Elkhart Car Accident Lawyers

It can be tough to know what to do after a serious crash in Elkhart, IN, but the Elkhart car accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC have what it takes to get you back to normal, including:

• A national caliber law firm with a small town feel that’s been owned and operated by proud Hoosiers from the very beginning.
• Skilled legal service whenever and wherever you need it from one of nine offices conveniently located throughout the state.
• A proven record of success with auto injury cases, like a $25 million verdict* for a devastating collision with an ambulance.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS.  NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

With 2,082 collisions in 2023 alone, car accidents certainly aren’t rare in Elkhart, IN. And while many of them can be dismissed as mild “fender benders,” others are anything but mild, often inflicting punishing injuries that demand prolonged treatment at a price that could break the bank for the average Elkhart family.

However, you may be eligible to receive compensation if someone else is at fault for a crash on an Elkhart road like CR-17, and you might increase the amount you obtain with help from the Elkhart car accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Our firm is equipped to get you fairly compensated no matter where you have been injured, with ten offices throughout the State of Indiana, including our newest location in the heart of Elkhart, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Hensley has been securing stellar outcomes in auto injury cases from the moment we opened our doors over a quarter century ago, including a:

• $25 million verdict for a collision with an ambulance.
• $5.5 million settlement for a crash with a semi-truck.
• $1.4 million resolution for a left-turn accident claim.

These and other achievements have earned Hensley recognition as one of the Best Law Firms in the United States by Best Lawyers®. Our attorneys have also been honored with inclusion in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and the National Trial Lawyers’ lists of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40, and they’d be equally honored with a chance to represent you.

To learn more about what a seasoned Elkhart car accident attorney can do for you and your loved ones, schedule a free consultation by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form at your earliest convenience.

Why Do Elkhart Car Accidents Occur?

Every Elkhart car accident may be unique, with unique causes and unique consequences, but driver error usually plays a role, as it does about 94 percent of collisions according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and they’re particularly likely to occur because of:

• Traveling too fast – Speeding is the number one cause of motor vehicle accidents across the board. Drivers who travel too fast have less time to react but require more time to stop, a combination that could make an Elkhart car accident more probable and more extreme.
• Not paying attention – Coming in at number two as a driver-based cause of car accidents is distraction, a longstanding concern that has grown into an epidemic with the rise of the cellphone, a device that contributes to around 12 percent of American car crashes these days.
• Drowsiness – While drowsy driving doesn’t get anywhere near the press coverage that drunk driving does, sleeping too little can be as detrimental to driving as drinking too much. Indeed, one study showed that a driver who’s been up for 20 hours can be as impaired as a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, the legal threshold for intoxication in Indiana cities like Elkhart.
• Driving under the influence – Of course, literal intoxication might still be the worst kind of driver misbehavior, and it continues to be a huge problem in the Hoosier State, where law enforcement makes an arrest for driving under the influence every 11.98 hours.

Just as Elkhart car accidents can have a variety of causes, they can take a variety of forms too, some of the most common of which include:

• Rear-end collisions – One vehicle hitting the back of a vehicle directly ahead of it describes approximately 29 percent of recent car accidents, and it generally takes place because the driver to the rear is either distracted or following too closely (“tailgating”). If the driver is moving fast enough, as could be the case on a major highway like the Indiana Toll Road, the rear-end collision could kick off a chain reaction with multiple vehicles for which it would be much tougher to assign blame.
• Head-on crashes – Much less common but much more destructive than rear-end collisions, head-on-crashes are disproportionately fatal, making up only two percent of total motor vehicle accidents but ten percent of total motor vehicle deaths.
• T-bone accidents – The force generated when the front of one car smashes into the side of another can be immense, especially for the individual seated at the point of contact.
• Rollovers – Because they tend to involve a series of impacts, some of the deadliest car accidents are rollovers, which are linked to almost a third of passenger vehicles casualties and are more prevalent with but not exclusive to auto bodies with higher centers of gravity like SUVs.

Regardless of the nature or origin of your accident, the effects can be as catastrophic financially as they are physically, but you can count on our Elkhart car accident lawyers to maximize the value of any personal injury case you might have over it.

