A crash where fault seems clear does not always mean a clear or easy claim outcome. Drivers may remember the collision differently, injuries can become more apparent with time, and questions about fault or insurance coverage can arise days after everyone leaves the scene. A Mississippi car accident lawyer from our team will secure evidence right away, establish the truth of the accident, and hold all liable parties accountable for any financial obligations to you.
The team at Richard Schwartz & Associates has handled Mississippi injury cases for more than 40 years. From collisions on I-55 in Jackson to crashes on rural highways miles from the nearest city, our attorneys understand that where and how a crash happens can shape the investigation that follows.
Richard Schwartz & Associates is available 24/7. Consultations are free, and there is no attorney's fee unless we win compensation for you. Call us or reach out online, and bring whatever you have, though nothing is required for the conversation to be worth your time.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- What Can a Mississippi Car Accident Attorney Do After a Crash?
- The Insurance Claims Process Is Rarely as Simple as a Crash Victim Expects
- What Compensation Should I Seek After a Mississippi Car Accident?
- Why Richard Schwartz & Associates? Six Mississippi Offices, One Statewide Car Accident Practice
- How Can a Jackson MS Car Accident Lawyer Handle a Serious Injury Claim?
- FAQs: Mississippi Car Accident Lawyer
- Bring Us Your Questions, Get the Answers You Need After Your Mississippi Car Accident. Call Richard Schwartz & Associates Today.
What Can a Mississippi Car Accident Attorney Do After a Crash?
A Mississippi car accident attorney can investigate how the collision happened and identify evidence that may help establish responsibility and damages. These are immediate steps we can take, regardless of whether an at-fault party or insurance companies agree with our conclusions.
Depending on the circumstances of the crash, our attorneys may secure and use:
- Police or Mississippi Uniform Crash Reports
- Photographs and videos (including of vehicle damage)
- Witness statements
- Traffic or surveillance footage
- Electronic vehicle information
- Cellphone records when relevant and obtainable
- Medical records
- Employment and wage information
- Insurance policies and correspondence
Different crashes produce different evidence, so an intersection collision in Jackson may require a different investigative approach from a highway wreck outside Greenville or Meridian.
Mississippi maintains an electronic crash-reporting system known as Mississippi eCrash. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety also explains how motorists can obtain crash reports completed by the Mississippi Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. Our familiarity with these resources is just one of many reasons clients rely on us to seek efficient, fair outcomes after their car accidents.
The Insurance Claims Process Is Rarely as Simple as a Crash Victim Expects
A collision may appear clear-cut at the scene. You may have no question about who is at fault. Yet, you should never assume that insurance companies will see the crash as you do.
Questions around coverage, responsibility for the collision, the seriousness of the injuries, and the cost of non-economic damages can all complicate the claims process.
Our team is prepared to make sense of:
- Which driver's policy applies
- Whether multiple drivers contributed to the crash
- Available liability limits
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage
- Whether a vehicle was being used for work
- Whether several injured people are making claims
- Whether injuries require future treatment
- Whether a proposed resolution accounts for documented losses
The attorneys at Richard Schwartz & Associates will become well-versed in the facts of your crash, and we watch the insurance process just as closely. Call us before you give a recorded statement or accept an offer.
How Is Fault Determined in a Mississippi Car Accident?
Fault is determined by evaluating why and how the crash happened. Traffic laws, witness accounts, physical evidence, driver conduct, and other records can all become relevant. In most insurance claims, that single question drives everything that follows.
Conduct that may contribute to a collision includes:
- Following too closely
- Failing to yield
- Making an unsafe lane change
- Running a traffic signal or stop sign
- Driving too fast for conditions
- Driving while distracted
- Driving while impaired
- Making an unsafe turn
Distracted driving is one pressing concern on Mississippi roads. The Mississippi Department of Transportation's distracted-driving resources discuss how taking attention away from driving can interfere with a motorist's ability to recognize and react to conditions.
Our team will conduct an open-minded investigation to determine who caused your crash and what they did to cause it.
What if You Were Partly Responsible for the Collision?
Being partly responsible does not necessarily prevent recovery in a Mississippi personal injury claim. Under comparative negligence, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share of the fault rather than wiped out entirely, a rule set by Mississippi Code § 11-7-15.
This rule makes careful investigation particularly important when both drivers are accused of contributing to the collision. A Mississippi car accident lawyer will fight for the best possible resolution for you, whether or not you share fault for the collision.
What if the Other Driver Has No Insurance?
Other sources of coverage may be relevant when a responsible driver has no insurance or insufficient coverage. The answer depends on the policies involved and the circumstances of the collision.
As we conduct a review of available coverage, we may consider:
- The other driver's liability coverage
- Your automobile policy
- Uninsured motorist coverage
- Underinsured motorist coverage
- Coverage applying to another household vehicle
- Other potentially applicable policies
Such insurance questions can also arise in hit-and-run cases where the responsible driver cannot initially be identified. The attorneys at Richard Schwartz & Associates can examine the policies and facts to identify potential sources of coverage that warrant further review.
What Compensation Should I Seek After a Mississippi Car Accident?
Fair compensation depends on the injuries, available evidence, insurance coverage, responsibility, and other circumstances. “Damages” is the legal term for losses for which financial compensation may be available.
Many people face economic damages, which tend to carry an objective, easily quantifiable cost. They also face losses that are harder to put a number on, such as ongoing pain or a persistent fear of riding in a car after the crash.
Here are a few damages we see often in car accident cases:
- Emergency care costs
- Hospital bills
- Ongoing medical costs your providers document as related to the crash
- Future care costs
- Lost income
- Reduced future earning ability
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Physical impairment
- Other qualifying losses
Our attorneys also examine losses that continue into the future, using medical, employment, and economic evidence to document them.
