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These 3 errors could hurt your car crash claim

On Behalf of | Jan 12, 2025 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |

Compensation can be crucial if you are involved in a car crash. It can cover repairs or replacement of your vehicle, treatment and rehabilitation and lost wages, among other things.

Thus, you don’t want to do anything that could harm your chances of getting the total compensation you may be entitled to. Here are some errors to avoid:

1. Admitting fault

Maybe you believe the crash was your fault. That still does not mean you should say so. You cannot know what the other driver was doing. Maybe you should have braked sooner, but you might not know the other party’s brakes were faulty, or they were taking medications that caused drowsiness. 

Just stay quiet apart from exchanging details and save your opinions of what you think happened for your legal team. They can decide what you should or should not say. Be careful too of phone calls from an insurer as they may ring trying to get an admission of fault out of you.

2. Downplaying things

Insurance companies will want to minimize how much they have to pay. They will happily seize on anything you say that downplays the severity of your injuries or needs. This applies both at the scene of the crash and afterward. 

Don’t ever say you are fine, feeling much better or anything they could twist and use against you.

3. Settling too soon

You should only settle once you have the full picture of your needs and entitlements. Remember that some injuries take time to present or to reveal their full cost to you. It’s also likely you don’t know enough about how compensation works to realize what you may be entitled to receive.

Insurance adjusters may try to tempt you with an early settlement that sounds good but could be far less than you should get. Declining until you have sought legal guidance to learn more about your options is a much better idea.