Most people never have a car accident. We’ve learned that from talking to focus groups and juries.
So if you’re in one and you’re confused, you are not alone. Here’s some basic information, but to learn more, contact us today by clicking here or calling 919-438-4361 for a free, no-risk consultation.
After a car accident, you need to gather any evidence you can at the scene: photos, witness names and phone numbers, email addresses, license plate numbers for the vehicles involved.
Then you need to determine if you need to see a doctor. If so, go ahead and go, don’t put it off. You can see your own doctor or go to an urgent care if you’re not bleeding, in severe pain, or otherwise have some hint that you may have a serious injury: you make that choice, but remember that postponing treatment can be dangerous and it can turn a simple, acute injury into something chronic. But make that decision WITH A DOCTOR. Don’t wait for an insurance adjuster (or a lawyer) to decide if you need medical care.
If you have to talk to an adjuster immediately to deal with property damage to your car, that’s fine, but remember not to get into much detail about your personal injuries. It’s fine to tell them if you’re hurt and if you’re seeking treatment, but they don’t need to know more now. This call is supposed to be about your car.
Your first call with an adjuster may or may not tell you if you need a lawyer. If they’re rude or just ridiculous, then you are likely to call an attorney. But remember that the experienced ones will try to finesse you by being polite, saying they’ll pay for your treatment (without saying how much or how long they’ll pay) and get you a rental car (without saying for how long). So sometimes, the “nice call” is just a set-up. The best thing you can do is to talk to a lawyer to at least get information.
Not every case needs a lawyer. We only take cases where we think we can help you do better with us than without us. We turn down more cases than we take, but many folks we turn down now have the information to handle their case on their own.
If you hire us, we work on gathering whatever evidence we can and we keep the insurance adjuster off of your back. Once you’re done with treatment, we send your medical records, bills, lost income information, and any other evidence we think is critical to the adjuster to begin negotiations. If we get a good number, we give you all your options. If they won’t be reasonable, we’ll talk to you about filing suit and pursuing litigation, but we ONLY do that if you want us to. Our firm, is one of the few firms willing to file suit AND go all the way to trial for your case. We’ll give you the options and help you make a decision.
Handling Your Property Damage Claim
Adjusters Withhold Information