Understanding The Process From The Insurance Company’s Perspective
There are many things that you can and should do if you have been injured in a car wreck and you can read about them here. But most people do not realize that there are also certain things that may kill your personal injury case and your lawyers ability to recover what your injury is worth.
Here is a list of the most common problems we face in working up personal injury cases:
1. Understating your injuries.
Many times, people don’t want to think that they have been injured so they say that they are fine in an optimistic effort to avoid falling into a litigation-hungry stereotype perpetuated by corporate America. Most, if not all, of our clients are not litigation hungry. In fact, they are litigation averse. They do not want to sue another person or even an insurance company, but find themselves in a situation where they are left with no choice. If you are injured, follow our advice here.
2. Failure to seek treatment and/or gaps in treatment.
Money is usually a problem when it comes to seeking treatment. Without health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, most people cannot afford to seek medical treatment. The insurance company and the jury for that matter, will interpret your failure to seek medical attention as a red flag that you are not injured and not in pain. People who are in pain seek medical attention. If you were injured in a car wreck, you need to seek medical attention for your injury. Don’t ignore the pain thinking it will go away. It might go away, it might not go away. Depend on your doctor’s expertise in making these decisions. Don’t go to a doctor just to help your case, go to a doctor to get better.
One quick and easy fix is to increase your medical expense payments on your auto insurance policy. You will pay an additional premium for this benefit but the cost is minimal. Call your insurance company today and increase your med pay benefits to at least $20,000.00.
3. Failure to follow doctors orders.
If your doctor refers you to a specialist, go and see the specialist. If your doctor refers you to physical therapy, go to every physical therapy appointment until your therapist releases you. If your doctor or physical therapists sends you home with a home exercise program, do every exercise as instructed every day. If you doctor says your only option is surgery or live in pain for the rest of your life, get the recommended surgery. Your doctors are experts in their fields, trust them to develop a plan that will heal your injuries and increase the quality of your life. Do what they say and your chances of physically recovering from your injuries are good. That is the most important thing you can do.
4. Waiting till the last minute to hire a lawyer.
Preparing to file suit takes time. Your lawyer needs to know how much to sue for, in what court, etc. To do that, your lawyer needs to review all of your medical records and any records relating to prior injuries to the injured part of your body. I takes weeks to get medical records from your doctors and it takes more time to organize them in such a way to review them to determine the extent of your injuries. You have two years to file suit or you are forever barred from recovering anything. Don’t wait until a month before the two years is up to hire a lawyer. If you wait too long, there might not be a lawyer out there willing to take your case.
Don’t make these Mistakes
I hope this post helps you make good decisions about your body, your health and your recovery from your collision related injuries. If you find yourself in one of these positions, we provide free consultations for personal injury cases and we are here to serve you. We will tell you what you should do in your circumstances and help you recover. Visit our frequently asked questions page to learn more.