When you suffer injuries in a car accident, you may be flooded with doctor’s appointments, medical bills, and other expenses caused by the party responsible for the accident. If this is what you are going through you may be thinking about filing a claim against the driver at fault and hiring a car accident law firm. What you may not know is that there is a time limit to file or that you may be making some mistakes that will jeopardize your chances of having a successful claim. Read on to find out the five most common mistakes people make after being in a car accident.
#1 Leaving the Accident Scene
Even if the accident you were involved in is minor, you should never leave the scene of an accident. Wait for the police to arrive and issue a report. Request a copy to give to your insurance company and to your attorney. Let the police do their job and never speculate with them as to what might have happened. You may end up incriminating yourself in an accident that was not your fault.
#2 Not Seeking Medical Attention
After the accident, you may feel sore or be in a bit of pain but you may not think these symptoms are worth going to the doctor for. However, this could be a mistake since you may have internal injuries you may not be aware of. In other cases, symptoms may take days to appear. Not getting medical attention after an accident may make it more difficult for your claim to move forward since the insurance company may claim these injuries are not the result of the accident.
Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company
Before an insurance company pays out a claim, they will take the time to investigate the injuries and the accident. They will try to find a reason to deny your claim and they may give you a call to get your statement on how the accident happened. If your statement is recorded, you run the risk of them using only sections of what you said or twisting your words to use them against you.
Accepting a Low Offer
Another tactic that is commonly used by insurance companies is to offer an early, lowball offer to car accident victims. After conducting their investigation, they likely have a pretty clear idea of whether their policyholder is liable.
When you receive this low offer, you may still not be completely recovered from your injuries and you may not have a clear idea of the value of your claim. However, you may feel pressured to accept this low offer when they make you believe that they may, later on, withdraw it and offer nothing. If you accept it, the case is closed and you may not be able to get the funds needed for surgery or other treatment.
Not Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer
You may be convinced that you can do a good job negotiating with the insurance company and that you will not fall victim to their pressure tactics. Yet, statistics show that this is generally not the case and that having an experienced lawyer working for you will shift the pressure in the other direction and increase the amount the insurance company offers you.
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