10 Secrets in Settling Your Car Accident Injury Claim

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, dealing with your injuries can be    difficult enough. When you add the pressure of negotiating with the other driver’s insurance company, you may be even more stressed. Personal injury doctors Houston offer treatment for accident injuries, but they can’t relieve the financial burden. You may need a personal injury lawyer who can help you maximize your compensation from the other insurance company.

How To Get a Favorable Settlement From a Car Accident Injury Claim

 

The other driver’s insurance company doesn’t want to pay any more than necessary. You may have to provide evidence for all of your expenses and document your pain to receive maximum compensation. Here are ten things you can do to help your attorney get a more favorable claim after your car accident.

1. Maintain a Complete List of Documents

After an accident, you'll have a lot of paperwork to keep up with. These documents include police reports, doctor's bills, and insurance information. Make a folder to store everything together and to stay organized. If you get digital documents, try to keep them together in an email folder to avoid having something important get deleted. Developing a thorough paper trail allows you to compile evidence that helps to build your case.

2. Photograph Everything

 

Have a friend help you take pictures of the accident scene and surroundings. Get traffic and construction pictures so you can remember the circumstances and have evidence of the accident. Also, take photos of your injuries. In addition to saving the images on your phone, email them to yourself to have a backup copy or store them in the cloud.

3. Don’t Release Your Medical Records to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company

 

You may face pressure to let the other driver's insurance company see your medical records. Let your personal injury lawyer handle this to avoid giving the insurance company your entire medical history, which they could use against you. Also, don't put information out on social media that could minimize your injuries. Discuss social media use with your personal injury lawyer.

4. Keep the Adjuster Informed of Your Injuries

 

Although you shouldn't give the other insurance company your medical history, you should alert the adjuster to any injuries. If injuries worsen, you want the adjuster to know so they can increase your reserve account.

It's common to experience changes in your health due to injuries sustained in a car accident, and you deserve fair compensation for complications you experience as a result. Keeping the adjuster involved ensures a secure line of communication, and it prevents any unwelcome surprises from cropping up during the claims process.

Since it can be difficult to get the adjuster to increase the reserve account substantially after it's set, the sooner you communicate changes to your health, the easier it is to get an increase to your reserve. This means more funds for you to cover the costs of your medical bills as a result of changes to your health after an accident.

5. Don’t Be Pressured Into Settling Your Case

 

Once you settle your case, you can't get any more money from the insurance company. It may take time for an accident case to settle, but if you have serious injuries, you want to make sure you get all the compensation you deserve and need.

Be aware of common tactics insurance companies use to pressure you into accepting a lower claim than you deserve. For example, many insurance companies will stall your claim for as long as possible. This may look like "losing" your paperwork, refusing to answer your calls, or transferring you between departments. The intent of this tactic is to leave you so frustrated that you accept a lower offer. Don't let this tactic prevent you from getting the money they owe you. Be aggressive and work with your attorney to stand your ground.

6. Journal Your Injuries

 

Use a diary to document your injuries. You can use a digital or physical journal for this purpose. A day-by-day guide to your pain levels and problems is good evidence if you need it for court, but it can also help you track your recovery progress.

Keeping a journal can help your doctor or chiropractor determine the effectiveness of your treatment. You can also use your journal to track recovery goals. If a treatment isn't helping you feel better or new complications develop, you can use your journal to communicate these changes to your doctor.

In court, your journal provides evidence of how your car accident injuries affect your daily life. When you file a car accident compensation claim, you want to get reimbursed for your medical bills along with other disruptions to your daily functioning. For example, injuries can keep you from getting back to work, and you deserve compensation for this time.

7. Keep Your Bills and Receipts

Documentation is important. Keep all receipts for any medical treatment you get. You may even want to track your mileage to medical appointments to get reimbursed for gas and wear and tear on your car. You may want to store your receipts in the same file as your other documentation or in a separate file close by.

8. Stay Under Your Doctor’s Care

 

The other insurance company may think that you're feeling better if you stop going to your doctor's appointments. Keep seeing your personal injury doctors in Houston until you get a medical clearance. During the car accident insurance claims process, insurance companies look to doctors as medical authorities. It can help your case to have your doctor vouch for you.

Additionally, you should follow your doctor's orders precisely after an accident. Straying from their medical advice could give the insurance company leverage against you because they may argue that you neglected care and worsened your own condition beyond what is their responsibility to cover.

9. File a Lawsuit Quickly

 

Filing a lawsuit doesn't mean that you will go to court. It simply puts pressure on the insurance company to settle outside of a courtroom. It's expensive to fight a lawsuit in court. Filing the lawsuit quickly also makes sure that you don't miss the statute of limitations. Missing the statute of limitations invalidates your claim because so much time has passed that it's difficult for the court to determine which damages resulted from the accident.

10. Have a Personal Injury Lawyer Houston Evaluate Your Case

 

Personal injury law is complex. If you're seriously injured, you may want to have an attorney assess your case to advise you about taking the best steps for your situation. Personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency basis, which means that you don't pay anything until the lawyer settles your claim. Most offer a free initial evaluation. Choose a lawyer who won't be afraid to go to court and who will fight for your claim.

How a Car Accident Doctor Houston Can Help You

 

 

10 Secrets in Settling Your Car Accident Injury Claim | City Wide Injury & Accident – Houston, TX