In the US, there are over 16,000 car accidents on the roads every single day. And while not all of these incidents are serious enough to cause damage to vehicles or people, a large percentage of them are.
But what happens next? And why isn’t making a claim when you’ve been involved in an accident easy? This article is going to look at why car accident claims are harder to navigate than you might initially realize.
Fault Isn’t Always Clear-Cut
This is something that catches a lot of people out when they go to make claims. It’s not always black and white, with 100% liability to one person. In reality, there are numerous factors that are involved in deciding who is at fault more in the event of an accident.
You should expect that both legal teams and insurance companies will be finding ways to pin fault on the opposing party, and in many states, the degree of fault directly impacts the compensation you’re entitled to.
What can influence your claim and liability? Road conditions, how you are driving in said road conditions, vehicle maintenance, driver history, and witness accounts are all looked into here. Even cases that seem open and shut at the scene can come apart later.
Insurance Companies Are Not On Your Side
This is worth understanding, as while some might make it seem they’re there to help you, they’re protecting their own interests. And their primary goal is to minimise what they pay out.
Sure, they might contact you quickly after the accident and seem cooperative and ask for your recorded statement, but everything they gather will be used to protect themselves, not you.
Even your own insurer might not be fully working with your best interests at heart, depending on the circumstances that led to the accident. This is where speaking to a car accident lawyer is beneficial, as they can help you before anything is put into a recorded statement, so they don’t have anything to use against you.
The Full Impact Takes Time to Emerge
The thing with vehicle accidents is that the extent of the damage to both lives and health doesn’t show up immediately. There are going to be long-term repercussions for a great many people on their life and their health that impact quality of life, and it’s not something you can understand or rush.
This is why accepting an early settlement offer is usually a bad idea, because once you settle you can’t go back ever and if you are living with ongoing rehabilitation or medical costs, you need to find new employment as you cannot work in the role you once had or even you need to take longer off work than you initially imagined, you’re going to be out of pocket if the settlement does not cover these unforeseen expenses. You need to take the time to understand what is changing and what your possible future looks like before you make any decisions regarding compensation.
Leave a Reply