If you've been involved in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, especially if the accident was not your fault. In order to receive compensation, you need to make sure you take the necessary steps. Failure to take the right measures may cause you problems when you try to obtain compensation. Here are four mistakes that can undermine your personal injury case.
Failing to File Your Claim on Time
If you've suffered injuries in an accident, the law gives you a specific amount of time to file a claim. How long you have to file a claim will depend on the state that the accident occurred in. For instance, in Texas, you have up to two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. If you wait too long and the statute of limitations expires, you won't be allowed to file a claim for compensation. To protect your rights, you need to file a claim as soon as your injuries are identified.
Failing to File a Police Report
Even if you've been in a minor fender-bender, you need to file a police report. While you might not think it's important, that police report will provide you with valuable information you'll need when you file a claim. First, it provides complete details regarding the time and place of your accident. Second, it provides details of the parties involved, including insurance and contact information. Third, if there were witnesses to the accident, those details will be included in the report, as well.
Failing to Document the Incident
If you're not keeping an accident journal, you could be forgetting important information about the accident and your injuries. You think you're going to remember everything about the accident and your injuries. Unfortunately, that might not be the case. Keeping an accident journal will allow you to document things such as doctor's instructions, conversations with insurance companies, and difficulties you're experiencing as a result of your accident. It's important to note that you should also include dates and times of your medical appointments, including the distance to and from each appointment. You'll need that information so the insurance company can reimburse you for your travel costs.
Failing to Hire an Attorney
If you haven't hired an attorney yet, you need to do that as soon as possible. The insurance company is going to want to save as much money as possible. To do that, they may try to limit the amount of medical treatment you receive, or attempt to low-ball your insurance settlement. A personal injury attorney will help you get the treatment and the compensation you're entitled to.
Share27 January 2017
Like many people, I once found learning about law very intimidating. My brother went to law school and I remember glancing through a few of his books and wondering if I was actually reading English due to all of the legal jargon in them! However, when I ended up in a sticky legal situation due to accidentally breaking a small law I didn't know existed, I realized that I needed to learn more about the law, so I could make sure to follow it precisely in the future. My brother helped to break down some complicated legal concepts to me, and I have since been studying up online. I want to post what I have learned and continue to learn about law in the future on my new blog, so my knowledge cannot only help myself, but also help others!