A personal injury can be a seminal event in a person’s life. The damage can affect how they live, work, and play for the rest of their life. Personal injuries can also create a substantial financial burden for the injured party. Depending on the location and cause of the incident, injured parties should file a personal injury claim to receive compensation from the appropriate insurance company. Insurance companies make money by paying out as little as possible for claims, so claimants need to be ready to fight for adequate compensation. Here are our common mistakes to avoid when filing personal injury claims.
Signing an Agreement Before Speaking to a Lawyer
Once a person has been involved in an incident that results in a personal injury, it’s not uncommon for them to quickly receive a settlement offer from the insurance company. Their speed may seem like the hallmark of excellent customer service, but don’t sign any agreement until you’ve spoken to a lawyer. Once you’ve signed a release or accepted a settlement offer, you no longer have the right to sue the at-fault driver. Insurance companies are likely to give you low-ball offer or something with fine-print details that disadvantage you later. Letting experts, like the team at Steve Watrel, P.A., to review the agreement ensures that you’re getting a good deal.
Sharing Too Much Information on Social Media
When you’re pursuing a personal injury claim, you need to expect the insurance company to do anything they can to discredit your claim. A common tactic used in the digital age is scouring social media for anything that can be used against the person filing the claim. Insurance companies have successfully denied or limited personal injury claims by using compromising social media photos or videos to “prove” that the claimant is not as injured as they claimed. You can avoid this potential issue by limiting how much information you share on social media.
Not Accounting For All of Your Damages
You only get one shot at getting the compensation you need from a personal injury claim. It’s vital that your request covers potential problems in the future as a result of the injury. Claimants need to account for the short- and long-term effects of your injuries on your medical costs, ability to continue working, and mental health. To ensure you’re getting enough for your claim, have an experienced personal injury attorney review your complaint and performs an analysis of your current and future expected damages.
Giving an Inaccurate Medical History
Part of a personal injury claim is providing a medical history that can be used to determine what physical injuries are the result of the incident, and which are the result of pre-existing conditions. It may be tempting to leave out something that may not be favorable to your case, but that may do more harm than good. If you leave out an essential part of your medical history, the defendant will be able to use that against you in court. To ensure that you get adequate compensation to address incident-related injuries, visit a medical professional with experience with personal injury cases. These doctors have seen many accident-related injuries, and they can use that knowledge to clearly show when an injury needs to be covered in the settlement agreement.
Getting the best settlement offer from the insurance company can be tricky, but you can do it if you have the right help in your corner. The Law Firm of Steve Watrel, P.A. is experienced with handling personal injury cases in North Florida. Send us a message online if you have a personal injury case you would like to discuss.
