Albuquerque Car Accident Lawyer

We don’t let that happen. At Buckingham & Vega Law Firm, your accident lawyer will investigate your case by:

• Reviewing the police report for evidence and noting any factual or reporting errors.
• Watching footage of the accident captured on dashcams or security cameras.
• Reviewing your health care records to determine what medical treatment you’ve undergone, what treatments you may still require, and what your expected medical expenses are.
• Requesting phone records to determine if the at-fault party was engaged in distracted driving at the time of the accident.
• Talking to eyewitnesses and collecting their statements.
• Taking over all communications with the insurance company, including answering insurance adjuster questions.
• Working alongside relevant professionals, including accident reconstruction experts and health care professionals who are willing to testify on your behalf.

We Deal With the Insurance Company

No one wants to deal with the insurance company in even the best of times. When you’ve been involved in a car accident and compensation is on the line, speaking with an auto insurer can be one of the most stressful aspects of your post-crash life.

We know that this stress isn’t good for your recovery, which is why we handle the insurance company on behalf of our clients. This allows you to focus on what’s most important—your physical and emotional well-being.

We’re Seasoned Trial Lawyers

The majority of car accident cases are settled outside of court. We always strive to reach a settlement with the insurer, as this keeps your time, financial, and emotional commitment to a minimum.

Although only a small number of auto accident claims go to court, we never leave things up to chance. Even as our attorneys skillfully work to reach a settlement with the insurer, we also prepare for the possibility of going to trial. This approach allows us to never be caught off guard by the direction your case may go in.

Our experience as seasoned litigators with a successful history of record-setting trial verdicts makes us a strong choice for your New Mexico car accident claim.

We Don’t Get Paid Unless You Win

The cost of securing legal representation after a car accident can be a barrier for many victims. For this reason, we offer our services on a contingency fee basis, which effectively removes that barrier and allows anyone of any means to work side-by-side with an experienced Albuquerque car accident lawyer.

By working within a contingency fee model, we can provide legal representation to injury victims without requiring any type of upfront payment. Instead, we only receive our legal fees as a small percentage of your overall award. We find that this arrangement is mutually beneficial to all involved, as it creates a shared goal of success between our attorneys and clients.

Contact our car accident lawyer in Albuquerque today to schedule your consultation.

What To Do After an Car Accident

The actions you take in the period of time immediately following a collision can be crucial to the overall success of your personal injury claim. While missing one or two of these steps will not eliminate your legal right to pursue compensation from the at-fault party, our car accident attorneys in Albuquerque recommend completing as many of the following steps as possible:

Call 911

Even if no one appears seriously injured, call 911 and request that an ambulance be sent to the scene of the accident. Allow emergency responders to examine you and follow their recommendations, whether that means being transported to the hospital via ambulance or seeking care on your own at an emergency room.

While you wait for the ambulance to arrive, do not attempt to move anyone who appears to be suffering from a neck or back injury. Do not allow others to move you if you believe that your neck or back is injured. Doing so could ultimately cause more harm.

Take Pictures and Videos

Using your phone’s camera, take pictures and videos of the accident scene. This helps preserve evidence that otherwise disappears quickly and can be highly beneficial to the overall success of your accident claim.

If you are unsure what to photograph or record, we recommend capturing the following:

• Wide shots of the general scene
• Items or landmarks that situate the accident, such as street signs
• Damage to all involved vehicles
• The license plates of the other vehicles
• Debris left in the roadway
• Skid marks
• Property damage, such as bent stop signs or damaged bus shelters
• Factors that may have influenced the accident, including wet roads or poor visibility
• Any apparent injuries

Err on the side of caution and take more pictures and videos than you think you will need. Your attorney can help you sort through these images and video files to determine which ones will be most helpful to your specific case.

If you are taken from the scene in an ambulance, ask a friend or loved one to visit the scene as soon as possible to take pictures on your behalf. Alternatively, you can return and take your own photos once you are released from care.

