People suffer injuries in motor vehicle accidents in and around Spokane every day. Many of those people don’t really realize how important it is to take the proper steps after a crash. If you’ve been injured as a result of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else, taking the proper steps can be critical to filing a proper claim and obtaining compensation for your injuries and damages.
The Police
You’ll want to call the police immediately after being in an accident. The 911 dispatcher will ask if anybody was hurt. Since you are hurt, answer in the affirmative, and paramedics will be dispatched too. Don’t get talked out of calling the police. Without an accident report, your personal injury claim won’t get to first base. The investigating officer will interview all drivers, passengers and independent witnesses who remain at the scene. His or her accident report will contain all necessary contact information. You can obtain a copy of it for a nominal charge a few days later.
Seek Immediate Treatment
A trip to an emergency room is in order, and paramedics are at the scene. Use them, and get to the closest emergency room right away. Doing so will operate to document the fact that you were injured in the crash. That documentation is extremely important. If you wait a week or more to seek out medical treatment, the insurer of the party who caused your injuries is going to say that you were injured in some other way than in the accident.
Follow Emergency Room Instructions
Assuming that you’re not admitted to the hospital, follow all instructions from emergency room personnel when you leave. If you’re told to follow up with your own doctor, a neurologist or an orthopedist in a few days, make and attend that appointment. If you fail to do so, the opposing insurer is only going to argue that your condition improved, and the visit wasn’t necessary. If medication is prescribed, get it and take it as per instructions. Then call us, and we’ll arrange for a free consultation and case review.
Don’t Give a Statement
An adjuster from the insurer of the person who caused your crash is likely to contact you and want a medical authorization and recorded statement from you about how the accident occurred. The law of the State of Washington doesn’t require you to give that insurer either of those. Politely refuse, and don’t be intimidated. If you haven’t called us yet to arrange for that consultation and case review, you’ll want to make that call right away. If we’re retained to represent you, that adjuster won’t be contacting you again. What you say to us is privileged, but what you say to that other insurer might be used against you in the future.
The Claim Process
Always remember that it’s the job of that opposing insurance adjuster to save his or her employer money. That person wants to settle your personal injury claim as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Every item of damages that you submit in your claim will be scrutinized and questioned. You’re likely to make mistakes during this process, and those mistakes could be used against you in the future. Gathering, evaluating and submitting all relevant evidence in support of your personal injury claim can be burdensome and time consuming. We do that for our clients efficiently and effectively.
Settlement
Once you’ve reached maximum medical improvement, and you’ve been discharged from the care and treatment of your doctors, a settlement package needs to be put together and submitted to the opposing insurer along with a settlement demand. Our objective is to maximize any settlement that we might obtain for you. Every element of damages will be fully supported by the evidence. If the opposing insurer disputes your claim, we’re already prepared to file a personal injury lawsuit. That’s how we prepare our cases, and our meticulous preparation is how we get the attention of opposing insurers.
Contact a Spokane Car Accident Lawyer
In the State of Washington, there’s only a small window that you can file a personal injury case in. Don’t close that window by sitting on your rights. Witnesses can disappear, evidence can be disposed of and the recollection of events of witnesses can get fuzzy. If you were injured in any type of a motor vehicle accident, contact our Spokane Car Accident Lawyers right away. In order to allow you access to compensation, we don’t even charge any legal fees unless we enter into a settlement or obtain a verdict on your behalf. There’s no reason not to protect your rights. Talk with us first.
