But don’t move on just yet, remember these 10 things to avoid doing after a car accident:
- Leaving the Scene of An Accident Without Reporting It To the Police: Just as we mentioned in the notes above, leaving the scene of a minor car accident without reporting it to the police is a major mistake. The Police report will be used in a minor car accident lawsuit to help the judge award the plaintiff the appropriate damages.
- Failing To Gather Evidence At the Scene: Take as many pictures as you can, collect as many phone numbers as you can, and ask for as many accounts as you can from people nearby and let your car accident attorney sort through what is valuable and what is not. Simple collect as much evidence as possible while you still can at the scene of the accident.
- Admitting Fault: Never admit fault, even if you believe you are at fault for the minor car accident. The fact is, you cannot possibly know who is at fault from your vantage point and you are merely attempting to understand what may have happened to form your perspective. Never admit fault. Instead, let your attorney and the police figure out who may be at fault and how much comparative fault is at play.
- Not Seeing a Doctor: You should see a medical professional as soon as you feel as if you have sustained injuries from your accident. If you do not, and you develop any injuries from the minor car accident, it may become difficult to attribute them to the accident and not to some other wear and tear and you may find it even more difficult to be compensated.
- Not Taking Advantage of PIP: Remember that Florida requires that you have Personal Injury Protection and that is used to make sure that you are protected in the event of a car accident. Do not feel any obligation to avoid not claiming from this insurance policy if you have been involved in a minor car crash.
- Failing to Understand Insurance Companies: Remember that insurance companies are first and foremost a business and they exist to make money and that means they want to collect and hold as much money as possible while paying out as little as possible (in theory). So when you make claims, they will try to settle for less if they can.
- Not Reviewing the Police Report: You must review the police report to make sure that the facts contained on the police report are correct and that you agree with them and if you do not agree, do your best to make your voice heard right then and there and get any and all changes made as soon as possible and before signing.
- Taking the First Settlement Check Offered: Just like most negotiations, the first check and the first offer will be the lowest that the insurance company thinks they can offer to satisfy you while also ensuring they are not overpaying in their estimation and saving as much money on the car accident settlement as possible.
- Trying to Settle Your Own Case: Though you may think that a minor car accident may not warrant a car accident lawyer, we can confidently say that clients who hire experienced attorneys earn a settlements check that is on average 3X larger than those who do not hire an auto accident attorney.
- Not Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer: For all the reasons stated above and more, we believe it’s in your best interests to hire a car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Don’t hesitate to call a car accident lawyer today:(800) 916-8108. Our lawyers offer free consultation 24/7 and are happy to help you make the right decisions right now.