9 Things
You Should Know After A Car Accident
1. Never
lie about anything related to your case (not to your lawyer, your doctor, or
either side’s insurance adjuster) regarding your injuries or any of the
specifics of the accident.
2. Don’t
accept a check or sign a release from an insurance company unless you know
exactly what it covers. If you have an attorney, make sure that your attorney
is aware of every piece of mail, email, or phone call that comes from the
insurance company. Do no think for a second that they won’t try to trick you
into damaging your case behind your attorney’s back. Often insurance companies
will try to get you to release “any and all claims” and lead you to believe
that you are only settling the property damage portion of your case. Before you
sign anything, check with an attorney. If you have an attorney, don’t sign
anything that he is not aware of.
3. Don’t attempt
to hide or cover up past injuries or accidents from your lawyer. It is very
likely that the insurance company will find out about the injury, due to the
fact that most accident information is shared by all insurance companies in a central
database. If your attorney is aware of such an accident from the beginning, he
can foresee any complications that may arise and know well enough ahead of time
how to deal with the issue. If you don’t tell him and he gets caught off guard,
your case may be doomed.
4. Maintain
a day by day “pain diary” that details how you feel, doctors visits and therapy
or chiropractic appointments, any medications taken and their effect on your, and
your inability to work or perform normal activities the way you performed them
before the accident. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare, just a few short
sentences each day to chronicle your suffering. Without such a document, your
memory of the pain may be called into question. With such a document, it
becomes quite credible.
5. Don’t
try to be a “tough guy or girl”. If you are feeling any type of pain,
stiffness, swelling, etc. after an accident that is your body’s way of telling
you that something is wrong. I cannot tell you how many times I have been hired
to represent someone who thought they were just “a little sore” after an
accident only to discover that they need major surgery down the line. See a
doctor immediately after your accident.
6. The
insurance companies see all. Video and photo cameras are incredibly small these
days. You can be photographed or video taped anywhere at any time. If you are
injured enough to pursue an injury claim you cannot expect to do normal
activities. Often, an accident victim will be genuinely injured, but they will
slip up for a moment and “play through the pain” by doing something a healthy
person would do. They may be in excruciating pain while doing so, and their
injuries may be completely justified, but on camera it will look like they are
faking it. Such damning footage will devastate your case.
7.
Remember, never has an insurance company made it a policy to play fair, pay
your quickly, or to pay you the maximum recovery. They just don’t work that
way, and one of the tactics they use in order to force you into accepting less
than you should is by holding out on you. They want to keep that money in the
bank earning interest or liquid for investment purposes. (Did you know that
insurance companies generally profit more money per year on invested insurance
premiums – in real estate and so forth – than on new premium dollars received?
9.
Consider all of your damages. Particularly if you have not already hired an
attorney, the other driver’s insurance company may offer you some cash for your
pain and suffering after your accident, but are they compensating you for all
of your damages? Your damages may include common elements such as lost wages or
medical expenses, or less obvious damages such as compensation for any scarring
or disfigurement (however slight it may be). An insurance company will not
voluntarily pay you for all of your damages, especially if you do not have an
attorney to put the entirety of your damages into perspective. A good attorney
will be able to help you properly quantify all of your damages so that you get
the maximum recovery.
Related articles:
Questions answered in this article:
Should I accept a check from the insurance company?
What should I do about past injuries?
What if I'm partially to blame for the accident?