Charleston Car Accident Lawyer

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Have you or a loved one been injured in a car accident in Charleston, WV? You may be entitled to significant compensation. Our team at Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC is committed to helping injury victims recover every available dollar. An experienced Charleston car accident lawyer can help you recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more.

Our lawyers bring over 71 years of experience to the table. We’ve helped accident victims like you recover hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts over the years.

By taking a client-centric approach, we’ve earned the trust of countless injured clients like you over the years. To learn more about your legal options, contact our law offices in Charleston, West Virginia, at (304) 720-1000 for a free consultation today with our Charleston car accident attorney.

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How Can Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC Help Me Recover Compensation After a Car Crash in Charleston?

Many car accident victims have trouble getting the compensation they need after a car accident. At best, insurance companies often make injury victims jump through hoops to get the money they deserve. At worst, the insurance company may blame you for your own injuries or claim that you failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate damages.

It’s important to hire an experienced Charleston personal injury attorney who can protect you.

Our team at Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, has been trusted to represent injury victims in Charleston, WV, like you since we opened our doors in 2007. All of our attorneys have earned an AV-Preeminent rating, which is the highest rating provided by the prestigious Martindale Hubbell lawyer rating service. We’ve also been named by Super Lawyers multiple years running.

When you hire us, our Charleston car accident lawyers will:

Make sure you understand all of your legal options
Develop a solid plan for recovering the maximum compensation possible
Conduct an exhaustive investigation and gather any evidence to prove your case
Determine who was at fault for the accident
Defend against victim-blaming tactics
Identify your damages and assess their case value
Bring in respected experts who can prove complex aspects of your case
Negotiate aggressively to secure every dollar you deserve
File a lawsuit if the insurance company refuses a fair settlement

Our Charleston personal injury lawyers have a proven track record when it comes to successfully handling some of the most complex personal injury matters. We won’t give up until we’ve exhausted every option to recover the most compensation possible in your case.

We know the stakes are high after a serious injury. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

Why Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer After a Car Wreck in Charleston?

While many injury victims hesitate to hire an attorney after a car accident, an experienced attorney can make a huge difference.

The problem is that insurance companies aren’t on your side. They’ll do whatever they can to avoid paying you a full settlement. Without a lawyer, you always risk taking a lowball settlement deal. It may take months to realize that your costs far exceed the amount of your settlement–and by that time, it’s too late.

An experienced lawyer can help you spot lowball settlement offers and reject them before it’s too late.

Your lawyer can also:

Identify the specific damages you’ve suffered
Help you understand how much compensation you really deserve
Bring in experts and collect evidence to prove your case to the insurance company

There’s never any risk when you consult an attorney after a crash. Like most law firms, our team offers free consultations, and there’s never any obligation. Just give us a call to schedule a free case review today.

How Much Compensation Can I Recover By Filing a Car Accident Claim?

The amount of money you take home depends on many different factors. The severity of the victim’s injuries tends to dictate case values. Your lawyer’s experience, resources, and negotiating skills can also make a huge difference.

When our lawyers are evaluating the value of your personal injury case, we’ll evaluate factors such as:

Whether you’re likely to make a full recovery or suffer a long-term disability
Your financial costs, including for medical treatment, vehicle repairs, rehab, and more
Your expected future financial losses, including ongoing medical care and assistance
Any loss of earnings during recovery
Whether you’ll be able to return to the same type of work after reaching maximum medical improvement
How the injury will impact your future earnings
Your emotional suffering and mental trauma
The level of physical pain you’ve experienced
Whether the insurance company has evidence to prove you were partly responsible

While the insurance company may be sympathetic, don’t count on them to calculate your case value. Remember that they’re in it to make a profit. Contact an experienced lawyer who can protect your best interests instead.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Car Accident in West Virginia?

In West Virginia, the statute of limitations in most car accident cases is two years. At most, you’ll have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you wait longer, you give up the right to sue the at-fault party for damages.

While there are exceptions, they’re rare. It’s always important to act quickly if you are involved in an accident. Your lawyer can start working to build your case even if you haven’t fully recovered.

What Types of Damages Can I Recover in a Car Accident Lawsuit?

A successful personal injury claim should compensate the victim for economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are paid to compensate for the financial losses the crash causes.

Typical examples of the types of economic damages victims pursue include:

Current medical bills
Future medical expenses
Lost wages and benefits during recovery
Reduced earning potential and lost future career prospects
Nursing care
In-home assistance
Medications and medical devices
Rehabilitation and PT
Vehicle repair costs
Other types of property damage

Non-economic damages compensate a victim for their physical losses and emotional trauma.

Specific examples of non-economic damages include:

Physical pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Ongoing mental health issues, such as anxiety, PTSD or depression
Humiliation and shame
Diminished quality of life
Disfigurement
Scarring
Loss of consortium

Courts in West Virginia rarely award punitive damages. However, our lawyers will evaluate the circumstances to determine whether punitive damages are justified. They’re typically only awarded in situations where there is clear evidence that the defendant intended to hurt you or showed reckless disregard for your safety.