Tasks to Compete After an Elkhart Car Accident

To better protect that case, there are important tasks that you should remember to complete in the wake of a serious Elkhart car accident, such as:

• Move to safety – Since lingering in the street for too long could put you at risk of getting into another accident, move yourself and your car to safety before you do anything else.
• Alert the authorities – After you have gotten out of harm’s way, take out you phone and dial 911 to request the presence of police and other emergency personnel who can document the accident and attend to the injured. Be sure to tell the responding officers everything that happened so that an inaccurate report won’t come back to haunt you.
• Snap pictures and shoot videos – Before you put your phone away, use it to snap pictures and shoot videos of your surroundings, and try to capture to position of the vehicles and anything else that might assist with determining liability.
• Seek treatment – If you suspect you were hurt in the accident, seek treatment as soon as you can, ideally from paramedics on site or at the closest emergency room, since any gaps in medical care could hinder the healing process and cast doubt on the extent or relevance of your injuries.
• Obtain essential information – You might not have any case whatsoever if you can’t track down the people who injured you, so don’t leave the scene without obtaining essential information from the other driver and anyone who may have witnessed the Elkhart car accident, like:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • Driver’s license
  • Vehicle year, make, and model
  • License plate
  • Insurance company and policy number
• Notify your insurance company – Promptly notifying your auto insurance company could allow you to remain in compliance with the terms of your policy and access any benefits it might provide, such as reimbursement for tows, rentals, repairs, and doctor visits.
• Avoid the other insurance companies – On the other hand, since anything you say to the defendants’ insurance companies could be used against you at a later date, you might want to avoid them for the time being, at least until you…
• Speak with our attorneys – The knowledgeable lawyers at Hensley Legal Group could analyze the facts of your Elkhart car accident and determine how best to proceed with your case.

What to Expect Once You Hire Hensley

Once you hire Hensley, our tenacious Elkhart car accident attorneys will launch a comprehensive investigation to unearth the root causes of the incident and the defendants who may be responsible for it, then establish valid claims against them within the time allotted by law. If the situation warrants it, a lawsuit could be filed as well in a court with the power to issue a binding judgment.

Next, we will amass the evidentiary materials necessary to support any allegations you make, such as:

• Police reports
• Citations and dispositions
• Eyewitness statements
• Black box/ECM data
• Phone logs
• Driving and maintenance histories
• Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

Upon putting together an airtight case against each of the defendants, our Elkhart car accident lawyers will negotiate tirelessly with their insurers for a settlement that reflects the full spectrum of your damages, including your:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional trauma
• Mobility restrictions
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Diminished quality of living
• Loss of consortium

Although most Elkhart car accident claims can be settled prior to trial, we are more than willing to go before a judge and jury if an offer is not made that we feel is worthy of yours. This sets our firm far apart from so many of our competitors, who seldom, if ever, see the inside of a courtroom.

We imagine that you might not be eager to spend more money after spending so much already, but Hensley Legal Group works on a contingency basis, meaning that you won’t owe us anything until our Elkhart car accident attorneys win your case.

You have enough to worry about simply recovering from your injuries. Let us worry about recovering the resources you need to do it.

Reach Out to Hensley’s Elkhart Car Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for almost three decades. If your world has been upended by a reckless driver in Elkhart traffic, reach out to Hensley’s Elkhart car accident lawyers to discover how they can set things right.

You can call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a complimentary case review with an accomplished Elkhart car accident attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is my car accident case worth?

Our Elkhart car accident lawyers will always strive to get you everything that you deserve, but it’s impossible for us to say up front what your case will be worth because there are usually too many variables involved.

Nevertheless, multiple factors could have a bearing on the value of your case, such as the circumstances surrounding your accident, the extent of your damages, and the amount of insurance coverage that might apply.

How long will my case take?

Similarly, it’s impossible to know in advance exactly how long your case will take because each case is different. However, to some extent the timeline will be determined by the Statute of Limitations, the period in which you can file a lawsuit.

The Statute is two years for most car accidents in Indiana, but it could vary based upon a variety of circumstances, so it may be wise to go over your own circumstances with a skilled attorney as soon as you can.

Will I have to go to trial?

The vast majority of car accident cases can be settled prior to trial, though a trial can be necessary when you’re squaring off against a stubborn insurance company that refuses to act in good faith.

Yet no matter if your case gets resolved in a courtroom or at a negotiating table, our Elkhart car accident lawyers are committed to getting you fairly compensated for your losses.

What if I’m partially at fault for my Elkhart car accident?

Not every car accident is cut and dried, and sometimes more than one party might share some degree of blame for it. Under Indiana’s comparative fault system, your ability to receive compensation will be a function of how much you were at fault versus the other driver.

Basically, if you’re 50 percent at fault or less for your Elkhart car accident, you might be awarded economic damages, though the sum may be reduced in accordance with your level of liability, but you could walk away with nothing if you’re more than 50 percent at fault.

How much does hiring you cost?

Our Elkhart car accident attorneys work on a contingency basis, so hiring us won’t cost you anything up front, and it may not cost you anything at all unless we bring your case to a favorable conclusion.

When that happens, we’ll request reimbursement for our out-of-pocket expenses and payment for our services, typically as a fixed percentage of the final verdict or settlement.