If you've been hurt in a car crash in San Diego, you may be considering filing a personal injury claim. If your accident was caused by negligence, then a San Diego accident attorney can help you pursue compensation for injuries. They will help with medical expenses, lost wages, and even noneconomic damages like pain and suffering.
The process of filing a personal injury claim is not simple, and there are a lot of misconceptions about the requirements and process of pursuing personal injury damages. However, if you follow these steps, the probability that you will receive a favorable outcome will increase..png)
3 Dos of Filing a Claim after a Car Crash in San Diego
- Document the extent of the accident damage. If you're able to take pictures, do so and make written notes about the extent of the damage. Include information about the accident scene and surroundings, damage to the other vehicle, and any marks on the ground.
- If you haven't already, seek medical attention. If you don't seek medical attention as soon as possible, you have very little chance of receiving a favorable settlement. When you go to the hospital or a doctor's office and get your injuries examined, the medical staff creates a permanent record - your medical record - of the physical consequences of the accident. This record can be used as vital evidence in your case.
- Keep track of all of your medical expenses. Medical bills preserve a record of the costs of your injury. Keep copies of these documents and provide your San Diego accident attorney with copies.
3 Don'ts of Filing a Claim After Car Crash in San Diego
- Don't give the insurance claims adjuster a recorded statement. Many people aren't adequately prepared to provide a recorded statement after their car crash in San Diego. Many claimants freeze up, get nervous, make mistakes, correct themselves, and make little communicative errors that can be used against an authentic accident claim. It would be best to wait to give your statement to an adjuster until you've spoken with a San Diego accident attorney.
- Don't delay. One of the worst things you can do to ruin the success of your claim is delay in making it. The more you drag your feet in establishing certain facts of the case, the greater the risks of damaging your claim.
- This also goes for seeking medical attention. Any gap of time between the point of your car crash in San Diego and the point at which you're examined will be used against you by the insurance company, claiming that your injuries weren't serious.
- Don't refuse legal counsel. The insurance companies have teams of lawyers and years of experience navigating the system to keep claim costs low to maximize profits for shareholders. A San Diego personal injury lawyer attorney is your first defense against this behavior.
Some people mistakenly think that the insurance company will be on their side because they chose their insurance company. Remember that insurance adjusters work for the company that has to pay you out, not the other way around.
Take Control of Your California Claim by Contacting a San Diego Accident Attorney
Accident attorney Mark C. Blane and his legal team differ from some other San Diego attorneys you may have met with or seen ads for around town. Our goal is to educate our clients - even those whose cases we don't take - so that they understand the legal process ahead of them, the basics of San Diego injury law, and their legal rights.