Exchange Car Insurance Information

All drivers involved in a collision in the state of New Mexico are required to exchange the following information:

• Names
• Contact information, including phone number, email address, and mailing address
• Insurance information

If the other driver seems reluctant to share their information or outright refuses, it could be a sign that they believe they caused the accident, do not have a valid driver’s license, or are underinsured or uninsured. Ask the responding police officer to help facilitate the exchange of information if the other driver is unwilling to do so.

Speak to Witnesses

When fault is in question, eyewitness statements that support your version of events can be crucial to the overall success of your claim. If any witnesses stopped after the accident, speak with them and ask if they would be willing to provide a statement about what they saw. Collect their name, contact information, and a brief statement.

Seek Medical Treatment

Even seemingly minor car accidents have the potential to cause serious injuries. While some injuries, like broken bones, are often noticeable right away, others take time to develop or are masked by the rush of adrenaline that often accompanies car accidents.

For these reasons, you should always seek prompt medical care after a motor vehicle crash. If you are experiencing significant amounts of pain or simply feel that something is not right, immediately proceed to the emergency room. If you are not experiencing acute physical or medical distress, schedule an appointment with your regular doctor. When you call, let them know that you’ve been in an accident and need to be evaluated for injuries.

Some injuries, such as soft tissue injuries, can be easily identified with a physical examination, while others require more in-depth testing. Be sure to adhere to all follow-up recommendations and testing, including X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging tests (MRIs).

Meet With an Albuquerque Car Accident Lawyer

Insurance claims involving car accidents can be exceptionally complicated. What might initially seem like a forthright case of a negligent or reckless driver causing an accident can be quickly muddled by an insurer desperately trying to boost its own bottom line by limiting how much compensation you are entitled to. When you are simultaneously trying to focus on your physical and emotional recovery, dealing with the insurance company’s antics is the last thing you want to be doing—and they know it.

Don’t try to go up against a big auto insurer on your own. Instead, contact a car accident attorney to discuss what your legal options are.

Buckingham & Vega Law Firm is pleased to offer confidential case evaluations at no cost to those who have suffered serious injuries in a motor vehicle collision. As experienced accident lawyers in Albuquerque, we work closely with clients on a wide range of personal injury cases, including personal injury claims for truck accidents, drunk driving crashes, slip and falls, and more. Each claim is unique and treated with the attentive detail it deserves, providing strategies tailored to achieve favorable outcomes.

Local Roads & Accident Prevention Tips

Navigating the roads in Albuquerque requires both awareness and adherence to safety regulations. Familiarizing yourself with major highways and common traffic hotspots can significantly reduce your risk of accidents. The I-25 and I-40 interchange, known locally as the "Big I," is a notable area due to its heavy traffic flow and frequent construction, which can pose additional risks. Drivers should exercise heightened vigilance and always adhere to traffic laws, especially in such congested areas.

Here are some proactive steps drivers can take to enhance safety on Albuquerque roads: 

Avoid Distracted Driving. Always keep your attention on the road and avoid using mobile devices while driving. 

Maintain Safe Distances. Keeping a safe distance between your vehicle and others helps prevent rear-end collisions, which are common in slow-moving traffic. 

Utilize Seat Belts. Consistently wearing a seatbelt greatly reduces the risk of severe injury in collisions. 

Regular Vehicle Maintenance. Ensure regular maintenance checks to keep your vehicle in optimal condition, reducing the chance of accidents caused by vehicle malfunctioning.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

Only a small number of car accidents are truly unavoidable. In most car accident cases that our personal injury attorneys handle, fault can be directly traced back to a driver’s negligent, reckless, or wrongful actions behind the wheel. The following are some of the most common causes of car accident claims in Albuquerque, NM:

• Driver inattention (including distracted driving)
• Failure to yield the right of way
• Following too closely (tailgating)
• Drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs
• Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
• Improper passing and overtaking
• Disregard of red lights and stop signs

An experienced Albuquerque car accident attorney can help you determine the exact cause of your crash. It is not uncommon for a car accident claim to involve multiple factors, such as both speeding and running red lights. The more information your personal injury lawyer has to work with, the better they can determine what factors contributed to your accident. This determination will be invaluable should the insurance company try to limit their own liability or downplay the severity of your injuries suffered in the crash. 

