Mistakes To Avoid After a Car Accident

Answer:

We were meeting with a client last week about a car accident case that he had in Orlando. He was informing us that he spoke to the insurance company already, before he had called our office, and that got us thinking, “What mistakes do people usually make?” and that’s one of the big ones, to contact the insurance company before you hire or speak to an attorney. The reason is the insurance company is not really there to help you with your claim; they’re there to limit their exposure, which means they’re there to try to resolve the case making as low a payment as possible.

The insurance company is going to ask you questions that really might not benefit you and your case but will benefit them in case they need any coverage defenses or if they need to defend the case in any way. It’s very important that you speak to an attorney first, before you do anything else, so they can properly prepare and properly communicate with the insurance company so you don’t answer a question that maybe you shouldn’t answer or give information that’s not going to help you in your case.

The other mistake is not documenting the accident. What we mean by that is not calling the police. Many times, when people get into an accident, the damage doesn’t seem that severe and they opt not to call the police. That’s a very big mistake because, without that documentation from the police officer, the other person can say anything they want when they’re called by the insurance company and say that you were at fault when you clearly weren’t. It’s very important that it’s documented and the police are called. It’s required by law.  Those are the two big ones.

Obviously, you should take photos of the scene and take photos of the damage to both vehicles. That’s also important and can be a mistake if you don’t do that. The main mistakes are not recording the accident and, obviously, speaking to the insurance company without an attorney. For this or any other questions, feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to help.