By Larry Weisberg on December 20th, 2016
Being in a car accident in any Pennsylvania community can be frightening. You or others may be injured at the scene and the event itself may be traumatic. But make no mistake: The car accident claims process begins immediately. The steps you take before, during and immediately after your accident can determine whether you maximize your recovery or receive less than you need for your medical bills, car repair costs and other expenses.
Luckily, there are several ways you can maximize accident compensation and recover what you need to pay for your costs:
1) Take action before the accident
Most drivers on the road will be in a car accident at some point or another. There are about 10 million car accidents of some kind on our roads every year, and the average driver is in a car accident requiring an insurance claim every 17.9 years or so, meaning most drivers who drive throughout their lives will be in about 3-4 accidents, on average. Always prepare for the inevitable.
The car insurance you buy can determine how much of your costs are covered. Pennsylvania is a choice no-fault state. This means when you are choosing your car accident coverage, you can decide whether any potential car accidents you are involved in will be paid by your own car insurance company or by the at-fault drivers’ insurance company. Carefully weigh your choices and select the right option for you.
Always purchase the highest quality coverage you can afford. Shop around for the best insurance offers you can, and compare offers. Ask a provider whether they can beat another insurance company’s offer. Insurance is a competitive industry, and carriers will often compete for your business if you allow them to. Maintaining good credit and a strong driving record can help you even further in securing good coverage.
Compare car insurance options at least every few years to make sure your current coverage still meets your needs and still offers the best bargain. Always get more than the minimum coverage required and buy underinsured and uninsured driver coverage, too, so you’re protected in a hit-and-run accident or an accident involving an uninsured driver. About 6.5% of drivers in Pennsylvania were uninsured in 2012, according to estimates; the extra protection is worth it.
2) Report the accident
Never allow someone to talk you into not contacting the police about the accident. Always report what happened. Delaying reporting the accident or failing to report the accident means there is less evidence right from the start, making it harder to recover full accident compensation. If you don’t report the accident in a timely matter, the other driver can even accuse you of causing a hit-and-run accident.
3) Start documentation immediately
As soon as an accident happens, start documenting the accident and any car accident injuries you sustain. Keep your documentation accurate and organized. Keep everything — including those items you don’t think you’ll need. They may come in handy when a judge or insurance company is awarding benefits or car accident punitive damages. Some of the documentation that may come in handy in your case can include:
- Contact information of the other drivers involved in the crash
- Contact information for any witnesses to the accident
- Photos of the accident scene, your vehicles and the surrounding area after the accident
- Photos of your injuries
- Any medical records or reports related to your injuries
- The police report of the accident
- Any physical evidence of the impact, such as your damaged clothing, damaged personal effects or pieces of the car which have fallen off
- Invoices and bills for at-home nursing care, extra help at work and any other expenses
- A written log or record of any extra expenses you have to pay for — such as a grab bar for your shower if you’ve broken your foot
- A journal of your injuries, detailing what they prevented you from doing and detailing all your costs
- A longer journal of all your doctors’ appointments, treatments and medical details
- Receipts of any expenses you pay as a result of your accident (including taxicabs from the accident, parking receipts for the hospital, medication costs and every other receipt possible)
- Any other documentation related to your accident
After a car accident, there really is no such thing as too much documentation. Gather every possible piece of evidence and write everything down. Your attorney can use this information to seek the best possible recovery for you.
4) See a doctor immediately
You may assume you have escaped major car accident injury if you feel fine after the accident. Unfortunately, this may not be the case. Unless you’re a qualified medical professional, you may not be able to diagnose every possible injury you have sustained. Always get a full medical checkup by a qualified medical professional to rule out the possibility of an injury. Even if you feel fine and a doctor says you’re not injured, keep an eye out for any symptoms and get follow-up care if any new symptoms develop. Get a second opinion if you continue to have symptoms.
Your best option after a car accident is to go to an emergency room for a full physical. You will especially want to check for a head injury if there is any chance you may have hit your head. A full evaluation at the emergency room can help you catch any possible injuries so you can begin treatment immediately.
After your visit to the emergency room, visit your regular doctor, as well. Getting immediate treatment shows your injuries are serious and can help you catch any life-threatening injuries you may have sustained. It also establishes a clear cause-and-effect between the car accident and your injuries, which can also bolster your case and can help you seek full recovery.
5) Be very careful what you say — and who you’re talking to.
Giving different accounts to a doctor, insurance adjuster and others can affect the outcome of your claim and the damages you are awarded. Before speaking to anyone about your injuries, especially an insurance adjuster, get legal advice so your attorney can guide you to the right things to say to maximize your compensation.
6) Seek legal advice immediately
Many attorneys will take the time to explain your situation to you. Here at Weisberg Cummings, P.C. we will immediately explain to you what you need to do to get you not only the care you need but also the compensation you deserve. You may assume car insurance is your best option for pursuing benefits, but an attorney can show you that a civil claim or another option may better for your situation.
