Tips for a Successful Car Accident Claim

After you have been involved in a car accident, you want to follow the recommended first steps to ensure you have the best possible chance at full and fair compensation. Here are several tips for a successful car accident claim.

Tips for a Successful Car Accident ClaimThe first things that an individual should do after getting involved in an auto accident is first of all make sure that the officials are notified. If you need medical care take an ambulance to the emergency room. You should take photographs of the vehicle involved in the accident, get the name and information of the other driver, get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses and basically take photographs of the scene of the accident.

At Morgenstern & Herd, after we complete a discovery phase and evaluation when we take your case – we’ll give the insurance company and the defendant an opportunity to resolve the case without filing suit. Once formal suit is filed, formal questions are served, and you provide answers. We help you formulate the answers. We provide those to the other side. Once that paper discovery is exchanged, then depositions are taken where you’re sworn in as a witness and you provide sworn testimony.

What you should avoid doing before we get to this process is giving the insurance company any fuel to their flame against you. They will be looking for any reason to reduce your claim and if that means getting you to do it for them, that will make it just easier for them. Ways you can avoid this is by refusing them when they ask for a recorded statement. If they call you shortly after your car accident asking to get some information from you, hang up. They don’t want to clear up your case faster to get you a settlement quicker, they want you to say something that would wash their hands of responsibility for you.

Things that you might say during a recorded statement could be something as simple as answering their greeting of, “How are you?” with, “I’m good. How are you?” Even though that is a common way to answer that question thoughtlessly, they can claim that, on record, when you were asked how you were doing after the accident, you reported you were good. That kind of information can be twisted to mean that you were unbothered by the aftermath of your accident when really if they had asked how you were feeling after the accident, you might have wanted to explain all the pain and suffering as well as financial inconvenience that the accident had caused you. There are so many ways they might get to throw away your claim because of the things you told them in a recorded statement. You need to make sure you have counsel before you interact with the liable party’s insurance company at all.

If you want help with more tips for a successful car accident claim, please give our office a call right away to get your first free consultation set up with our Tampa Car Accident Lawyers.

Like us on Facebook

Leave a Reply