Why Richard Schwartz & Associates? Six Mississippi Offices, One Statewide Car Accident Practice
Richard Schwartz & Associates maintains six offices across Mississippi, giving injured people several points of access to the same statewide car accident practice. Our attorneys serve clients from:
- Jackson
- Tupelo
- Hattiesburg
- Meridian
- Columbus
- Greenville
These locations let our team represent people injured everywhere from busy Jackson interchanges to rural highways an hour from the nearest major city, and your crash does not need to happen near an office for us to review it.
A Firm Built Around Mississippi Injury Cases
Richard Schwartz & Associates has handled Mississippi injury matters for more than 40 years. That history gives our attorneys familiarity with Mississippi courts, insurance practices, state law, and the practical questions that arise when investigating collisions here.
Richard Schwartz's connection to the state dates back well before his current practice. He is a lifelong Jackson resident, graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1978, served as an assistant city prosecutor in Jackson for 10 years, and later served as city prosecutor for Ridgeland for two years.
For someone deciding who should review a serious crash, our practice offers:
- More than 40 years handling Mississippi injury cases
- A statewide practice supported by six Mississippi offices
- Familiarity with Mississippi courts and legal procedures
- Resources for investigating serious and disputed collisions
- Experience evaluating medical and financial evidence
- 24/7 availability
- Free consultations
- No attorney's fee unless we win compensation for the client
Those credentials matter most in how they are put to work. A car accident claim may require our attorneys to locate evidence, examine competing accounts of a collision, review multiple insurance policies, and calculate losses that continue after someone returns home. Call us and we will tell you what we see when we look at your crash, at no charge.
How Can a Jackson MS Car Accident Lawyer Handle a Serious Injury Claim?
A Jackson MS car accident lawyer handling a serious injury claim needs to understand more than how the vehicles collided. The medical and financial consequences of the crash are equally important.
A serious injury investigation documents what happened to the injured person after the crash, which may include:
- Emergency care
- Hospital admission
- Ongoing care and any restrictions that come with it
- Time missed from work
- Reduced earning ability
- What providers expect will be needed going forward
- Assistance needed with daily activities
Those records can help distinguish a serious injury claim from one involving short-term treatment and recovery.
How Long Does a Car Accident Lawyer in Mississippi Have to File a Case?
A car accident lawyer in Mississippi must consider the filing deadline that applies to the particular claim. Many Mississippi personal injury actions are generally subject to a three-year limitations period under Mississippi Code § 15-1-49.
This statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit. The clock does not always start on the day of the crash, and different deadlines or procedural requirements may apply, so three years should not be treated as a universal deadline for every claim.
Speak with us early so that option stays open.
FAQs: Mississippi Car Accident Lawyer
Car accident claims often raise practical questions that do not have the same answer for every driver. These questions address issues that can arise after Mississippi collisions.
Can a Passenger Make a Claim After a Mississippi Car Accident?
Potentially. An injured passenger may have a claim depending on who caused the collision, available insurance, and other facts.
A passenger's claim could involve the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle in which the passenger was riding, or more than one source of coverage. The evidence determines which possibilities should be examined.
What if My Car Was Hit While I Was Stopped?
Being stopped can be important evidence, but responsibility still depends on how the collision occurred. Rear-end crashes, intersection collisions, and chain-reaction accidents can present different factual questions.
Photographs, vehicle damage, witness accounts, and the crash report may help establish the sequence of events.
Can I Have a Claim if My Airbags Did Not Deploy?
Possibly, but an airbag not deploying does not by itself establish legal responsibility. Deployment can depend on the nature, direction, and severity of the impact as well as the vehicle's systems.
The cause of the crash and the reason for an alleged vehicle-safety failure may require separate investigation.
What Happens if the Other Driver Leaves the Scene?
A hit-and-run can create both identification and insurance questions. Witnesses, nearby cameras, vehicle debris, photographs, and available insurance coverage may become relevant.
These cases are complicated for unique reasons, and our team’s familiarity with balancing a hit-and-run investigation with the insurance process prepares us to lead such cases today.
Does Wearing a Seat Belt Matter to a Car Accident Case?
Not in the way most people expect. Mississippi Code § 63-2-3 says failure to wear a seat belt cannot be treated as contributory or comparative negligence, so it cannot be used to cut your recovery on that basis. Mississippi courts have allowed seat-belt evidence in for other limited purposes, so ask us how it might come up in your case.
Can I Contact the Firm if My Crash Happened Outside Jackson?
Yes. The attorneys at Richard Schwartz & Associates handle injury matters throughout Mississippi from six offices.
Our locations in Jackson, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Columbus, and Greenville allow us to serve clients across the state. Representation is not limited to crashes occurring near one office.
Will My Mississippi Car Accident Case Go to Trial?
Not necessarily. Some claims resolve through negotiations, while others proceed through litigation and potentially trial.
The appropriate path depends on the evidence, disputed issues, available coverage, injuries, and the parties' positions during negotiations. Our attorneys prepare each matter according to what that individual case requires.
Bring Us Your Questions, Get the Answers You Need After Your Mississippi Car Accident. Call Richard Schwartz & Associates Today.
After a collision, you may know exactly where your vehicle was hit but still have no answer about who will pay the medical bills, how missed work will be handled, or whether the available insurance is enough. The team at Richard Schwartz & Associates is ready to review the crash report, insurance information, medical evidence, and whatever else you have. A Mississippi car accident lawyer can then explain how the facts and Mississippi law affect your options.
Our attorneys serve clients statewide through six Mississippi offices, and you can reach us 24/7. Consultations are free, and there is no attorney's fee unless we win compensation for you. Call Richard Schwartz & Associates today or reach out online.