Accidents happen, and when they do, individuals often come away with an injury. If you get in a car accident, you can make a claim to your insurance company or the insurance company of the other driver for financial help. However, filing a claim can be complicated: you might not have enough information or you might want to consult with a personal injury attorney before. No matter the challenge you face when making a claim, there are a few things you need to be aware of before filing the claim.
The first thing you should do is determine if insurance companies will cover the damages or not. Find out if the person that hit your car has drivers insurance. The second thing you should do is to decide if you want to hire a personal injury attorney to help. Unless the injuries do not require you to visit the hospital, it is a good idea to speak with a personal injury attorney to make sure what is in your best interest is taken care of. The last step to take is determining if the claim needs to be taken care of legally in a formal lawsuit. This may take a lot of time and effort and settlements are often made before a court date needs to be set, but in certain situations, it may be best to take matters to court. If that is the case, you will be much better off having a personal injury attorney by your side.
Sometimes an accident occurs and a passenger is injured. If this happens to you, you can file a “third-party claim,” meaning that you are making a claim for the insurance company of the person that hit you. This claim is to be accepted by the at-fault driver’s insurance company to pay for any medical bills and other expenses you have.
As mentioned earlier, hiring a personal injury attorney is oftentimes the best idea in most personal injury cases. Some of the most common occurrences that call for hiring a personal injury lawyer is if the damages turn out to be long-term, if your injuries are severe, if there are more than two parties involved (or liability is unclear), or lastly if insurance companies are being difficult to work with.
Overall, remember that accidents are inevitable. They happen to everyone no matter how well you drive. Filing personal injury claims can be important in making sure you aren’t paying for someone else’s mistake. In most cases, you should be covered through a reimbursement from your insurance company, however, if there is any injustice, you will be rewarded properly if you hire a personal injury attorney.