This is Part II of our blog providing guidance to those involved in Missouri car accidents, which is intended to assist injury victims in avoiding conduct that may compromise their personal injury lawsuit. While most people are shaken emotionally during a collision, it can be critically important to keep one’s head and focus on certain tasks to ensure that mistakes do not come back to haunt you later.
Insurance companies know that the probability of evading financial responsibility for the negligent conduct of their insured or minimizing exposure is more easily accomplished when dealing with an unrepresented party. When you deal with an insurance adjuster, the experience, resources and legal knowledge is all on the side of the insurance company that may handle thousands of insurance claims each year. While car accident victims in Missouri should seek prompt legal advice, we have provided some additional suggestions for ways to preserve the value of your personal injury claim.
Presume You Are Under Surveillance: Some insurance companies will hire private investigators to watch plaintiffs and take pictures that contain potentially damaging information. The insurance company investigator might get pictures of you lifting and moving boxes, for example, so that the insurer can claim that you are lying or distorting the seriousness of a back injury. It is important to remember that sometimes video footage without audio or context can be very misleading. The lifting may be the product of considerable effort and pain. Alternatively, you may just be having a “good day.” The key point is that you should be aware of the possibility you are being monitored and consider how activities might be perceived by juries when depicted in their worst light.
Carefully Screen Missouri Car Accident Lawyers: While any licensed attorney can represent you, this does not mean that all lawyers are equally qualified and experienced. When selecting a personal injury lawyer to handle your motor vehicle accident claim, you should look for a firm that devotes a significant portion of their practice to personal injury cases. It is also worth asking about results in other cases including both trial verdicts and settlements. While the bulk of car accident claims will settle prior to trial, insurance companies may be more motivated in settlement negotiations when they know that a law firm is willing and prepared to proceed to trial.
Avoid Signing Anything without Legal Advice: Some Missouri car accident victims are surprised to receive a settlement offer from the other driver’s insurance company or requests for documents to “facilitate” such a settlement. These are misleading tactics that have nothing to do with fairly compensating you for your injuries. Insurance companies make money by settling claims for less than their value or denying claims completely. When the insurance company offers you a settlement check, it typically will be accompanied by a general release of liability that will extinguish all legal claims even those related to injuries that you do not know exist when you sign the agreement. The fact the insurance company is offering you the settlement fairly quickly and while you do not have legal representation essentially amounts to an acknowledgement the insurance company knows your claim is worth considerably more than the insurer is offering. Further, any document you sign will promote the best interest of the insurance company so you should not sign anything without the legal advice of a knowledgeable Missouri car accident attorney.
If you or someone you love is injured or a family member dies in a Missouri auto collision, we urge you to contact us if you have questions. Our experienced Missouri DUI car accident injury attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, LLP work diligently to obtain financial compensation for our clients’ injuries so contact us toll free at (877) 535-1163 to see how we can help!