After a car accident or slip & fall case, you have the legal right to seek compensation for your personal injury. If you’re insured against such damages, you can file for compensation with your insurance company. Or else, you can ask for compensation from the insurance carrier of the person at fault.
In this section, learn about some of the precautions you need to take when filing a personal injury claim. If required, you should seek assistance from a personal injury lawyer in your area.
Gather All Possible Facts and Evidence
Your claim for compensation will depend on the evidence at hand. Irrespective of the type of accident, the insurers will look at the entire scenario to determine who is at fault.
While it’s understandable that there will be many other things to take care of, you should gather critical evidence from the accident spot. The evidence can potentially make or break your insurance claim: the more robust evidence you have, the more likely you’re going to get the reimbursement.
You can use your smartphone and take pictures and record videos of the surrounding. When the time comes to make your claim, you should submit a list of evidence too.
Estimate Your Claim Before Filing
Before filing a claim, you must determine your damage amount. And the best way to determine the amount is by getting estimates on the cost you have incurred and likely to incur.
If you’ve sustained injuries on your body, you should consult with a doctor and determine the total cost.
After determining the exact price, you should file a claim. Use the price as a parameter to measure whether you are being underpaid.
Don’t Make Statements About Your Accident to Insurers
Insurance companies are there to protect you financially. But they are companies trying to make a profit. So they’d try to offer the least compensation to the claimant.
Therefore, when there’s an accident, you shouldn’t talk much to the other party except exchanging information. Nor should you have any discussion with their insurance carriers.
They’d try to gather as much information as possible to invalidate your claim or lower the claimed amount.
That’s why it’s advised to talk with an attorney before talking to your insurance agent. The lawyer will guide you in the right direction to handle your case on the spot.
Know When a Claim Can Be Denied
There are certain instances where the insurance carrier can deny you compensation. Some of those instances are:
- Policy exclusion – Certain types of injuries are excluded from the insurance policies. These are often hidden in the fine print.
- Expired or lapsed claim – If you have not renewed your insurance or expired for some reason, the carrier will deny you the claimed amount.
- Incomplete claim – If you’ve submitted an incomplete claim, then it will be rejected.
- Failure to avoid injury – If the investigation found that you could have avoided the injury but didn’t, then the carrier will deny you the claim. This case is also known as Contributory negligence.
Because claiming insurance is a complicated process, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer at the earliest. They can handle the legal aspect of it while you focus on healing yourself.
