Motor Vehicle Accidents FAQs By: Greg Hach If you or a family member has been in an automobile accident, you should know a few things before dealing with the aftermath. Bodily injuries, doctors, therapists, medical bills, lost wages, and dealing with insurance companies can be overwhelming. These things can put you and your loved ones under enormous stress. Hopefully, a motor vehicle accident results in nothing more than property damage. But in the unfortunate event that bodily injury was sustained, there are a few things that you must remember.
Insurance Companies are not on Your Side
Insurance companies and their representatives, whether it is your insurance company or the company of the other driver involved in the accident, are concerned primarily with limiting their liability and exposure for any resulting injuries. Speaking to the victims immediately after the accident and requesting written or oral statements before you can consult an attorney often limits their liability to you in a
resulting lawsuit. Some injuries are easily recognizable as serious from the outset. But others, although seemingly minimal in the days after the accident, can progress into something far worse. To avoid paying a victim fair value on a claim, insurance companies commonly offer minimal payment to settle a claim before a victim has retained an attorney. For example, one of our clients was involved in an accident in which another driver rushing to get to work made a left turn in front of her car. She felt no pain or discomfort until several weeks after the accident. The offending driver’s insurance company offered $15,000 a few days after the accident. Luckily she called an attorney after the insurance company made the offer. Unfortunately, her injuries were far more severe than she first thought. She required spinal surgery almost two years after the accident. She recently received $1,300,000 in settlement.
You Are Not Required to Make a Statement
Insurance companies also tell victims from the outset that they are required by their policy to submit a statement describing how the accident happened and listing their injuries. Most policies do not contain such a provision. But the statement can be used against the injured person later. They know that if they speak to you soon after the accident, you are less likely to have consulted with an attorney. Through carefully crafted questions, adversary insurance companies can make you look at fault for the accident. And sometimes worse, they can twist your statements into lies at trial. The best advice is to take a number and tell them you will call them back. Then call an attorney. If you are comfortable with us, give our office a call. If not, you should
consult an attorney you are comfortable with. But you should do so before signing anything or making a statement!
Consult With a Motor Vehicle Accidents Attorney
Too often, clients are railroaded into making statements or taking settlements from an insurance company immediately after the accident without realizing the implications. In more cases than not, symptoms of
serious back injuries can take weeks to manifest. In those circumstances, you must be mindful of what you sign or discuss with the insurance companies. When insurance companies call, they often record the conversation ‘for quality control purposes.’ But those recordings are used to shield them from paying you. Do yourself a favor and consult an attorney immediately after your motor vehicle accident. You can speak to an
attorney at
Hach & Rose, LLP for free by calling
212-779-0057.