When contacting a personal injury attorney, it’s important to call right away. There are deadlines and statutes of limitation in Pennsylvania that limit how much time you have to start a legal claim or to challenge an insurance adjuster’s evaluation of the accident. The longer you wait, the more evidence will be gone and the harder it will be to seek the fairest amount of compensation. The reality is simple: One of the very first calls you make after an accident should be to a personal injury attorney.
7) Be wary of anyone offering you money
If another driver tries to offer you money so you don’t have to file an insurance claim, or if your insurance company offers you money, be careful about accepting it. It could affect your ability to seek compensation later. Keep in mind the full cost of your injuries might not be clear for some time. You may need to get a mechanic to look at your car to get an estimate of the repair costs. Your doctor may need to run many tests to determine your diagnosis and how much treatment is likely to cost.
Before you accept any money from an insurer or anyone else, and before you sign any papers or documents, always discuss your case with an attorney. Your attorney understands how much specific injuries are likely to cost in Pennsylvania and can help you understand how you can get maximum recovery so more of these costs are covered.
8) Be proactive when seeking medical care, and pursue care aggressively
You may be injured in more than one way after a car accident. For example, you may have lacerations, fractures, a concussion and soft tissue injuries. It’s important to pursue all symptoms to their fullest and to seek out treatment for all possible injuries. Ignoring symptoms or injuries can mean your injuries become more serious or you suffer from further complications. Ignoring symptoms can also make you seem less injured, which can make it more challenging for you to pursue fair, full recovery for your injuries.
When seeking medical care, make sure you follow all treatments to their fullest. Never skip doctors’ appointments or fail to follow through on treatments. Not only can it affect your physical recovery, but not seeking treatment and missing appointments also reduces the chances of you recovering full damages for your injuries and can make it appear your injuries are not as serious as your claim suggests.
Where possible, choose physical therapy, surgery or chiropractic solutions from a qualified practitioner rather than medication alone. Treatment will increase the chances of more complete healing and can help you secure better damages.
9) Discuss your employment situation with aN attorney
If you’ve suffered a serious injury, you may want to apply for benefits — or you may want to take time away from work. Before you do so, it’s important to speak to an attorney, since both of these options can impact your ability to recover damages for your injuries.
For example, pursuing some benefits could affect your ability to collect damages for your injuries, since you’re already getting financial compensation in some form. Also, juries may have different perspectives on the seriousness of an injury depending on whether a plaintiff continued working or not.
10) be careful what information you share
Always be honest about the extent of your injuries, your ability to work and your symptoms. That said, be wary of oversharing information. Oversharing information could harm your case.
Similarly, sharing images on social media can be used against you. For example, if you claim you are seriously injured but are shown traveling on your social media accounts, this can be used against you and you may be accused of being less seriously injured than you claim. This is the case even if you suffered severe pain during the entire trip. If you have social media accounts, always tell your personal injury attorney about them and develop a plan for your social media use while your case is working its way through the courts. You may even want to stay away from social media until your case is settled.
11) Put yourself in a position where you can reject initial offers
Insurance companies and liable parties may make initial offers to plaintiffs. If you and your attorney can wait and build your case, you may be able to get a fairer settlement. If you are worried about finances and cannot wait, you will generally not get the fullest compensation possible. Unfortunately, this could put you in an even more precarious financial situation, since you’ll have less money to put towards your medical costs and other expenses.
If you do have debts and are concerned, you can help yourself by:
- Talking to your attorney about staying employed in some capacity to bring in extra income
- Budgeting carefully to make the money you do have go further
- Reducing expenses so you don’t have to spend as much while your case is working its way through the courts
- Talking to your attorney about your situation so you can devise a plan together to pursue the fairest compensation possible
Getting Fair Recovery Starts Now
Getting fair compensation for your injuries following a Pennsylvania car accident is more than just justice. In many cases, you will need this money to pay for car repairs, medical costs and more. If you can’t work for some time, you may even need compensation to pay your bills.
If you get less than you deserve, you may be facing a lot of financial stress. You may struggle to pay for your medical care and, in some cases, you may not even afford the full medical care you need. Pursuing fair compensation right from the moment your car accident occurs is important to make sure you have all the medical support and other aid you need following your injury.
Keep in mind that medical costs and other costs in Pennsylvania can be much higher than you think. A serious injury preventing you from working for the rest of your life can cost you millions of dollars in lost income. A serious medical condition can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care. If you need around-the-clock care, assisted-living facilities can be costly. Replacing your car can cost $30,000 or more. Even an injury such as a broken foot can cost you thousands of dollars if you can’t work and have medical bills or other expenses.
In Pennsylvania, fatal car accidents are the most expensive, costing $17 million in medical costs and about $1.6 billion in total costs each year. In 2012, US car accident injuries resulted in $18 billion in lifetime medical expenses and about $33 billion in lifetime work losses.
Pursuing fair compensation means the high cost of a car accident doesn’t just come out of your pocket. If you have been injured in Pennsylvania, contact Weisberg Cummings, P.C. Your free consultation is only a phone call away.