In a split second—in the twinkling of an eye—your life can be changed forever due to the negligence of another driver. The other driver looks away, misjudges a curve, is distracted by a cell phone or any number of things that can degrade his quality of driving. Then there is a crash, and you are left to live with the result of his/her faulty driving—for the rest of your life.
You are entitled to compensation, but for what? Damage to your car. Injuries to your body and your mind. Lost wages, present and future. Hospital and Doctor Bills, both present and future. Bodily and mental impairment, present and permanent. Pain and suffering, inconvenience, and aggravation.
And after or during all that you will face the annoyances of the insurance claims system and ultimately the court system, just to get adequate compensation.
After the accident, whatever you do, get medical help. If you are hurting go to the hospital and get checked. With some injuries you may not feel the full impact of the injury until the next day. That’s normal, and it is OK for you to allow up to 24 hours to see if you are going to be alright. But at the first sign of discomfort, go immediately to the emergency room at your local hospital.
Tell them where it hurts—everywhere it hurts—even if some areas hurt worse than others. You know the old story about the guy who had a headache. Then, he hit his thumb with the hammer. Then, he didn’t have a headache anymore. That’s called masking. The greater pain in the thumb masked the lesser pain of the headache.
Actually, he still had the headache, but the thumb was far worse, so he did not think about his hurting head. During your exam at the hospital point out every discomfort, great or small. Because when the more acute pain subsides and you are left with an ache somewhere else that does not go away, some eager adjuster will point out when you make your claim that you must not have had that other lingering pain because you did not mention it at the hospital.
The hospital will discharge you to return if needed and recommend you to see a specialist if your discomfort persists. You should make and appointment with the specialist and return to the emergency room for the treatment of acute pain during your wait to see the specialist.
As soon as you are stable after your emergency room visit, we suggest that you then call a lawyer. If you call us, we will come to you if need be, or at least arrange to see you fast at our office. The better your claim, the more anxious the adjuster will be to get your recorded statement. Don’t give one without first getting our advice. There are many ways an adjuster can trick you into saying the wrong thing on a recorded interview. It will be difficult to undo your mistakes later when you realize how the adjuster’s questions were misleading. At our office, we also record the interview, and we make sure you know the questions that are coming.
Remember that throughout the process the insurance company is not on your side. When you have a claim they want to make it appear that you are to blame. Don’t let them succeed in that process with the initial interview.
From there we’ll guide you though the entire process, all the way to trial if need be. Most cases can be settled reasonably, but only if the insurance company knows that the plaintiff and his/her counsel are willing to go to trial. Avoid settlement mills where lawyers never try their cases. Insurance companies never pay the highest dollar if they know they will not face trial from certain lawyers.
In my career I’ve tried over 1000 jury trials. Let that experience work for you. We offer a free consultation Call us now. We’ll start to unravel the complexities of the legal system to tip the scales of the justice system in your favor.