How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in West Virginia?

Many injury victims find themselves struggling with expenses and have no way to work after an accident. You may wonder whether hiring a lawyer is really worth the cost.

Fortunately, most experienced personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. Rather than charging upfront fees or an hourly rate, they take their fees directly from your settlement or verdict. You’ll only have to pay if your lawyer actually does recover compensation.

Like most law firms, we work on a contingency fee basis at Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC. Typically, our fees are about 33% of a client’s compensation award. So, if we recover $100,000, we take about one-third. If your attorney doesn’t recover any money, you don’t have to pay attorneys’ fees.

What Happens to My Compensation Award if I’m Partly Responsible for Causing a Car Accident in Charleston?

Under West Virginia law, you can recover some compensation if you were partly at fault. You lose your right to damages under the state’s modified comparative negligence law only if your share of fault is more than the combined fault of all other parties.

If your share of fault is less than the combined fault of the other parties, your compensation is reduced accordingly. So, if you were 20% responsible and the other driver was found to be 80% liable, you can take home 80% of your compensation award.

Assigning blame isn’t an exact science. The insurance company will try to pin as much blame as possible on you. Shifting even a small portion of blame will allow them to pay a reduced amount. If someone is blaming you for a crash, call a lawyer and get help fighting back.

Will My Charleston Car Accident Case Go to Trial?

Most car accident claims are settled through insurance negotiations. However, if the insurance company refuses to settle for a fair amount, your case could go to trial. Trial is also likely if your case involves complex legal or factual questions.

A trial is more likely if:

Your injuries are very severe and will require long-term care
There is a serious dispute over who was responsible for the injury
There are significant disputes over your case value
The insurance company or at-fault party refuses to negotiate in good faith

Any one of these factors, or a combination, can cause settlement negotiations to stall. Our lawyers are always prepared to argue your case in court. That said, we’ll always work hard to build a case that’s strong enough to convince the insurance company to settle for a fair deal without trial.

What Should I Do After a Car Accident in Charleston?

Assuming you don’t require immediate emergency medical attention, here’s what you should do if you were involved in an accident:

Call 911 and report the accident. Under West Virginia law, you must report any accident that causes an injury, fatality, or property damage of $1,000 or more. The police dispatcher can send an ambulance to the scene to provide emergency medical care. Even in minor accident cases, the police report can provide vital evidence to support your claim for compensation.
Document the scene and gather evidence. Photos and videos of the damaged vehicles and crash scene can be extremely valuable. If any injuries are obvious, take photos of those injuries.
Exchange contact details. Exchange insurance and contact information with the other driver. If there are any witnesses, obtain their contact information as well.
Watch what you say. Avoid apologizing or making any statements that aren’t necessary. Injury victims sometimes accept blame without really knowing what caused the accident–and those statements can be used by the at-fault driver during insurance negotiations.
Seek medical attention. Seeing an experienced doctor quickly is critical. Your medical records will establish the link between the accident and your injuries. It’s also possible that you’re suffering from injuries that don’t show symptoms right away. Brain injuries can be particularly tough to recognize immediately without medical training.

Before you sign any insurance documents or make recorded statements, contact an experienced Charleston car accident attorney. Many victims think a quick insurance offer is a good deal but don’t fully understand the value of their claim. While getting money in your pocket quickly is tempting, you could regret the decision down the road.

Our Charleston Personal Injury Lawyers Handle All Types of Car Accident Claims

Car accidents happen in many different ways. Maybe a drunk driver turned the wrong way down a one-way street and caused a head-on crash. Maybe you were rear-ended while sitting at a traffic light. Maybe you were simply walking down the street and hit by a car that veered onto the sidewalk.

Regardless of the circumstances, you deserve experienced legal representation.

At Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, we have decades of experience in personal injury law and are prepared to handle any type of claim, including those involving:

Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk and drugged driving is illegal in all 50 states. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always stop drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel. If you were injured in a preventable drunk driving accident, our lawyers are here to help you recover every dollar you deserve.

Speeding Accidents

Statistically, the risk of dying in a crash doubles for every additional 10 miles-per-hour of speed involved. Speeding drivers often don’t have the time to react and prevent accidents. In fact, about 23% of all fatal traffic accidents during 2021 involved speeding drivers.

If you were injured and the other driver was speeding, our lawyers can help you prove it. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

Hit-and-Run Accidents

Drivers leave accident scenes for many different reasons. As the victim, it can be incredibly difficult to pursue compensation from a hit-and-run driver. After all, many are never found. Our lawyers will work with you to identify every option for recovering compensation–and we’ll conduct our own investigation to search for the at-fault driver.

T-Bone Accidents

T-bone accidents and side-impact crashes often happen when drivers are racing through intersections to “beat” a yellow light. These types of crashes can have devastating consequences for the occupant seated on the side of the impact. If you were involved in a t-bone accident, let our lawyers help you fight for full compensation.

