Car Accident Compensation in Maine
Our law firm fights to hold all liable parties responsible
After a crash, many injured car accident victims are in the same unfair position - in pain, out of work, and not sure what to do next.
As the medical bills start rolling in, stacking up alongside monthly expenses, accident victims are often burdened by unanswered questions, including:
- How much compensation can I get for my car accident injuries?
- Who is going to pay for it?
There are many factors that can influence your final personal injury compensation and who will foot the bill, but the short answers are:
Claim value: Typically, the more severe the injury, the larger the recovery. The bigger the effects of your injury on your life, the more compensation you can pursue under Maine law.
The other key factor is how much insurance is available to pay for the accident. If your crash involved a commercial vehicle, that typically means there is more coverage than if it involved someone’s personal vehicle. Either way, your attorney can negotiate with the adjuster for maximum compensation.
If you contributed to the accident, your compensation may be decreased by your degree of fault. Your car accident attorney can protect you from getting blamed for a crash that isn’t your fault.
Who pays? Usually, it’s the at-fault driver’s insurance company that pays for accident-related expenses through a settlement or court verdict. You can also file a third-party claim with their insurance carrier or file a civil lawsuit against the at-fault driver in most cases.
In some crashes, there are more people liable than just the driver. Such parties may include a defective parts manufacturer, bars that overserve patrons, or trucking company owners. The car accident attorneys at Jabar LaLiberty, LLC dig deep to identify all liable parties for your injuries and pursue the compensation you deserve. Our law firm has recovered more than $100 million for our clients.
How to get compensation for your Maine car accident
In general, if you want compensation for your crash injuries, you must file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. While you legally aren’t required to hire an attorney, it’s almost always in your best interest to do so.
The accident claim process can be long and confusing in Maine. Time and again, studies show that people who hire car accident compensation lawyers get larger settlements than those who try to take on insurance companies themselves.
Jabar LaLiberty, LLC takes on the insurance company for you. We negotiate aggressively to get you the justice and compensation you deserve. Our law firm serves all of Maine. If you were injured or lost a loved one in a car accident, contact us for a free case consultation.
What is covered by accident ‘compensation?’
The goal of accident compensation is to make the injured victim financially “whole.” In essence, it’s meant to pay for all past, present, and future costs you have sustained as a result of the accident, such as:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship, enjoyment, or consortium
- Funeral and burial expenses (in case of a fatal crash)
An experienced car accident compensation attorney can investigate and calculate the full value of your claim. Many compensation claims are for neck, back and shoulder soreness or pain.
Maine car insurance and compensation laws
Maine is a “fault” state, which means that after an accident, the at-fault driver (and their liability insurance) is responsible for paying your damages. That means when you file your claim, you will be, for the most part, bound by the at-fault driver’s insurance policy limits. Like most states, Maine requires drivers to carry a minimum amount of car insurance. Minimum policy requirements in this state include:
- $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $25,000 for property damage
- $2,000 per person in medical payments coverage (MedPay)
- $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident in uninsured/underinsured (UM) coverage
The minimum insurance policies are often not enough to fully cover all accident-related expenses and damages. That’s one of the reasons UM coverage is so important – it supplements the other driver’s insurance or stands in if the other driver doesn’t have insurance. In Maine, you can generally carry as much UM coverage as you have liability coverage unless you decline the additional coverage in writing.
Your comparative fault can cut into compensation
If you contributed to causing the accident, your compensation may be reduced.
Maine is a comparative fault state with a 50 percent bar rule. This means that an injured accident victim cannot file a claim if they are 50 percent or more responsible for the crash. If you’re less than 50 percent at fault, you can recover compensation, but your final recovery will be reduced by your degree of fault. For example, if you are awarded $100,000, but are found to be 10 percent at fault, your payment would be reduced to $90,000. Your car accident attorney can protect you from taking more blame for a crash than you deserve.
Insurance companies and settlement offers
After a serious car accident, it may seem tempting to accept a quick settlement offer from an insurance adjuster - but don’t do it.
Insurance companies almost never open with their best offer. You need to understand what your claim is worth and how much compensation you are owed before you agree to a settlement.
Once you accept a settlement, that’s it. Your case is closed, and under most circumstances, you can’t get more money from an insurance provider.
Our car accident attorneys have a deep knowledge of the factors that affect crash compensation and how to negotiate for the results you deserve.
Fatal car accident compensation
When a bad car accident turns fatal, surviving family members can often file survival actions and wrongful death lawsuits to recover compensation for accident-related emergency medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of lifetime income contributions, and loss of companionship, among other things. In Maine, these actions must be brought by the personal representative (administrator) of the deceased person’s estate.
Our car accident attorneys conduct thorough crash investigations that turn up important evidence to support your claim, whether it’s a wrongful death or accident injury.
We take on the car insurance companies for you
The biggest factor affecting your injury claim compensation is your lawyer.
If you were injured or lost a loved one in a Maine car accident, contact Jabar LaLiberty to schedule a free case consultation. Our attorneys hammer away at the insurance companies until they make a substantial offer. If they refuse to be reasonable, we will prepare your case for court and take them to trial.
Don’t hesitate. The statute of limitations to file your claim is already ticking down, and we have to start our investigation before important evidence disappears. You only have a limited amount of time to act. Call, email, or chat online to schedule your free case evaluation with an experienced car accident lawyer.