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Connecticut Lawyers Serving Accident Victims

After being involved in an accident, you will deal with quite a bit – from having to contact car insurance companies to filing claims to tracking down witnesses and, of course, recovering from your injuries. If your own car insurance denies your claim, you may feel lost and wonder what your options are for recovery. After all, you have medical costs, lost wages, damage to your vehicle, and even personal property that was likely damaged in the collision.

Hope is not lost when a claim is denied. Instead, you can still collect compensation for your losses in other ways.

File a Claim with the Other Driver’s Insurance

If you were involved in an accident with another driver and that driver was at-fault, you can file a claim with the insurer for all damages that were caused by the driver. It is required by law that all Connecticut drivers carry auto insurance, and they should carry ample property damage liability coverage – which will pay for the damage to your vehicle. To file, you need to ensure that you exchange insurance information at the accident site. You may be able to refer back to the police report for insurance information or contact information for the other driver, as well.

With this information, you can then contact the insurance company and file a claim for the accident. If they have already filed and provided their insurer with your information, the company may contact you directly.

Use Small Claims Court for Accidents with No Injuries

If your accident was small and resulted in no injuries, then you may be able to get your damage covered in small claims court. The cap on damages that you can receive is limiting; therefore, it is only best to use small claims court if you have property damage that is not paid for by insurance, but you are without any medical damages or lost wages. If you have medical coverage or lost wages, then you need to contact an attorney.

File a Claim in Civil Court

Drivers with property damage, medical costs, and other damages exceeding $5,000 should contact an attorney right away. An experienced Connecticut car accident attorney can help file a claim against the at-fault driver in civil court. He or she can also negotiate with the other party’s insurer to get you the settlement that you deserve.

Your attorney will need to create a strategy based on the circumstances of your accident. Some ways in which he or she can do this include:

• Negligence-based claims. This means that your injuries were caused by the driver not acting with reasonable care.
• Negligence per se claims. These involve a driver who is violating a traffic law (a law designed to protect drivers from accidents). Thus, he or she is automatically responsible for the damage to your vehicle and the injuries you sustained, because he or she broke the law and caused an accident.
• Breach of contract. You can also sue your own auto insurance company for denying your claim by stating that it refused to pay out of bad faith, or that it violated the agreement with you as a paying customer.

Speak to a CT Auto Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, do not rely on your insurance – or even the other party’s insurance – to provide you with the settlement that you deserve. Instead, contact an accident attorney. Contact Berkowitz and Hanna LLC today to schedule a no-obligation case evaluation.