Any injury can end up costing you a small fortune. If your injuries are caused by someone's neglect, you have some options to recover the lost wages and medical costs suffered as a result of the injury. Below, you will learn what you can do to try to recover some of the money you have lost due to this injury.
File an Insurance Claim
Prepare yourself for filing an insurance claim to file with your insurance provider. Your insurance provider will look into the claim and could either pay the costs associated with the injury or go after the person that caused your injuries. To file a claim with your insurance provider you will need:
- Medical documentation of the injury that you sustained.
- Copies of all of the medical bills and medical records accompanied by statements prepared by your doctor.
- Police reports.
- Court documents.
- Pictures take of the scene of the accident and of your injuries.
- Statements documenting damage to your property, including your vehicle or personal property.
- Bills or estimates for repairs to property or vehicle.
- Any other expenses associated with the accident.
Response from the Insurance Company
After the insurance company has received your claim, it will be processed. At this point, you will likely be contacted with information about payments that need to be made or further evidence that they need to complete the claim. Be aware of tactics used by insurance companies to get out of paying a claim. Please remember:
All calls are recorded – the questions asked may be formatted in a way to confuse you or misconstrue the incident as it happened.
Deceptive demeanor – In some cases, the compassion that the agent is showing you is simply to get you to put your guard down and talk about the incident in a way that will give them the information needed to close the claim.
Claim investigations – During the investigation, the intentions of the insurance company may not be to prove your case for you. Instead, they may be looking for information that will allow them to legally deny the claim.
Settlement offers – You may receive an offer for a settlement and be told that continuing on to court will draw the process out years. If you accept this offer, your claim will be closed and in many cases, you will only get a portion of what you are owed.
Seek Legal Advice
Before you agree to anything, talk with a lawyer that specializes in personal injury claims. Oftentimes, you can talk with a lawyer at no cost to you to learn if you have a good case or if you should accept the offer that the insurance company has presented you.
The insurance company that you are filing a claim with has teams of lawyers working for them. You should have at least one personal injury attorney looking out for your best interest to protect you from falling victim to denials of claims and unfair settlement offers.
