Real Car Crash Victims Want You to Know This

If you scour the internet, you can find tons of car accident advice. Most of this advice is from personal injury lawyers. However, what do car accident survivors have to say? What car accident tips and accident advice do the people who have been in this exact situation have to say about it? Here, we provide information from real car accident victims.

Even if You Don’t Want To, Go to the Hospital and Get Checked

The moments after a car accident are very confusing. Additionally, you may experience a surge of adrenaline. These factors can mask symptoms of injury. Going to the hospital and getting checked can do the following:

• Identify your injuries
• Begin treatment sooner
• Connect the accident and your injuries
• Minimize the insurance company’s ability to argue that you were not really injured
• Mitigate harm to you

Don’t Expect Help from Insurance Companies

Shortly after a car accident, you may begin receiving calls from insurance companies. Insurance adjusters are trained to seem compassionate. However, they may use their pleasant demeanor just to get on your good side to get you to do something that harms your case, like give a recorded statement they later use to contradict the facts of the case. Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you. Even your own insurance company is going to be primarily focused on protecting their bottom line, so don’t expect them to help or look out for your best interests.

Don’t Agree on a Quick Settlement

The financial effects of a car accident can be crippling. You may have mounting medical bills. You might also be having trouble staying up to date with your other bills because you’re missing work. You might also be having to pay for a rental car out-of-pocket while your car is being repaired.

All of these factors can influence you to want to take a quick settlement. However, an important piece of car accident claims advice is not to agree to one. Once you sign on the bottom line, you are usually barred from seeking any additional compensation. So, if you do take a quick settlement, you may risk:

• Finding additional injuries that you do not have funds to treat
• Realizing that you can no longer perform the same type of job and taking a lower-paying one
• Seeing that your medical recovery took longer than you expected
• Discovering you require additional medical treatments, such as surgery or physical rehabilitation
• Learning you underestimated your pain and suffering

A fast settlement is often not in an accident victim’s best interest.

Contact an Experienced Car Accident Attorney

One of the most important pieces of advice from car crash survivors is to contact an experienced car accident attorney if you were injured in a car accident. The Law Offices of Michael J. Gopin, PLLC has been in business since 1987. For nearly 35 years, we have fought ferociously to uphold the rights of accident victims throughout El Paso and surrounding areas in Texas. Contact us today for immediate assistance with your claim.

Michael J. Gopin

Michael J. Gopin has practiced law in El Paso since 1987. Even after more than 30 years, he still remembers his first jury case. It was two weeks after receiving his license, when he represented a person whose life had been forever changed after being blinded in a work-related incident...