Common Car Accident Injuries

Car accident injuries can range from minor to catastrophic. Depending on the type and severity of injuries, accident victims may be looking at weeks or months of recovery or even longer. Some auto accident victims are left to endure a lifetime of physical pain and psychological damage.

As Albuquerque car accident attorneys, it is our job to secure maximum compensation for those who have been injured in car accidents. Our time providing legal representation to Bernalillo County has given us a unique understanding of the most common car accident injuries:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Head and neck injuries
• Back and chest injuries
• Broken bones
• Internal organ damage
• Soft tissue injuries
• Cuts and lacerations
• Bruises and contusions
• Wrongful death

Some car crash injuries fall under the category of catastrophic injuries. For example, if you suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car wreck, you might hear your doctor refer to your injury as “catastrophic.” A catastrophic injury is an especially severe injury that happens suddenly and without warning, often affecting the brain, spine, or spinal cord, although it can also occur in other parts of the body.

If you’ve suffered a serious injury that falls under the category of catastrophic injury, it is imperative that you have a competent legal team on your side. Medical expenses related to such severe injuries can quickly outpace earnings and personal savings. Many victims also face a lifetime of medical bills related to their injuries.

A personal injury lawyer who is prepared to take on the complexities of a car accident claim involving catastrophic injuries can correctly value the worth of your claim and ensure that the insurance company pays up. To learn more about how the auto accident attorneys from Buckingham & Vega Law Firm can help with your personal injury claim, schedule a free consultation as soon as possible. 

What Compensation is Available in Car Accident Claims?

The amount of money you are owed for a car accident claim will depend upon a variety of factors. Your Albuquerque car accident lawyer will review the details of your case and consider your past, current, and future losses when determining what a fair settlement looks like in your claim.

Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate you for your tangible financial losses associated with a car crash. These are your calculable monetary losses and may encompass:

• Lost wages and loss of future earnings
• Medical bills
• Property damage, including auto repair

In a wrongful death case, families can also pursue medical costs related to attempted life-saving medical treatment, as well as funeral and burial expenses.

Non-Economic Damages

New Mexico state law recognizes that not all losses associated with car accidents have a financial component. Non-economic damages are meant to compensate car accident victims for these non-financial losses, such as:

• Mental anguish and psychological damage
• Pain and suffering
• Scarring or disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment in life

An Albuquerque car accident lawyer from Buckingham & Vega Law Firm can correctly tally the worth of your non-economic damages, ensuring that your personal injury settlement accurately reflects the harm you’ve suffered.

Punitive Damages

Only a small percentage of car accident victims are eligible to receive punitive damages. Punitive damages are not used to compensate a victim for any specific loss related to their car crash, but rather to punish the at-fault party for especially reckless or intentional behavior. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to work closely with an Albuquerque car accident attorney to determine the cause of your accident.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Claims in New Mexico?

In the state of New Mexico, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident is typically three years from the inital date of the incident. This means that if you wish to pursue legal action for injuries maintained in an accident, you will need to file your lawsuit within this three-year time frame. If you miss this deadline, you may forfeit your right to recover compensation.

However, there are particular situations in which the statute of limitations could be compressed or extended, like when the victim is a minor or if the accident involved a government entity. Therefore, it's important to consult with our Albuquerque car accident attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your case is filed within the appropriate time limits.

Contact Our Albuquerque Car Accident Lawyers Today

Car accidents disrupt lives in a way that few other things can. If you’re struggling with the burden of medical bills, lost wages, property damage, mental anguish, and more, we want to fight for your right to just compensation.

As a New Mexico law firm specializing in personal injury, we treat every case we take on with the respect and care it deserves. You will always feel like a priority because you are. 

We invite you to contact us by calling our law office or filling out our convenient online form to schedule your free consultation. Our Albuquerque car accident attorneys are standing by.