Know All Your Injuries
One of the biggest secrets to settling your car accident injury claim is something that gets overlooked quite often and severely impacts an accident claim. After a car crash, many victims feel fine. They don’t seek medical help, so they do not know the extent of all their injuries. However, they should if they want to obtain a decent settlement.
After a car accident, you will likely feel an adrenaline rush. Your blood pressure rises and your heart races. You may be scared, angry or in shock. Emotions are running high. These heightened emotions can mask any pain you might be experiencing from injuries. This is a survival reflex that your body uses to help you cope with serious situations.
This reflex can be detrimental in some ways, though. You might not start to feel any pain until days or even weeks later. By then, it can be difficult to trace the pain back to the accident.
If the insurance company sees that you did not seek medical help in a timely manner, it’s going to question the severity of your injuries. After all, how could you just find out you were injured in an accident that took place three weeks ago? It happens, but it doesn’t look good for your insurance claim. That’s why you need to take immediate action after a car accident.
Where to Go After an Accident
Many people delay going to the hospital after an accident because it’s costly. After all, why seek medical help if you’re not injured? Many injuries do not present themselves until days or weeks later. Muscle and joint injuries may take some time to present themselves. The same goes for internal bleeding. You may have serious injuries and not even know it. It’s worth a visit to the hospital.
Medical treatment can be costly, so if you want to avoid the expenses of a hospital visit, consider going to an urgent care clinic instead. An urgent care clinic will provide you with the same care as a hospital, but without the wait and high cost. Considering that the liable party will pay for your medical expenses, there’s no excuse to avoid medical treatment after something as major as a car accident.
Even if the crash seemed relatively minor, you’ll want a medical evaluation as soon as possible—the same day, if possible. If you wait, the insurance company will argue that you did not seek medical help promptly so the injuries are not related to the accident. Therefore, by seeking help the same day, this will protect your legal rights if you need to file a claim. Plus, you’ll get started on medical treatment right away, which will help you recover quickly.
Documenting Your Injuries
Even if everything checks out OK and you have no injuries, you’ll have documentation that you did seek medical help right away. Injuries can still occur weeks later, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
After a car accident, seek medical help right away—even if you don’t feel any pain. This will protect your case.
Read about the other secrets:
- Conduct a complete investigation.
- Get photographs of all important elements in your case.
- Don’t release your medical records to the other party’s insurance company.
- Get the insurance company to set up a high reserve account.
- Keep the adjuster informed about the seriousness of your injuries.
- Don’t let the insurance adjuster pressure you into settling your case.
- Keep a day-by-day diary of your injuries.
- Know all your damages.
- Keep all bills and receipts related to your accident.
- Know all your injuries.
- Know your sources for insurance coverage.
- Stay under your doctor’s care until your doctor releases you.
- File your lawsuit right away.
- Ask a qualified trial lawyer to evaluate your case.
- If you decide to hire a lawyer, choose a trial attorney who isn’t afraid to go to court.