Car Accident Lawyer | Free Consultation | No Win No Fee

Call 911 before anything else and get a police report — this document establishes the official record of the accident and is critical to your claim. Seek medical attention the same day even if you feel fine; adrenaline suppresses pain, and delayed symptoms are common with whiplash, concussion, and soft-tissue injuries. A gap between the accident and your first medical visit gives insurers grounds to argue your injuries are unrelated to the crash. Photograph vehicle damage, road conditions, skid marks, and any visible injuries before the scene is cleared. Get witness contact information. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance adjuster — yours or the other driver's — before speaking with an attorney. Recorded statements are used to minimize your claim, not support it.

The statute of limitations for car accident lawsuits varies by state. New Jersey and Pennsylvania each allow two years from the date of the accident. New York allows three years. Some states allow only one year. Missing the deadline permanently bars your lawsuit regardless of fault. Beyond the legal deadline, evidence degrades fast: surveillance footage is overwritten within 30 to 90 days, vehicle data can be lost, and witnesses become harder to locate. Contacting an attorney as soon as possible protects all of your options.

If the at-fault driver carries no insurance or insufficient coverage, your own auto policy may provide compensation through uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. These coverages are required in some states and optional in others, but most drivers carry them without fully understanding how to use them. An attorney will review every available insurance policy — the other driver's, your own, and any others that may apply — to identify every source of compensation available to you.

Car accident attorneys work on contingency, meaning you pay nothing upfront and owe no fees unless your case results in a recovery. The standard fee is 33% of the settlement before a lawsuit is filed, rising to 40% if the case proceeds to trial. This structure aligns your attorney's interests with yours — they only earn more by recovering more for you. A free consultation costs you nothing and carries no obligation to retain anyone.

Settlement value depends entirely on the facts of each case, so there is no true average. Minor soft-tissue cases with limited treatment typically settle between $10,000 and $25,000. Cases involving fractures, surgery, or significant time off work commonly range from $50,000 to $250,000. Accidents causing permanent injuries — spinal damage, traumatic brain injury, loss of limb — regularly result in seven-figure recoveries. The key factors are injury severity and permanence, total medical costs including future treatment, lost income, and available insurance coverage. An attorney can give you a realistic range after reviewing your specific case. *Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

No — and this is one of the most consequential decisions you will make after an accident. Insurance companies make initial offers quickly, often within days of the crash, hoping to close the claim before you understand the full extent of your injuries. These offers are almost always well below the true value of the claim. Accepting a settlement means signing a release that permanently closes your claim — you cannot return for additional compensation if your injuries turn out to be more serious than initially thought. Always have an attorney review any offer before you sign anything.

In most states, yes. The majority of states follow comparative negligence, which reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault but does not eliminate it. If you were 25% at fault and your damages are $100,000, you recover $75,000. New Jersey and Pennsylvania both follow modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar — you can recover compensation as long as you were not more responsible for the accident than the other party. A small number of states still use contributory negligence, which bars all recovery if you were even 1% at fault. An attorney familiar with your state's rules will tell you exactly where you stand.

Most car accident claims resolve within six to eighteen months. Cases with clear liability and documented injuries on the lower end of severity often settle in six to nine months. Cases with disputed fault, serious injuries requiring ongoing treatment, or multiple parties typically take twelve to eighteen months or longer. Going to trial extends the timeline to two or three years in some cases. Your attorney's goal is to resolve the case efficiently without leaving money behind — and will advise you clearly on whether any settlement offer is fair given the costs and risks of continued litigation.