These are 3, of the many, things that you should NEVER do after an accident:
1. You should NEVER admit fault and NEVER give a recorded statement (and be very cautious in giving an unrecorded statement).
You should never admit fault to the liability insurance adjuster. This is true whether you are dealing with a bodily injury liability insurance claims adjuster from an auto insurer, or if you are asked by a claims adjuster of an insurer of a business. This statement can later be used against you and you may get paid less money if you let the adjuster record your statement.
Example
You slip and fall on liquid in Publix or Walmart and you are claiming a herniated disc or shoulder injury. You make the mistake of allowing the claims adjuster to take your recorded statement or even an unrecorded statement. You tell the adjuster that you were in a hurry and he asks you whether you would have slipped and fell if you were not rushing. You tell the adjuster that you would not have fallen if you were not in a hurry.
With your testimony, the claims adjuster will now reduce the settlement value of your case by 50% -to 75% based on the fact that you said that the accident would not have happened if you were not in a hurry.
Unrecorded Statement
Sometimes it is best to wait until finding out all the bodily injury liability insurance coverage before giving an unrecorded statement to the other party’s insurance company. This tip is also very important to follow when and if involved in a car accident involving more than 1 other car.
The exception to not giving a recorded statement is that if you were involved in a car crash, you may be required – under your auto insurance policy – to give a recorded statement to the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) adjuster or the uninsured motorist (UM) liability claims adjuster from your car insurance company.
2. Failure to give your medical providers your health insurance information.
It is important to know how to get your bills paid after a car accident. You should also know what to do after you receive a medical bill if you slip and fall or get injured in another type of accident at a store, mall or hotel. If you don’t give your doctors and or the hospital your health insurance information after involving in an accident, your health insurance company can later deny payment by stating that you waiting too long.
Every health insurance policy has deadlines, so it is important to give all the doctors you are treating with your health insurance. Some insurance adjusters and plaintiff attorneys may say that you should not provide your doctors (or the hospital) with your health insurance information after an accident so that your out-of-pocket medical bills are higher. I disagree with this approach.
The reason you do want to provide your medical providers with your health insurance is in case you are not able to recover money, you want to be sure that you are not stuck with the bills.
3. NEVER lie to an insurance company.
If you unsure of how to answer a question asked by an insurance company, you should get a free consultation from a personal injury lawyer who should be able to advise you. Sometimes clients will lie or omit the truth because they think it may help their case, and this can actually hurt your case more than it can help.
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