A car accident can be very traumatizing. It’s not just the painful physical injuries that you have to endure but it’s also the harrowing experience of being suddenly thrown into the world of insurance companies, police reports, and complicated legal proceedings. The worst part of all is the financial loss – your car may have been badly damaged, your injuries are keeping you from being productive at work, and worst of all, you may have lost a loved one.
All these problems together can be too much for some people to handle. Some just want to turn their backs on everything that’s happening while others stubbornly try to fight with the insurance companies themselves. However, if you’re planning to file a personal injury claim, the latter is not the best idea. Therefore, here are some tips on how you can win your case when dealing with your insurance company.
Hire An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
The first thing that you have to do is hire an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side. Insurance companies are complex institutions with their complicated surmises and procedures. However, if you have a good attorney by your side, it’s much easier for you to push through with your case no matter how difficult things may get. Your attorney will be the one dealing with all the legal proceedings so it’s best if he has had previous experiences of representing car accident victims before. The best car accident attorneys have a good grasp of all the laws and principles being applied so they can easily determine who should be held liable for your accident. This way, you can rest assured that everything will proceed smoothly without any hassle along the way.
Take Note Of All The Evidence
If you don’t have any hard evidence to support your claim, it will be deemed weak and can easily fall through. If you’re aiming for compensation that is higher than the car’s market value, then make sure that you’ve saved all the receipts proving how much repairs cost or other related documents. You should also take pictures of your car while it was still in perfect condition before the accident happened. This way, it will be easier for you to press charges against the insurance company if they refuse to compensate for everything that has been lost since then. All these are very important pieces of evidence that your attorney may need in court so don’t ever throw them away even if their significance isn’t immediately clear to you.
Be Prepared To Answer Difficult Questions
Another tip on how you can get compensation from your insurance provider is to be prepared for some difficult questions that would usually come out of nowhere. You have to know what happened that day, who was at fault, and the extent of your injuries so you can carefully plan your answers. There are many ways through which insurance companies lower payouts by questioning your testimony in court. Therefore, it’s best if you are already aware of these tactics on how they try to swindle money out of innocent victims. If there are any unanswered questions or missing links in your story, make sure to secure all the necessary information before meeting an attorney about filing a case against the responsible party.
Don’t Accept Any Settlement Offers
When dealing with your insurance company, never accept any settlement offers. Compensation for car accidents is not small amounts of money by the way. Even if you were asking for compensation that is higher than the market value of your car, it’s still possible that the insurance company will offer you a lower amount to buy over your case. They might also pressure you into signing a waiver or an agreement that says you won’t file any legal proceedings any more. However, make sure that everything in this paper has been read and understood before agreeing on anything because once you sign it, it’s legally binding to both parties.
File A Personal Injury Claim
After everything is done and over with, if you still really think that you deserve more compensation than what the insurance company has offered to pay you, then it’s time for you to file a personal injury claim. This will be your last resort in getting what belongs to you so only take this option when everything else hasn’t worked out in your favor. However, before filing a claim, make sure that you’ve exhausted all other means of negotiation because once it goes into court, there will be no turning back from whatever decision they have made. Also, always remember that your first and foremost priority should be your health, so don’t be too hasty in demanding anything that can affect your recovery process.
Getting compensation from your insurance company may be a complicated process but it’s still possible if you know what you’re doing. With the right approach and a little bit of patience, you can get what’s rightfully yours. Just keep these tips in mind and have a reputable and experienced car accident attorney by your side and you’ll surely get the compensation that you deserve.
