Did you or a loved one get injured in a car wreck? Check out these 3 car accident tips, then call our Gilbert lawyers to get started today.
1) After a Car Accident
The question often comes up, what should you do when you’re in an auto accident in Arizona? It’s a very common question that our clients ask us all the time. In fact, I’d say it’s the most common question. They called in and spoke to one of our attorneys about that. Here’s what our attorney said; there are some specific steps that you want to do if you’re involved in a car accident in Arizona.
Call and get some specific guidance from one of our attorneys about your case. Most of the people that call us don’t realize all the things they are entitled to. They are entitled to something called loss of use, maybe $25 every day that they didn’t have a rental car, or diminished resale value.
If your car is repaired and it’s not worth as much before, no insurance company is going to tell you that and volunteer to pay you for it. That’s another reason why you should call our law firm and find out those things first. There’s a lot of steps.
You need to get to the top medical experts to take care of your injuries; orthopedic surgeons, neurologists that really understand the medical legal field. There aren’t very many of those. We’ll give you some references and recommendations for free just to help you out, even if you haven’t decided to hire us yet.
As far as getting the police report, nowadays that alone can be a hassle. Sometimes we can speed up that process for you. We don’t charge for getting your police report. Even if you haven’t decided to hire us, we’ll do that for you for free.
Down the road you’re going to need to get together all of your medical records, the medical bills. If you do it on your own, you want to present it in a way that will be the most compelling to the insurance company and get them to pay you the most money. Insurance companies aren’t fools in this regard though. They know that if you’re representing yourself and they give you a crappy offer, there’s really not too much you can do except go I don’t think that’s right. Of course, at that point a lot of clients call us.
There’s less we can do if it’s now six months later or a year later. You may have harmed your case. That’s why call us at the beginning. That’s when you can get the best guidance and keep those mistakes from happening. Remember, the call is free. The information is free. We are here to help you.
2) Common Mistakes After a Car Accident
The question often comes up what are common mistakes that people often make unknowingly that hurt their case when they have a car accident in Arizona? This is so important that I’m glad you’re reading this because it may prevent you from making serious mistakes in your own case. The number one most common mistake, of course, and we’ve discussed it previously, is just taking whatever $500 the insurance company offers.
Beyond that, other very common mistakes are the insurance adjuster calls up and says Sally or Jim, we’re not going to pay for your vehicle unless you give us a recorded statement. Of course, Sally or Jim feels boxed into a corner. When they call our office – and this happened the other day – what our attorneys explain, they say Jim, in a situation like that, at least let us analyze what happened. Let’s talk to you about it. Then we can give you some guidance on whether that’s a wise idea.
In our office, we don’t give recorded statements at all, period. Why? You’ve heard the phrase anything you say can and will be used against you. If they ask a question like how fast were you going? Most people really don’t know.
If you estimate something like in so many feet and you’re off, they can make it seem like an accident is your fault when it clearly wasn’t. In our office, we give only written statements. Why? Question, talk to you about answer, we can make sure that it’s going to help your case and not hurt your case. If you’re not represented by an attorney, the adjuster is going to say no, I want that recorded statement. If you don’t give it to me, I’m not fixing your car.
They want to put you between a rock and a hard spot. At least call us first so we can discuss and have one of our attorneys analyze your case. Beyond that, the other things that are mistakes that can hurt your case is probably going to only your primary care doctor. Your primary care doctor, there is nothing wrong with them. They don’t really understand the medical legal process, however, and can end up either not helping your case or in quite a few instances hurting your case unintentionally. They don’t know. They don’t understand how insurance adjusters view their notes and what they say. Saying something like if you’ve seen this family doctor for the last 20 years and you had a prior low back injury and if now the doctor says Sally is back here for a low back injury again, even if this is much more serious, even if you didn’t see your doctor for that and you were fine for a year or something, that’s going to hurt your case. That’s another mistake, not seeing a real medical expert who understands the medical legal things, orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, people like that. They’re not very many of those around in the valley, as an example.
The mistakes people make are it’s really a list this long, but I’m just trying to give you the most common ones. That’s really another important reason to call us and let one of our attorneys analyze your case and your situation for free so you don’t make those kinds of mistakes. Another important reason for calling us is that the statistics have shown that people who are injured in a car accident who call a lawyer just one time end up getting substantially more money from the insurance company, even if they don’t hire the lawyer. Remember, that’s another reason to call us. Get a free call. Let one of our attorneys analyze your case.
Are there other mistakes that people commonly make? Sure. They’re all over the place. The simplest way to keep that from happening is call us first before you talk to the insurance adjuster. Remember, the call is free. The information is free. We really are here to help you.
3) Choosing a Car Accident Attorney
An important question is how do you select the right person injury attorney if you get in a car accident in Arizona? A potential client actually called our office the other day and spoke to one of our attorneys. This is what our attorney told the potential client; you don’t want to just go out and get one of those attorneys that are all over the billboards. They make a big splash, but they don’t necessarily take great care of you as the client.
It’s much more important that you find someone who is going to really pay attention to what your individual needs are, what your medical injuries are, and get you to the top specialists, not just send you to a chiropractor every single time no matter what your injury is. That’s an important consideration because the medical care you get helps you recover from your injuries faster. The better medical care you get, the more money you get for pain and suffering. It’s a win-win for us working with our clients in that way.
Make sure that they’re going to be referring you to top doctors like orthopedic surgeons and neurologists and specialists like that. That’s a very important consideration. Beyond that you want someone who has the ability and the willingness to, if the insurance company basically tells you to go jump in a lake, go after the insurance company and make them pay. A lot of those so-called big box law firms up on the billboards and stuff, it’s just called settle, settle, settle; cheap, cheap, cheap.
If that’s what you want, give them a call. Most of our clients say no way. Remember, check out the reviews on Google, but call us. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help.
Were you or a loved one injured in a crash and have questions about these 3 car accident tips? Contact experienced Gilbert Car Accident Lawyers at Free Injury Advice today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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