Grundy Center Car Accident Injury Attorneys

Unexpected accidents and injuries can alter lives. During these challenging moments, car accident injury lawyers become indispensable allies. They support those harmed by others' negligence, ensuring fair compensation. This piece highlights the vital role these lawyers play in guiding individuals through their claims and rebuilding their lives.

How Does Spondylolisthesis Affect My Car Accident Settlement?

As you may know, spondylolisthesis is a condition of the spine where one or more vertebrae in your back slide forward over the vertebrae below it. This condition can cause back pain, sciatica due to nerve compression (which can cause pain and/or numbness in one or more of your legs), and other even more serious conditions. Treatment can include physical therapy, injections, surgery, and activity restrictions among other things. Often, people live with spondylolisthesis their entire lives with no symptoms until they have a traumatic event like a car accident. However, insurance companies will try to blame anything and everything that they can on a prior medical condition. So if they see in your medical records that you have been diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, chances are they will try to blame your current problems on it.

What Can I Do if I Have Spondylolisthesis?

Under Iowa law, a person injured in a car crash is entitled to recover damages for an injury that aggravates a prior condition like spondylolisthesis. Therefore, if your medical records show no history of prior back problems until after a crash and your doctors provide opinions that your current back pain is due to the car accident, then you should be able to recover for the condition. However, this does not mean the insurance company will recognize and agree with your doctors. They may still take the position that they are not going to pay for any more than a few weeks of treatment following the car crash because of your pre-existing spondylolisthesis. If you do not believe that the insurance company is offering you a fair amount of compensation, then you should contact an experienced Iowa personal injury attorney for assistance.

What Can I Do to Preserve My Vehicle as Evidence When It Is Towed from the Accident Scene?

Iowa car accident attorneys recommend filing a car accident claim if you’re involved in a wreck. A claim can help you recover costs for damages, medical bills, lost wages, and more. Unfortunately, though, claims such as these are often made difficult when the vehicles involved in the collision are towed away and evidence is lost or destroyed. 

To prevent this from happening in your claim, our Iowa car accident attorneys recommend you do the following:

1. Find Out Where Your Car Is Being Towed Immediately: Contact your lawyer and ask him or her to send a preservation letter to the tow yard, requesting that the vehicle remain intact and untouched. If this doesn’t work, your attorney can also file a motion in court to order the tow yard to preserve your car.
2. Get Your Car Moved to a Private, Covered Storage Area: Not only do tow yards typically charge a high daily cost for keeping your car, but they also often will destroy or scrap a car very quickly because of space and time constraints. You can prevent this by housing the vehicle in your own private unit. This also staves off vandalism or any other tampering.
3. Take Pictures: Always keep a disposable camera in your glove compartment. If you’re ever involved in a wreck, snap photos of your damaged car, the accident scene, and more. In the event evidence is lost, destroyed, or tampered with, you still have evidence to proceed with your accident claim.

5 Car Insurance Claim Myths Iowa Drivers Should Know

Iowa law requires all drivers to show proof of financial responsibility after a car crash. For most drivers, this means auto insurance. While auto insurance is intended to protect victims of car and truck accidents—allowing injured drivers to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company—insurance claims aren’t always as straightforward as they should be.

Here are five car insurance claim myths that all Iowa drivers should know:

1. Your Insurance Will Cover Your Costs if the Other Driver Can’t: While all drivers are required to carry proof of financial responsibility in Iowa, many don’t. This means that sometimes, when another driver causes an accident, he or she has no means of paying for damages. Unfortunately, an at-fault driver’s lack of insurance/financial responsibility does not mean that your insurance will kick in and help you out. In fact, you may not get any money from your insurance company unless you added one of the following options to your car insurance plan: uninsured/underinsured (UIM) driver or medical payments coverage (MedPay).
2. You’ll Get the Blue Book Value for Your Totaled Vehicle: Another common myth is that when a vehicle is considered 'totaled' (total loss) in an accident, you’ll get its Blue Book value. The truth is, an insurance company's obligation is only to pay for your vehicle’s actual value (as a used car) pre-crash. By evaluating your car at that point in time, the amount that you get might not only be less than the Blue Book value of the car, but also less than what’s necessary to buy a new vehicle.
3. The Insurance Adjuster is on Your Side: Many people believe that since they 'hired' their insurance company, it works for them and thus will uphold their best interests. However, insurance adjusters are often on the hunt for any signs that you did something wrong during the accident, which they can use against you to reduce your benefit amount. Reducing your payout keeps their bottom line low, which is what their primary goal is as a profit-earning company. As such, never sign anything an insurance adjuster asks you to, and never make any admission of guilt or fault for the accident.
4. You’ll Always Get Your Full Settlement Amount: It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be provided your full settlement amount the first time around. Rather, most insurance companies will offer you far less than what you’re entitled to, again, to see if they can cut corners and benefit their company. Never accept a settlement amount without discussing your claim with an attorney first.
5. You Can File a Claim on Your Own: While there’s no legal requirement that says that you have to have an attorney on your side to file a claim, filing a claim without a legal professional may result in a lower compensation amount than you would otherwise get. To prove the fault of the other driver, negotiate a fair amount, and explore your other payment options—such as a lawsuit—contact an attorney.

Seeking Legal Assistance

Seeking legal counsel from experienced Iowa car accident attorneys such as those at Walker, Billingsley & Bair can provide invaluable support in filing insurance claims or pursuing personal injury lawsuits. With a comprehensive understanding of Iowa law, their team can help gather evidence, establish liability, and secure the compensation deserved by accident victims.

Suffering from the aftermath of a car accident shouldn't impede your pursuit of justice and fair compensation. The Iowa injury lawyers at Walker, Billingsley & Bair work hard to level the field between injured Iowans and insurance companies.

That's why we provide this FREE book; The Legal Insider's Guide to Iowa Car Accidents: 7 Secrets to Not Wreck Your Case. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa injury claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation. Call 641-792-3595 to order your free accident book today.