Filing Car Accident Claims in DC
Injured in a car accident due to another’s negligence? Here’s what you need to know to file an injury claim in DC. To learn more call today and schedule a consultation with a DC car accident lawyer.
Process of Filing A DC Car Accident Claim
Initially you notify the insurance company. The first thing we do when we get involved in a case is send a letter of representation letting the insurance company know that we represent the injured party in the accident and will be representing their interest. That cuts off any potential contact between the at fault insurance company and the injury victim, and ensures that everything goes through us. So, that’s how the claim is initiated when we’re involved.
Then we deal with the insurance company throughout the process while the injury victim is receiving medical treatment, and once the treatment has been completed, we try to resolve the claim with the insurance company adjuster by submitting a demand outlining all of our positions, the medical bills, any lost wages, the pain and suffering aspect of the case, and demanding a settlement figure based on our evaluation of the case.
Then, the insurance company will review that letter, will assess it and make an offer. Then negotiations ensue, and if the case can be resolved, it gets resolved. If it cannot be resolved, then there is the option to file suit in court, which is a mutual decision between the attorney and the client in terms of the cost/benefit analysis of pursuing a case in litigation.
Difference Between Filing A Claim Or Case Or Action?
That you are initiating a claim with the insurance company to seek damages for the negligence of their driver. That’s done initially by contacting the insurance company and letting them know that there have been injuries, and therefore there is a claim for damages as a result of their driver’s negligence. Then it proceeds from there.
There’s a statute of limitations in any case, and in D.C. for the most part the statute of limitation for this type of claim is three years. That’s the time by which the suit would have to be filed if the claim is not resolved prior to then. We obviously try to resolve the claim by letting the insurance company know that there’s a claim and by processing the claim with the insurance company. We provide them with all of the medical bills, the documentation in support for the claim of lost wages, and all of the medical records along with our demand, when treatment is finished, as to the value of the case. We first try to get it resolved, and if it doesn’t get resolved, then the option is to go to court.
Out-of-State Car Accident Claims in DC
If the accident happens in D.C., or if the defendant lives or works in D.C., the accident claim can be filed in D.C. The fact that someone is passing through and may be from out-of-state when getting involved in an accident in the District of Columbia does not mean that the claim can’t be filed in D.C. Most of the time it would be more likely that it would be have to be filed in D.C. There’s no problem or issue with being from out of state in terms of pursuing a claim for an accident in D.C.