Personal injury refers to any incident where the victim sustains physical and/or emotional injuries. Classic examples include accidents (car, truck, bus, construction site, motorcycle, pedestrian, and train accidents), slip and falls, dog bites, food poisoning, burn injuries, and using defective products. This article focuses on mistakes make after accidents.
Many times, accident victims make mistakes that negatively impact their injury claims. However, these are mistakes that can be avoided.
The first mistake that often occurs is when the injured party attempts to handle his or her own injury claim. Following an accident, an insurance adjuster is assigned to handle the injury claims filed against the party at fault. This adjuster then follows the insurance company’s guidelines on how to cheat the accident victim, having one goal in mind: “settle the injury claim as fast as possible, before the victim speaks with an attorney, and pay as little as possible.”
Adjusters typically fall under two categories - courteous or abrupt. Many adjusters choose to be courteous to the injured party because they do not want to stir up the pot, knowing that if they get too aggressive, then the injured party will be more inclined to contact an injury attorney. On the other side, there are some adjusters who choose to be abrupt as them attempt to bully the injured party into not submitting an injury claim or settling the claim for a nominal amount.
Regardless of the category under which the adjuster falls under, once assigned, the adjuster will quickly contact the injured party. If liability is undisputed, the adjuster will resolve the property damage fast. This gives the injured party a false sense of security that he or she can handle the injury claim without an attorney.
The adjuster will also offer some small amount of money to the injured party (generally between $500 and $1,000). This money is to entice the victim to take some money and close out the claim. It is similar to dangling the proverbial carrot to see if the injured party bites. However, here is the problem: the money offered is never enough to pay for all the medical bills and the adjuster offers nothing for pain and suffering. So, if the injured party accepts the money, then there is a binding settlement and he or she will be responsible for his or her own medical bills and receive nothing for pain and suffering.
How do you avoid this trap? Simply contact an injury attorney after the accident. Remember that most personal injury attorneys handle accident cases on a contingency basis. So, it costs you nothing to speak with such an attorney.