Fatal Accidents

Some accidents are so severe that the victim cannot survive. If you lost a loved one in a fatal car accident, our wrongful death attorneys are here to help you fight for justice. Contact us today to learn more about your legal right to compensation.

Additional Examples of Our Car Accident Practice Areas

Our lawyers are also equipped to handle car accident claims involving:

Rollovers
Rear-end collisions
Sideswipe accidents
Head-on collisions
Chain-reaction crashes, including multi-vehicle crashes and pile-ups
Single-vehicle accidents
Highway accidents
Trucking accidents
Commercial vehicle accidents
Motorcycle accidents
Distracted driving accidents
Intersection accidents
Accidents involving uninsured or underinsured motorists
Rideshare accidents
Accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists

Regardless of the type of accident involved, call our law firm to arrange a free initial consultation today. We’ll sit down, listen to your story, and determine the best option for recovering financial compensation after a crash.

Who Can Be Held Liable for My Injuries After a Car Accident in Charleston, WV?

Like most states, West Virginia has “at-fault” or “tort” insurance laws. That means the person who is deemed responsible for causing the accident is also responsible for paying the damages.

That makes it extremely important to identify all parties who are responsible for the crash. Most of the time, that’s another driver. However, the at-fault party can also be someone who wasn’t driving.

Examples of responsible parties may include:

Negligent drivers
Negligent passengers
Employers of negligent drivers, if the at-fault driver was acting within the scope of their employment when they caused the crash
Trucking companies, if a negligent truck driver caused the accident
Manufacturers of defective vehicles or safety equipment that contributed to the crash
Government agencies
Pedestrians or bicyclists

Who is liable will ultimately depend on the circumstances of your accident. Our lawyers in Charleston will carefully investigate to identify everyone who was involved. We’ll review accident reports, talk to witnesses, and even bring in experts to help us fully understand what happened.

Common Types of Car Accident Injuries

Regardless of the circumstances, it’s always possible that the accident can cause serious injuries.

At Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, we represent victims in all types of injury cases, including those involving:

Burns
Traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Broken bones
Nerve injuries
Whiplash injuries
Soft tissue damage
Internal organ damage
Crushing injuries
Head and neck injuries
Concussions
Back injuries
Facial and dental injuries
Eye injuries
Amputations
Paralysis
Catastrophic injuries
Wrongful death of a loved one

Our lawyers are passionate about helping injury victims get justice. While you’re focused on recovery, you can rest assured that we’re working tirelessly to win the money you need and deserve after a crash. Give us a call today, and we’ll start handling the legal issues.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Car Crashes in Charleston?

The vast majority of motor vehicle accidents happen because someone was negligent. Simply put, negligence means that someone has a responsibility to exercise reasonable caution, ignores that responsibility, and causes an accident and injury.

Some common examples of negligent driving behaviors that cause car accidents include:

Speeding
Texting while driving
Other types of distracted driving
Driving while fatigued
Failure to yield the right-of-way
Tailgating
Aggressive driving and road rage
Weaving between lanes
Running a red light or stop sign
Ignoring traffic signs and regulations
Drunk driving
Driving while impaired by drugs
Driving in a vehicle’s blind spots
Inadequate vehicle maintenance

While driver error is a leading cause of car wrecks, it’s not the only reason these accidents happen. Dangerous road conditions, defective safety equipment, and even bad weather can contribute to an accident.

In all cases, identifying the underlying cause–or causes–of the accident is critical to your financial recovery. You can only recover damages if you can prove that someone else was responsible for your injuries.

Our lawyers will start by conducting an investigation into the crash. We’ll obtain accident reports, video footage, witness statements, and any other evidence that can prove you deserve compensation.

Statistics on Car Accidents in Charleston

Car accidents have the potential to be dangerous and even deadly.

According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, 280 people were killed in traffic accidents across the state of West Virginia in 2021. Another 766 people were seriously injured in car crashes that year. In other words, roughly three people are seriously injured or killed in a traffic accident every single day.

Of course, some areas are more dangerous for drivers than others.

According to a report prepared by the Regional Intergovernmental Council (RIC), the most dangerous intersections in Charleston are:

U.S. 119 and Oakwood Road
MacCorkle Ave and Montrose Drive
MacCorkle Ave and 3rd Street
U.S. 119 and Green Rd – Terry Rd
MacCorkle Ave and 36th Street

When making their report, the RIC considered many factors, including the number of accidents and the severity of those accidents.

Contact an Experienced Charleston Car Accident Lawyer for a Free Initial Consultation Today

If you or a loved one were recently injured in an auto accident, call a Charleston car accident lawyer to learn about your legal options today. Our team at Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, is here to provide the quality legal representation you deserve. Even better, your consultation is always completely free of charge, so there’s no need to worry about incurring additional expenses.

Car Accident Resources

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Auto Accident Client Review

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