There are few things more stressful and dismaying than being injured in an accident. Although many victims are initially overwhelmed in the days or weeks after a serious accident, it is important to act quickly to secure your claim.
If you or your loved one is injured in an accident, it may be in your best interest to take the following steps:
Seek Medical Treatment
Your main priority after being injured in an accident should be your heath. If you have been involved in an accident, you should seek medical attention regardless of whether you believe you have been injured.
Often, many victims suffer injuries with delayed or hidden symptoms that may not appear for days or weeks after an accident. For example, many auto accident victims who suffer whiplash may not begin to experience the injury’s symptoms until several days after the collision.
Promptly seeking medical attention will provide you with an understanding of your injury and inform you of the treatment you need to recover.
Furthermore, your actions after an accident will likely be heavily scrutinized by insurance companies. Quickly seeking medical treatment will provide documentation of the severity of your injuries and will show that they were caused by the accident.
Consult with an Attorney
Once you have received medical treatment for your injury and have a strong understanding of your health and financial losses, your next step should be to contact an attorney to discuss your claim.
We have experienced personal injury lawyers in Salem that can provide you with a free consultation to review your accident and the injuries you suffered. We will use this information to evaluate your claim and determine if you have a case that entitles you to compensation.
An attorney will act as your advocate throughout the claims process and will handle all communications with insurance companies and attorneys representing the at-fault party.
Keep Important Documents and Records
Throughout the claims process, you should collect important documents and records that your Phoenix personal injury lawyer can use to support your case. This includes:
- Police or accident reports detailing the incident in which you were injured
- Receipts showing the cost and type of medical treatment you received
- Employment records stating the wages you lost during the course of your recovery
- Medical documents that show the severity of your injury
- List of names and contact information for the other parties involved in your accident
- Pictures taken of the accident scene
Additionally, you should carefully document the course of your medical treatment. This includes accurately recording the types of medical treatment you receive and how your injury has responded to treatment.
Be Careful What You Say
Filing an insurance claim is often the first step in recovering compensation for your injuries. However, you should be cautious about what you say to the insurance adjuster. An adjuster is a person employed by an insurance company to determine the amount of compensation you should be paid.
However, it is important to understand that an adjuster’s main goal is to save the insurer money by paying you the least amount of compensation possible. He or she may do this by using your statements against you to reduce your claim’s value or deny it altogether.
For this reason, you should be careful about what you say to the adjuster, and you consider speaking with a Phoenix personal injury attorney before providing any type of recorded or written statement. Your lawyer will assist you in handling your claim to help ensure you are treated fairly and receive compensation that accurately reflects the severity of your injury.
Act Quickly
If you are injured in an accident caused by another’s negligence, it is important that you act quickly to secure your personal injury claim. This can help ensure you collect important evidence before it is lost and memories fade.
It can also help make sure you stay within the statute of limitations that applies to your case. If you wait too long to file a lawsuit and miss this deadline, your case will likely be dismissed and you cannot recover compensation for your injury.
For this reason, you should immediately contact a personal injury attorney to investigate your claim and determine if you have a case.
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