You’ve just been in a car accident in the car crash hub of America, Los Angeles, CA. Your beloved vehicle has been totaled by the insurance company. Not only are you going to be without transportation, but you’ve also sustained injuries, whether they’re major or minor.
While it might be tempting to just sit around and wait for the insurance company to get in touch with you, there are several things you can do to help speed up the insurance claim process.
Before The Insurance Claim Process, You Must Set Up Your Case
And it doesn’t matter if you use a rental vehicle or your own one, you may wonder what should I do after a car accident. In this post, we are going to answer this question and discuss various types of insurance coverage. We will also offer some free tips from Los Angeles car accident attorneys with experience.
1. Contact a Car Accident Attorney
The law says you can contact an attorney as soon as possible after a car accident. With a little luck, you can settle the claim for less than it would cost to go to trial. However, this doesn’t mean the insurance company’s going to cut you a deal.
Make sure to form an attorney-client relationship with a local motor vehicle accident lawyer. It’s critical to have a top car accident attorney in Los Angeles on your side when dealing with an insurance company.
Even if they give you a settlement, the insurance company still has to pay for an attorney depending on the insurance coverage you obtained from your company or the at fault party. If you have multiple medical bills, or they think you’re exaggerating the extent of your injuries, they’ll have to fight your attorney. But, if you’ve got a good one, they’ll have to work hard to defeat him or her.
2. Document Everything For the Insurance Company
While there are legal reasons for hiring a top personal injury attorney, it’s also a smart idea for your health and to speed up the insurance claims process with the typically unfair behaving insurance company. After a tragic car accident, you should turn to emergency services, contact your insurance provider, and document everything for the police report.
If you can’t get to a hospital right away, make sure you record the doctor’s name, contact information, medications, and test results for the insurance company to prove out-of-pocket expenses, etc. This will allow you to have those medical bills paid assuming they don’t deny the insurance claim under the insurance policy limits.
There may also be physical evidence on the scene of the accident. If there are multiple vehicles involved, gather their contact information and take photos of their damage. If you’re involved in a wreck, record your injuries. The longer you wait to start documenting your claim, the more you’re going to have to document it down the road.
What Else Should You Document After Car Accidents?
Even the smallest injury or safety violation should be documented before you and the other passengers file an accident claim, so you can have a more detailed claim in the future. Snap pictures if possible! Remember, photographs can help you tell your side of the story later after a loss!
Here are some of the details that you can Document and Write Down on Scene:
- Identify the name of the other driver and any witnesses (exchange information in a civil manner, or wait for the police to mediate at the accident scene for everyone’s well being);
- The current address of the other driver (other traveling parties hurt in cars, and their addresses also);
- Collect and exchange everyone’s vehicle registration number;
- Note your driver’s license number for other parties;
- Note the insurance policy number of all parties, including yours.
Additionally, this and other important information about the accident location will help you further with the insurance claims process, getting repair costs, and emergency services financially covered after they schedule a damages consultation.
If you notify the police and they show up to make a police report, make sure to get the badge number, or numbers of the CHP, or other police agency officer. Try and snap cell phone images of witnesses, damage, and license plates of everyone and everything, including skid marks and glass debris, etc. (you may decide to update the police report later over a new development or if you or your attorney determine something done by an officer or agent is wrong or incorrect in the original text, before you file a claim with the insurance adjuster documenting the claim.)
What About the Vehicle Repair Process?
Get as much information as possible to manage and further along with your repairs and other aspects of your claim swiftly. You won’t always be in a winning position to get repairs quickly unless liability and the severity of injuries are clear with proper documentation. The adjuster will want to conduct an inspection and do some paperwork, to obtain an estimate and request payment to the repair shop with resources to fix your car, for example.
So assuming you have comprehensive, collision, UM, and UIM insurance coverage, you may speed things up using your own insurance company and the adjuster can pursue the at-fault party with responsibility after getting your vehicle repaired by your own insurer, etc.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Up
Your own insurance company will most likely work with the insurance company of the other party to set up a mediation. With this comes a mediation process. At this time, you have the chance to discuss how the accident occurred and what you can do to avoid having to go to court.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions. You should make an appointment to receive a free consultation from a top-rated car crash attorney with qualifications, so you can form an attorney-client relationship and get them working on your claim promptly. If your car accident attorney knows the answer to any question, they can have the answer for you to protect the claims of the injured and review the options with the surviving family to prepare them for future peace and healing.
4. Consider Accepting a Full Settlement
You don’t want to talk to the insurance company of the other party and try to pressure them into accepting a full settlement. They understand you are feeling rushed and that you probably want to focus on making the insurance company get your vehicle repaired swiftly.
You may make big mistakes like giving a recorded statement with no lawyer present. This is bad even in a minor fender bender! This could be a bad idea for several reasons. First, if you don’t offer a full settlement, you risk having to go to court. It could also end up being more expensive to go to trial.
What Is the Value of That?
An attorney may try to offer you a better settlement than your own insurance company is willing to offer. If you accept a settlement that’s less than your total damage, it’s going to be difficult to pursue a full claim if you need to. You could have a hard time keeping your medical bills in the future. You could also lose time from work, especially if you’ve been out of the workforce for a while.
Instead of accepting a settlement that’s too low, consider taking a harder road. If your car is totaled, you can accept a full settlement to make sure you’ve got enough money to buy a replacement or pay for the car repair process. This can prevent you from having to come up with all the cash out of pocket or borrow money from family or friends to initiate the car repair process or cover medical expenses.
5. Hire a Lawyer to Handle Your Claim
If you’re not dealing with an insurance company, you’ll be dealing with a car accident attorney. It might take a little time to get you back on the road, but having a personal injury attorney on your side will make a big difference when it comes to your insurance claim process.
These attorneys know everything about filing car accident claims. They can make sure your damages are calculated correctly and have you be your own advocate to the insurance company. They know how to negotiate with insurance companies. In fact, they know a ton about how the insurance industry works. This means you won’t be fighting the system. You’ll get your full compensation promptly.
