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LEGAL

How to Fight Back Against Drunk Drivers

June 2, 2019 by admin 4 Comments

Drunk driving is a serious offense, taking more than 10,000 lives annually in the United States alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tougher laws have hardly stemmed the tide against driving under the influence (DUI), which demonstrates how pernicious the problem is. If you’re involved in an accident with a drunk driver and have survived, there may be a legal remedy that goes beyond collecting compensation from an insurance company. We’ll examine what you can do to fight back against the scourge of drunk driving, especially when it becomes personal.


Following a crash, accident victims should seek medical help immediately.
You’ll also want to contact an attorney to ensure your rights as a DUI accident victim are protected.

Post-Accident Care and Compensation

1. Take care of yourself first. Surviving a car accident goes beyond luck and happenstance. The care you receive post-crash is of utmost importance and may determine how your injuries affect you for the rest of your life. Work with your medical team to find the best care possible for your condition. Follow the doctor’s instructions and continue treatment until you’re told to stop. Not before.

2. Seek legal assistance early. While seeking medical relief, you must reach out to an attorney to review your case. There are DUI accident lawyers whose job is to protect the rights of accident victims. These professionals are adept in handling drunk driving matters and will build a case to take on the drunk driver or this individual’s estate. Your loss may go beyond your personal injury — other passengers may have been injured or killed. A qualified attorney will explain your options and how the litigation process works.

3. Cooperate with your attorney. Once you hire an attorney, you’ll need to work closely with this professional to ensure that your rights are protected. You can expect your legal team to thoroughly investigate your case, including reviewing the accident report and medical records, interviewing witnesses, and possibly hiring other professionals to aid your case, if needed. The attorney’s goal here is two-fold: 1), to hold those responsible for the accident accountable, and 2), to ensure you receive adequate compensation.

4. Review your case. Before your case heads to court or a settlement is made, review your medical records. It is important to understand the extent of your injuries, the long-term impact such injuries will have on your life and the way you live, and possible problems that may emerge down the line. The same steps should cover everyone else who was hurt. In effect, you must determine that your medical information is accurate, including when pre-existing conditions exist.

5. Understand the settlement. Most personal injury cases never go to trial as insurance companies offer a settlement outside of court. If you do go to trial, a settlement offer may be made before the case concludes. Regardless of when a settlement is offered, your attorney will explain the details and make a recommendation. If you don’t understand something or think the offer isn’t strong enough, let your attorney know. You should also understand whether your legal costs are taken from the settlement (thereby reducing your compensation), or if they’re paid by the defendant (or his insurer) separately. Millions of dollars may be involved here, thus it is important to understand what you’re receiving.

The Attorney’s Goal: Make One Whole

Most any car accident, including one involving a drunk driver, can leave you damaged — physically, emotionally, and financially. Your attorney will seek redress, with an eye to “make one whole.” This statement means your attorney will seek to restore you as close to the position you were in before the accident.


Public domain photo acquired from Wikipedia.

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: driving under the influence, drunk drivers, DUI, DUI accident lawyers, LEGAL, personal injury attorney, settlement, trail

Private Party Car Sale Legal Responsibilities

April 26, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Private Party Car Sale

A private party car sale should be a simple matter, right? After all, if the odometer reading is correct, there shouldn’t be any legal problems. Still, there are a few matters you will want to ensure are taken care of before you sell a car to another individual.

Avoid problems when selling your car to a private party.

Your Cars Worth

Before you market your car, you need to know what it is worth. You can determine your cars current value by visiting Kelley Blue Book.

Once youre on the KBB site, choose Whats my current car worth and then select I plan to sell it myself. From there, you will plug in some information about the car including its model year, make, model and mileage. Next, select the cars style before checking off the boxes for its options. Click See Blue Book Value and you will review prices based on the cars condition: excellent, very good, good and fair. Choose the value that corresponds with your car and use that amount as a basis for selling your vehicle.

Review Your Vehicle

The KBB price may not give you a precise value for your car. For instance, a limited edition coupe might be valued higher while a gas hogging full-size SUV could be harder to sell. Check online ads for sales of similar models to gauge whether your price is right or if it should be adjusted.

You should also review your car carefully for potential problems that a buyer might notice such as old tires, faded paint, torn seats, a worn out muffler, an aged battery, fogged over headlamps and more. Consider fixing these items before you sell your car or be prepared to subtract the cost of these repairs when you nail down your price.

Prep Your Vehicle

You’ll be selling your vehicle as is. That does not mean it has to look anything less than a really great car.

Vacuum the interior, wipe down all surfaces and test all components to ensure that everything is in working order. That means checking the air-conditioner, the audio system, power accessories and the navigation system if you have one.

Outside, the car should be washed, waxed and detailed. Remove road surface tar, polish the wheels, wipe down the tires and check the entire cars surface for scratches, dents and blemishes that you can touch up. Clean out the trunk, check all lights to ensure that they are functioning and take your car for a spin with the audio system off, listening for problems.

Market Your Vehicle

There are several ways for you to get the word out about your car. Placing for sale signs on it when it is parked is a good start provide a contact number and whatever other information you wish to provide.

You can also place an ad online to attract interest. Both eBay and Craigslist are popular sites for car sellers be as detailed as possible and post multiple pictures of the cars exterior, interior, under the hood, trunk and other key features. List your asking price, mileage, make/model/year and other details. Be thorough and honest you want to attract people that are interested in your car.

Receive Potential Buyers

Once your car is marketed, you will begin to attract people that are interested in finding out more. You need to be forthcoming with buyers, sharing what you know about the vehicle including its repair history, accidents or anything else that needs to be made known.

For serious buyers, they will want to test drive the car. But first, you may want to drive the car with the potential buyer in it, demonstrating how the car operates and pointing out various features. Then, pull over and allow this individual to drive with you in the passenger seat or in the back seat if a spouse is present. You can outline the route that you want this person to take and you should verify that this person has a valid drivers license before allowing him to get behind the wheel.

Weigh Offers

If someone is interested in buying your car, he will make an offer once he is satisfied that you have answered his questions. That offer will likely come in less than your asking price, so determine in advance what your floor price is and stick with it.

If you missed a problem and a mechanic verifies that work needs to be done, consider splitting this cost with the buyer. Serious buyers will settle on a price as soon as possible knowing that if you turn them down, you may have another buyer waiting in the wings.

Close the Deal

As you prepare to seal the deal, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind to protect yourself legally. Senen Garcia, a Florida attorney, advises that the deal be done in writing, that the seller encourage the buyer to inspect the vehicle (and noting this in the contract), and being careful not to misrepresent any facts regarding the vehicle.

Accept cash, but never accept a personal check. A certified check should be cashed at your bank before you release your car. You can also accept a money order, but me mindful that there are fake versions out there.

Lastly, once the title has been transferred, remove your personal documentation and vehicle tags. Return the tags to DMV and contact your insurance company to cancel coverage.

See Also — How to Check for Flood-Damaged Cars

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: BILL OF SALE, BUYER, DMV, LEGAL, PRIVATE PARTY, SELLER, USED CAR

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