Nuances To Consider After a Car Accident
Most people don’t get into a vehicle anticipating that they will be involved in a serious crash. Car accidents take us by surprise and can flip our world upside down. They are an unfortunate reality and risk of living in the automobile-driven society we have today. Those who are victims in car accidents may have plenty of questions about what to do after the crash, along with what actions they should avoid doing. Many victims choose to meet with a lawyer so that they have someone to help them navigate the nuances of what comes next.
How important is it to see a doctor?
Whether you get medical care or not and how soon you seek medical attention after a car accident will have an influence on your claim. By going to the emergency room or seeing your doctor the same day, it emphasizes your claims about injury severity. And by contrast, if you wait too long to see a doctor, then the insurance company may doubt your injuries and attempt to reduce your compensation amount or deny the claim entirely. For your health, recovery, and outcome of your injury claim, it will be of the essence to get medical attention promptly.
How may I be hindering my own claim?
Evidence will be a primary factor in how your claim is handled. Unless you were rushed to receive emergency medical care, you should have exchanged information with the other driver. Their name, current address, phone number, driver’s license number, insurance company name, insurance policy number, vehicle description, and other relevant details will be crucial to write down. Visual proof can say more than words do, especially if you are trying to verbally describe what happened to your insurance company. Be sure to get photographs or video of the scene, your injuries, damage to both vehicles, street signs, debri in the road, broken car parts, etc. If you do not have enough evidence, then you may be hindering your own chances at fair compensation for what you have been through.
Should I just accept the settlement offer?
Insurance companies know how much your claim is worth. But instead of offering you what you need to recover, they will attempt to offer a low settlement amount in hopes that you will accept it immediately. The longer your claim remains open, the more time there is for injuries to show symptoms and financial loss to accumulate. Insurance companies are for-profit and are motivated to manipulate victims so they don’t fight for a higher settlement. However, victims have the right to negotiate with an insurance company based on their total losses, with current and future expenses factored into that amount.
When a car accident happens, it can leave people confused and in pain. While we are taught what to do when an accident occurs, there are many other nuances to consider. Victims must be wary of ill-intentioned insurance companies and other parties who aren’t concerned about their wellbeing. Those who were left injured because of a reckless car driver are urged to contact a car accident lawyer Iowa residents rely on from Des Moines Injury Law now for legal support.
