Things That Can Cause You Trouble After An Auto-Accident
You may overlook certain details, but they might cause serious problems if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident. As a result, it is preferable to be aware of these facts in advance to avoid any type of problems.
1. Automobile accident victims may choose not to notify their insurance company about the accident. In certain instances, the driver is fine, and the property damage is modest, and hence does not wish to go through the hassle.
Indeed, the at-fault motorist may have pleaded with the other driver not to notify insurance of the accident. In other instances, an automobile accident victim determines that the other motorist was at fault and just needs to report the collision to the other driver's insurance company.
Drivers who are new to the road or have never been involved in an accident may be unfamiliar with their necessary personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. Always notify your insurance provider immediately following an accident so that your PIP coverage kicks in and pays benefits for medical treatment and lost income up to the policy limit.
Additionally, most insurance providers require drivers to report accidents that may be covered under the driver's policy, even if the driver is certain the other driver is at fault. In rare cases, failing to disclose an accident might result in a refused claim and/or policy cancellation.
2. Posting on Social Networking Sites - Insurance company investigators and/or their legal team will employ every trick in the book to devalue your claim. This may include information gleaned from your social networking accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Posting on social media following a vehicle accident can prove to be a costly error. Insurance company investigators may exploit even seemingly innocuous details against an accident victim. Likewise, sharing photographs of the collision or any injuries is prohibited. It is preferable if all evidence is kept between you and your lawyer.
Social media posts unrelated to a car accident might potentially be detrimental to a car accident injury claim. Investigators can use photographs of family vacations or nights out on the town to demonstrate that injuries are healing more quickly than expected or that the victim's injuries were not as severe as reported, even if this is not true. While you are not required to shut down your social media accounts following an automobile accident, it is prudent to refrain from posting until your claim is resolved.
3. Confidence in Insurance Adjusters - Immediately following a car accident, an adjuster from the at-fault driver's insurance company and/or an adjuster from your insurance company would most likely contact you to inquire about the accident. Adjusters typically record these interviews.
Some automobile accident victims make the mistake of seeing an adjuster as a friend and unintentionally say something that damages their claim. Insurance agents learn how to interact with people and how to coax damaging statements from accident victims.
You do not need to be impolite to the adjuster, but keep conversation brief and divert interrogatories to your attorney. Before allowing an adjuster to videotape, you should consult a Nashville car accident lawyer. This can help safeguard the value of your claim by keeping you from saying something unintentionally that the adjuster can distort and use against you.
4. Accepting the Initial Offer of Settlement - Insurance firms dislike paying claims, and when they do, they strive to minimise their financial obligation. Numerous insurance firms employ the practise of offering a rapid compensation to vehicle accident victims. Serious injuries restrict accident victims from working, resulting in financial stress as medical expenditures accumulate on top of the physical anguish associated with the injury. These offers are frequently insultingly low, but sufficient to entice victims who are financially strapped as a result of a car accident.
Accepting the initial settlement offer presents a challenge for two reasons. To begin, attorneys are skilled negotiators who have dealt with insurance companies and understand how to respond to their poor offers. A professional vehicle accident attorney may frequently obtain a client a much higher settlement offer that the client might obtain on their own.
Second, when a vehicle accident victim accepts a settlement offer, they must also forgo their future legal rights. Accepting an early offer, particularly before you have a long-term prognosis for your injuries, may result in you being unable to obtain the compensation you deserve and require for your injuries.
5. Taking Too Long to Act - Without timely action, car accident victims risk losing their eligibility to claim compensation for their car accident injuries. In general, most cities have a two-year statute of limitations on lawsuits brought by accident victims against the at-fault motorist.
Due to the fact that courts closely adhere to statutes of limitations, it is doubtful that they will consider your case if you bring a lawsuit after the two-year time limit has passed. The law provides for a few unusual exceptions; your attorney can analyse your case to determine whether you qualify for one if the statute of limitations has expired.
You should immediately call an attorney who can fight for you, handle interactions with the insurance company, and, if required, file a vehicle accident case. Waiting will result in the disappearance of evidence and the fading of witnesses' memory.