If you’re involved in an automobile accident whether it’s serious or not so serious and frankly, it’s pretty hard to tell on day 1 unless, of course, it’s an extremely serious matter. What’s crucial is you need to gather all the pertinent information: the who, what, when and where. Who’s involved? Where do they live? What type of insurance? What’s the name of their insurance company? Without this information, there will be a delay in starting your case and your claim and no one likes delays. So gathering the information upfront, be it from the investigating officer or, even better, the police report itself, the action report, will allow us to work for you right off the bat. Reaching out to the appropriate insurance company, letting them know that you have a claim, the nature of the claim so they can set-up their initial reserves which are very important. Reserves are money that an insurance company sets aside for a claim. If they don’t understand the severity or complexity of the injury, they’re going to be undervaluing your claim right from the get-go and that’s not good. So it’s important to let an insurance company to adjust or know as soon as possible the nature of your claim, the severity of your claim and therefore, we get off on the right foot and there aren’t any unpleasant surprises. Insurance companies hate unpleasant surprises. Next, it’s very important that you document your injuries. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t poo-poo your injuries. Document them because very often what happens is you’re going to feel worse 2 or 3 days later than the day of the accident and then the insurance companies turn around and say “Well, there were no complaints on the day of the injury, why all of a sudden are you making these complaints later? Are they real?” they’re going to ask. They’re going to question your credibility and your veracity. So we don’t want that. You don’t need it as long as you document your injuries. You do that by seeking prompt medical attention if appropriate. That could be an emergency room. It could be a walk-in clinic. It could be your private care physician, whoever is appropriate. When you see this medical provider. It’s crucial that you accurately describe in detail the nature of your injury. A vague reference like “My back hurts,” while interesting, it’s not going to be helpful. Be specific. What part of you back? What type of pain – is it dull pain, is it a shooting pain or is it an aching pain? All of these help the medical provider understand what your injury is and again, with the early reports showing these injuries, documenting them, we’re going to be able to do a better job for you.
This informational blog post was brought to you by Marc N. Needelman, an experienced Hartford, Connecticut Personal Injury Lawyer.