Pursuing damages in a personal injury claim is seldom a straightforward process as many factors influence the outcome of your case. Insurance companies are known to look for any and all reasons to dispute your claim to avoid a substantial payout. Although stringent laws compel insurance companies to act in good faith, they have a strong incentive to find ways to reduce or deny your financial reward.
Here are a few common mistakes made by claimants and how to avoid them in order to protect your claim:
- Not Reporting the Accident Immediately: If the accident is minor, you may feel it is unnecessary to report it. It is very important, however, to notify the relevant authority of the accident and your injuries immediately. This ensures that an official paper trail of the accident exists, detailing the incident and your injuries. This report can be referred to when filing your personal injury claim and may help to prove certain details.
- Providing a Recorded Statement: It is not unusual for the insurer to contact you soon after the accident, while you may still be in shock and disorientated, for a statement. The insurer’s questions are likely to be phrased so that your comments can be easily used out of context to dispute liability and losses. It is, therefore, in your best interest to rather let your attorney handle all correspondence with the insurer so that you are not at risk of derailing your claim.
- Not Seeking Immediate Medical Care: You may feel that it is unnecessary to visit a doctor after the accident if your injuries don’t seem too serious. You must, however, visit a doctor immediately after leaving the scene of the accident for a prompt diagnosis. This will help to connect your injuries to the accident. If it emerges that you delayed diagnosis or ignored your doctor’s orders, the insurer could argue that you did not do your duty to mitigate damages and that your negligence caused your condition to worsen. Your liability could then be called into question, and you may be held responsible for your damages.
- Posting on Social Media: You may want to take to social media in search of support and encouragement from friends and family after the accident. Insurance companies, however, have been known to monitor claimants’ social media feeds for content that could compromise their claims. As such, sharing photos, checking in to different locations, and sharing information about your accident on social media could be detrimental to your case.
A Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Avoid Mistakes and Strengthen Your Claim
At Obral, Silk & Pal we have years of collective experience navigating personal injury cases like yours. We are committed to helping our clients obtain the compensation that they deserve for medical expenses, lost income, and other losses suffered due to an unforeseen accident that was not their fault. Call us today at 216-529-9377 to talk to one of our leading attorneys or fill out our online contact form and one of our attorneys will be in touch with you.