A car accident can result in painful injuries, some of which might be permanent. Fortunately, we can file an insurance claim and may even have reasons to bring a car crash lawsuit to help ease the expenses during lost wages, medical bills, and your pain and suffering. However, the decisions and steps you take in the minutes, hours, and even days after the incident can influence your eligibility for compensation or reduce the value of your claim.
After an accident, you are in a vulnerable position, so it’s critical to do your best to avoid errors following the accident. Keep in mind that it’s in your best interest to do everything you can to receive fair compensation for your pain and suffering. However, for some insurance companies, is it in their best interest to pay you as little as possible. To ensure you obtain the compensation that you deserve, here are the most common mistakes you should avoid.
Falling to Get Treatment for Your Injuries
The energy that your body is subjected to in an auto accident is enormous. That kind of force can lead to severe damage to the soft tissue, and evidently, these injuries aren’t apparent right away. There are scenarios where these injuries can take a day or even weeks to become asymptomatic. So right after the crash, you may feel fine – but you could still be seriously injured.
On the other hand, maybe you are concerned about your injuries but are delaying seeking treatment because of money or insurance issues. In either case, you’re making a mistake by delaying your treatment. The longer you delay seeing a medical specialist, the greater likelihood the insurance agency will try to argue that your injuries were exacerbated by your medical delay or were caused by something else and not by the accident.
Settling Your Case Before Talking to an Attorney
With an auto accident, there can be a solid psychological urge to get the whole thing behind you as fast as possible. Many unpleasant emotions can be stirred up in the aftermath, anger, guilt, embarrassment, and more.
The insurance agency involved in your claim knows everything about the psychology of car accident victims – they know you wish the whole thing to be over as quickly as possible. They will even try to use your financial and emotional states to their benefit by offering you an amount of money in exchange for a quick resolution of your claim.
An auto accident lawyer in Houston can help you avoid common mistakes the insurance company hopes you will make. They will hope that your desperation to put the situation behind is greater than your common sense.
In some instances, even if you deny their offer verbally, some agencies may still try and send you a physical check in the hope that you will cash it. That’s why an experienced attorney can look over the facts of your case and provide you with more detailed insight into its real value.
Failing to Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
Although you’ve done a great job at seeking medical assistance for your injuries, you can still make an exorbitant mistake by not complying with your medic’s order in regard to your treatment- which can put you in the same situation as you would be if you hadn’t asked treatment.
The insurers will discover that you didn’t do what your doctor intended you to do, and they will argue that your failure to follow your doctors ‘order contributed to or even caused your injuries. That said, if the insurance company is successful, you will end up with reduced compensation for your damages or, in the worst case, no compensation at all.