This article discusses mistakes many injured parties make following accidents and suggests ways for future accident victims to avoid making these mistakes in the future.
When a person is injured in an accident because of another person’s fault, the injured party is entitled to compensation from the insurance company of the negligent party. However, most injured parties usually make serious mistakes immediately following their accidents that gives insurance companies certain advantages and interferes with the injured parties’ ability to be adequately compensated for their injuries. We see these mistakes so often that we decided to publish an article addressing this topic. If an injured person avoids these mistakes by observing the simple procedures below, it could seriously increase his compensation and promote their health.
1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Your health comes first. If you were involved in a vehicle accident, you may be wise to get immediate medical attention even if you feel fine. Some internal injuries may not exhibit immediate symptoms but may pose serious risk later. What’s more, insurance companies often point to the fact that you did not seek immediate medical attention as proof that you were not really injured and therefore should not be compensated.
2. Call the Police
It is critically important to call the police at the scene of the accident. Do not leave the accident scene until the police arrives and completes his investigation. Ignore the other driver’s requests not to call the police. Among other reasons, you will need the report or testimony of the police officer later when dealing with the insurance company. The report or testimony of the police officer will make it much easier to prove the other driver’s fault.
3. Get Pertinent Information from the Other Driver and Any Witnesses
Often, innocent accident victims fail to get pertinent information from the other driver. At a minimal, you will need his name, address, drivers license number and insurance company information. Try to ensure the accuracy of this information by recording the information directly from his driver’s license, car registration and insurance card. Equally important is to get contact information from any witnesses.
4. Call an Attorney Immediately
You may not like dealing with attorneys but it would be a mistake to handle the insurance company yourself. The insurance adjusters and lawyers are very skilled at implementing roadblocks between you and the compensation you deserve. You are no match for them and for this reason they will discourage you from contacting a lawyer.
5. Do Not Discuss Your Accident With the Insurance Company
Typically, the insurance company representatives will contact you shortly after the accident. Do not talk with them! They will ask you for a statement. Most likely, they will record that statement. This may come back later to haunt you since the statement is recorded and could have been influenced by medication or the trauma from the accident. In other words, you may be stuck with the statement whether it was accurate or not.
Conclusion
We all hope to never be involved in a serious car accident. The money is not worth the agony or, even worse, serious injury or death. Nevertheless, most drivers will at some point be involved or know someone who was involved in a vehicle accident. That is when the above actions will be critical. We pray you never need this information but believe it will help if you do.
