Don’t lose your right to be compensated for your injuries. Here are a few typical mistakes people make after an Oklahoma auto accident that can threaten their right to be fully compensated.
Foregoing Medical Treatment
One typical mistake that people make after an Oklahoma auto accident is not seeking immediate medical treatment.
Often, people assume that since they don’t feel any immediate symptoms after the accident, there is no need to be examined. While you may not feel any pain or discomfort immediately following the accident, you may find yourself in serious pain a year later. However, because you did not seek medical treatment immediately, you may have lost your chance to ever be fully compensated for the pain, suffering and medical costs you must endure.
Always get checked out by a doctor following an Oklahoma auto accident to document your complaints. Even if your injuries only amount to a bit of soreness that only requires time to heal, you need to document it. In fact, you need to document any pain or soreness you have in your neck, back or anywhere else. Once you have documented even these seemingly minor complaints, if and when they become major complications down the road, you will have preserved your right to be compensated for these injuries.
Giving a Statement to the Insurance Adjuster Before Speaking With an Attorney
After the liable insurance company has been notified that you have a claim against them for compensation, you will most likely be contacted by an insurance adjuster from that company to obtain a statement from you.
While this may very well be your first time filing an insurance claim, the insurance adjuster, in many cases, has been doing this daily for years and has been trained to extract statements from you that can weaken your claim for compensation and to trick you into setting your claim for less than it is worth. Never give a statement to the insurance adjuster until you have had an attorney review your claim for compensation.
Signing a Release Too Soon
The most important thing to know after an Oklahoma auto accident is that the insurance company, which is liable to pay for your damages, is only going to pay one time.
Once you sign a release with them, the opposing party and their insurance company is no longer liable for any further damages related to your claim and you will be prevented from asking for any more money in compensation for your injuries. This creates a problem sometimes because the insurance company has been handling claims for decades, while (again) this may very well be your first time. So, when an insurance company offers to pay for an initial visit or other bills related to the accident, in exchange for you signing a release, you may believe that it is in your best interest to do so and subsequently end up being stuck with the bill for any medical treatment or surgery you need later.
So, it’s important not to sign a release or settle with the insurance company until you know the full extent of your damages and costs you may expect to incur in the future. Always contact an experienced Oklahoma personal injury attorney immediately after an accident in Oklahoma and before you sign a release with the liable insurance company.
Free Case Consultation: Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been recently injured in a car crash, or if your loved one was recently injured or killed in a car wreck that was someone else’s fault, contact the Personal Injury Law Office of Tulsa. For a free consultation and car accident case evaluation, call Personal Injury Law Office of Tulsa today. Contact your personal injury counselor at (918) 924-5528, toll free at (888) 447-7262 or send us a question using the form on the right side of this page.
