By: Armada Law LLC December 23, 2024

When Is It Too Late to Get a Lawyer for a Car Accident?

Understanding the Time Limit

When you’re in a car accident, time may feel like it’s standing still as you work on getting your settlement. However, time keeps moving forward, and while you’ve likely notified your insurer right away and contacted the at-fault driver’s insurance company to file a claim, you may feel like you’re waiting indefinitely.

Car accident claims should be reported promptly to the insurance companies. However, when you are offered a settlement that is too low to cover the expenses you’ve incurred or your claim is denied, you need to take things a step further in the legal process.

By this point, a great deal of time has likely elapsed, and now you will need to file a car accident lawsuit to recover compensation. In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for car accidents is three years from the date of your accident. The longer you wait to file, the more difficult it may be to get the money you deserve. Key evidence may have been lost or discarded, which will impose greater challenges.

Insurance companies know this, and they will have a team of litigators ready to take action. Meanwhile, you may have thought you could handle this yourself and are now realizing you need legal assistance to help you through the process.

Importance of Early Legal Consultation

How long can you wait to get a lawyer after a car accident? You can hire a lawyer right away, though many accident victims wait, usually because they don’t realize how manipulative insurers can be. The sooner you seek legal advice after your car accident, the more you’ll benefit from their legal representation.

Your top priority after your car crash should be getting the medical treatment you need. After sustaining serious injuries due to a negligent driver, you should not waste any time hiring a car accident lawyer as they can greatly benefit your case.

Protecting Your Rights

The at-fault laws and modified comparative negligence rule in this state may turn your case into a more complicated ordeal. By hiring a car accident lawyer as soon as possible, you will have someone advocating for your rights and managing your case. You won’t have to speak to the insurance company as your attorney will represent you in these negotiations.

Insurance companies train their agents to sound sympathetic while asking leading questions that can lead to your answers being twisted for their agenda. Your lawyer will know exactly how to counter these tactics and demand the full and fair settlement you deserve.

Preserving Evidence from the Scene

Another reason to obtain legal representation immediately after your car accident is the evidence. Car accident victims who sustain serious injuries are typically transported to the hospital via ambulance. If your injuries are severe, you may have even woken up in a hospital room with little recollection of how you got there.

When you’re transported from the scene because of life-threatening injuries, it is impossible to take photos and videos of the aftermath, or speak to any witnesses. The sooner you hire a car accident lawyer, the sooner they can work on getting evidence before it becomes unavailable.

Traffic camera footage, surveillance footage, and other types of evidence could get destroyed or erased as time passes after your accident. Hiring an attorney right away means you will have someone to act on your behalf to preserve it.

Meeting Deadlines

The statute of limitations mentioned previously is another reason why early representation in your case is imperative. You must file your case in accordance with these deadlines. There are very few exceptions that will allow for an extension once the time limit passes, and in some cases, the deadline will be shorter, such as when government entities are involved. You won’t miss any deadlines during the legal process when you have a car accident attorney representing you.

Reduce Your Stress and Let You Heal

Trying to get your expenses covered by the person who caused your injuries can be a lengthy and stressful process. You should be focused on following doctors’ orders, going to your medical appointments, and allowing yourself to heal. When you work with an attorney, you relieve yourself of the stress involved in the legal process while you get to take care of yourself. Ultimately, this will be the best way to move forward from this traumatic event and see better days ahead.

When to Get Legal Help for a Car Accident: Signs It’s Not Too Late

The best time to contact a car accident lawyer is right after the crash. While you can call one while you’re at the scene of the accident, your health is the most important thing. After calling the police and requesting an ambulance, you can then contact an attorney.

You can also call a lawyer for legal help while you’re at the hospital receiving treatments. Even if you did not have life-threatening injuries and went to an urgent care center or your doctor, you can call a car accident attorney when you’re preparing to file your injury claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

In other scenarios, you may be waiting to see how your claim plays out. Often, this is when many car accident victims decide to hire a lawyer. There may be confusion about who is responsible for the accident, especially when there are multiple parties involved. You could also be blamed for the accident, even if it’s not your fault, and at that point, you should not proceed without the representation of an attorney.

Is It Ever Too Late to Hire a Lawyer for a Car Accident in Greenville?

Generally speaking, it is never too late to hire a car accident lawyer after a crash, though it is ideal to hire one as soon as possible. Waiting provides no benefits to you, and allows time for more issues to arise when legal action is delayed.

Missing the Deadline

If you wait too long to hire a lawyer, you may miss the deadline imposed by South Carolina’s statute of limitations. Three years seems like a lot of time, but with the need to gather and present evidence while negotiating with the insurance company, it will go by quickly.

Even if you think you’ve missed the deadline, contact a car accident lawyer anyway. There are certain circumstances that may result in the tolling (pausing) of the time limit. A case evaluation can help determine if your case qualifies for an extension. If the statute does expire, it may be impossible, so get started on your claim as soon as possible to recover the full amount of compensation you deserve.

Lack of Evidence

Another potential complication with waiting to get legal representation is the evidence. As the injured party, the burden of proving negligence in your injury claim falls upon you. Some types of evidence can only be preserved for a limited time. This is evident with traffic cameras, which only retain copies of recorded video for a short while. If the footage is deleted, recorded over, or lost, it will be gone forever.

Witness statements become less reliable over time as well since memories fade. The sooner a witness goes on record to provide details of what they saw, the more helpful it will be in your case. Additionally, witnesses may move away, making it more difficult to enlist their assistance. In other cases, witnesses may pass away from old age, illness, or accidents of their own.

However, when you work with a car accident lawyer, they can rely on other types of evidence even if you wait to file your car accident case. There may be dash cam video, photos taken of the damage at the scene, data from the black boxes in the vehicles, and police reports. Your attorney can also hire an accident reconstructionist and other experts who can be instrumental in proving what happened in your accident.

If you’re wondering when to get legal help for a car accident, get it right now. Armada Law works to assist car accident victims throughout the legal process, even in late-stage claims. Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation to learn more about your legal options.