon being retained, an experienced personal injury law attorney will develop an immediate course of action to protect your rights and make sure your claim is handled within the parameters and requirements of the law. We have extensive experience and a proven track record of obtaining fair settlements for thousands of seriously-injured clients who were involved in motor vehicle collisions. We will properly document and build a strong and persuasive case on your behalf, so that your present – as well as long-term – damages are considered and compensated, including medical treatment, physical and emotional pain and disability, lost wages, and any other financial ramifications.

Experienced legal counsel will also make sure your claim moves forward without delay because motor vehicle accident cases are time-sensitive matters. Material evidence needs to be gathered and preserved before it is lost or destroyed and legal time requirements called Statute of Limitations need to be strictly adhered to. When you contact us, we will discuss your accident and all aspects of your claim with you that same day, so no time is lost, and we will give you solid information and advice. If you decide to retain our services and we agree to accept your case, we will start to protect your interests immediately and begin building a compelling, persuasive case for full compensation on your behalf.

Unfortunately, it is easy to get distracted while driving. You could be drinking or eating, drop something on the floor, daydream, or focus on something other than the road; but the most frequent distraction these days can be your cell phone. Texting and general cell phone usage cause car accident injuries frequently. The fact remains that few activities are more dangerous than utilizing a cell phone while driving a motor vehicle, and this type of distracted driving has become a leading cause of traffic accidents in the United States.

Distracted drivers cause accidents every day that seriously injure innocent people. These victims deserve to be compensated fairly. When we are retained to represent a victim of distracted driving, we immediately try to document all aspects of liability. We have our investigators obtain witness statements and gather as much relevant information as possible to reveal exactly what happened. We also obtain cell phone records to prove that the cell phone was being used at the time of the accident. Even if the use of a cell phone was not illegal at any given time, the documentation of this can still be highly effective in proving negligence. We then provide all of this evidence to an accident re-constructionist, who will give their expert opinion as to how the cell phone usage caused or contributed to the accident. Building a well-documented case is critical to obtaining fair compensation in a distracted driving case.

Drivers who are impaired by drugs or alcohol are much more likely to travel at high rates of speed and less likely to slow down before an impact. It is not uncommon for us to see the following injuries as a result of an OVI-related crash:

Spinal cord injuries (with possible paralysis)
Traumatic brain injuries
Internal organ damage/internal bleeding
Broken or dislocated bones
Severe lacerations or amputations

Each of these injuries requires immediate emergency medical attention. Some of them often require multiple surgeries and extended periods of rehabilitation. Victims of impaired driving crashes are often left with major medical bills and no way to pay them. Their costs do not end there. Hidden costs associated with these crashes can put families into financial ruin.

Medical equipment
Home or vehicle accommodations
Lost wages if a victim cannot work
Emotional and psychological damages

For those who are permanently disabled, there is no way to put a price tag on what has been lost. Insurance companies rarely take all of these costs into consideration when determining settlement amounts, placing a huge burden on victims.

At Chernosky Law Offices, our knowledgeable team is ready to help if you or a loved one are injured by an impaired driver. We know that these cases can become emotional and complex. Let us help you secure the compensation you deserve when you need a Colorado DUI accident attorney.

Once the claim is opened by the appropriate insurance company and they have obtained – or attempted to obtain – a recorded statement from you, the adjuster will ask to inspect your vehicle. This will allow them to determine whether it can be repaired or will be deemed a total loss, depending upon the blue book value of the vehicle and their own repair estimate. After this determination is made, they will issue you a check for the value of the vehicle or the cost to fix it. This value type is lower than most car repair facilities will charge once the car is disassembled, though the insurance company is legally required to supplement all additional work. You have a right to take the car to be repaired at a shop of your choice. You do not have to go to one of the insurance company’s “preferred facilities”, which they often highly encourage. You are also entitled to be provided, in a timely manner, a free rental car during the pendency of the car inspection, repair, or “totaling out” process. Insurance companies often delay doing so as long as they can to try and save themselves some of the rental expenses.

Our Practice Areas

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After a Car Accident

Is it necessary to call the police?

When should I contact an attorney?

Important information to gather after a car accident:

Observations to Make

Negotiating an insurance claim

The Injury Claim

Settlement

Negotiations

Hiring a motor vehicle attorney

Can I Negotiate the Claim Myself?

Why Do I Need Legal Representation?

Distracted Driving

Distracted Drivers Need to be Held Responsible

Driving While Intoxicated

These Crashes Should Never Happen

The Property Damage Claim

Practice Areas

Contact Information