What steps should I take after suffering a traffic accident with property damage?
In a traffic accident, you can suffer both personal injuries and property damage. When it comes to the latter, where we have to file a claim for property damage, we always ask ourselves the same question. At Andreu & Associates, we help make the process as easy as possible to ensure you receive the maximum compensation without any worries .
Traffic accident: How to claim compensation in case of a traffic accident with material damage?
With over 30 years of experience in the sector, we have the best medical experts , as well as the top engineers, in order to assess the damage to your vehicle and personal belongings without missing any relevant details.
Furthermore, we have a large team of lawyers specializing in traffic accidents who handle your claim individually and personally, depending on the case, and study it together with a specialist lawyer who will help you throughout the process, attending to your needs and advising you in every action in order to obtain the maximum compensation for you.
Following an accident, two scenarios are possible: the vehicle may be repairable, or it may be declared a total loss due to the severity of the damage. In either case, our priority is for you to recover the full value of the material damages—to your car, motorcycle, or other vehicle damaged in the traffic accident—as well as any injuries sustained, so that your claim is processed correctly and without excuses.
Procedures for material damages in a traffic accident
But what should you actually do in these situations? First, you need to conduct a thorough review of the facts . When you've just been in a car accident, it's important to assess your own physical condition first, and/or the condition of any other victims near the scene .
Find out the reasons for the accident and the circumstances involved, as well as the material damage suffered by our vehicle and that of the other person or persons involved in the accident.
Collect the personal details of both drivers involved in the accident, including vehicle and insurance information for each. In case of discrepancies between them, the police will be called . Until the police arrive, you can photograph the accident scene (without moving the vehicles) and collect the personal details of any witnesses to avoid misunderstandings between clients later.
With this process, you will be able to more easily obtain the compensation you are entitled to and, as in the previous steps and throughout the entire process, Andreu & Associates undertakes to take care of the necessary procedures for you in case of difficulties .
Next, it's important to fill out an accident report between the two parties involved, specifying the date, time, location of the accident, vehicles, and everything necessary to legally document the incident. This report should be signed by both parties as a mutual agreement. If either driver sustained physical injuries , a medical report should also be requested, detailing all injuries and treatments received.
Once the entire traffic accident has been formalized and recorded, we move on to one of the most crucial parts to obtain compensation: the lawyer specializing in traffic accidents.
As we mentioned, at Andreu & Associates we provide a wide range of lawyers specializing in traffic accidents who handle your claim individually and personally throughout the entire process.
To carry out the entire process, it is important to have a specialist private lawyer who will advise you throughout the entire process and initiate the claim procedures with the insurance company you are going to hire (to which the previously made friendly report will be delivered and will be informed in writing of the hiring of the services of a private lawyer).
Once the cases have been presented and all relevant information has been provided, it will be confirmed which insurance company is guilty; if there is material damage, this must be assessed by an expert and repaired at the expense of the responsible company.
All additional expenses incurred during the compensation claim process should be kept on file using receipts and invoices for ordinary expenses , so that they can be claimed later after the claim is filed.
However, the other client's insurance company may make an additional offer to the one you won, which must include compensation for the damages suffered. In this case, we would have to assess which offer is more advantageous considering all the aforementioned factors, and whether such an offer is actually feasible.
While it's true that each client's insurance company can reach certain agreements between themselves, these only apply under specific circumstances. For example, if more than two vehicles are involved in the accident, there was no direct collision between them, or they don't have valid liability insurance, an agreement between the two companies won't be possible .
Summary on how to obtain compensation for a traffic accident with property damage
It can be done in different ways so that the client agrees with the amount offered; some of them – always guided by a professional lawyer – are:
- Mediation between insurance agencies
- Impartial injury report paid for by the insurance company,
- Renegotiation with the insurance company regarding the financial amount corresponding to the injuries suffered.
- Legal action (if negotiations with the other insurer are unsuccessful)
- To consult a private expert to contest the medical report of the injuries suffered
Our lawyers also provide advice for these types of decisions , but it is in this final stage that our lawyer's presence will be most helpful. If, at this point, the disagreement remains unresolved, legal proceedings will be initiated with our lawyer in court. In this situation, the lawyer is primarily responsible for ensuring you receive the agreed-upon and deserved compensation.
At this point, we conclude that the multiple steps involved in resolving a traffic accident with property damage become a mountain with many obstacles to overcome; therefore, it is always best to carry out this process with an experienced expert who can guide you throughout the entire process.
Our lawyers, specializing in traffic accidents with material damages , are experts in this procedure and offer a complete and personalized service to each client, ensuring the best results.