Top Ten Mistakes To Avoid When Making A Legal Claim

1) Don’t wait too long to pursue your claim.

A Statute of Limitations is a time limit, imposed by law, within which to file and pursue a legal claim.

If you fail to file your claim in time, your claim will be barred forever. Different time limits apply to different types of cases.

2) Don’t sign any documents without consulting an attorney.

After an accident, insurance companies, including even your very own, may try to get you to sign a variety of documents, including claim forms, authorizations, written statements, and sometimes even settlement documents.

Many times, you have no obligation to sign these forms, and sometimes, doing so without care may impair or terminate significant rights.

3) Don’t give any interviews or recorded statements.

Insurance companies will often try to obtain a statement from you, sometimes by even hiring private investigators to come to your home. You have no obligation to give any such statements or to talk to anyone from or on behalf of the insurance company.

No matter how open-and-shut your claim may seem, there is nothing you can say in a written, verbal, or recorded statement that will help you.

The correct way to give a statement is through sworn testimony, in a deposition, with an attorney by your side to protect you and your rights.

4) Talk less, observe more.

Immediately following an accident, your natural reaction may be to console the other party involved or downplay your own injuries. You might feel compelled to offer apologies or even admit guilt, simply out of sympathy or as a natural reaction to the traumatic event that you just experienced.

Unfortunately, at that moment, you may not actually know enough facts to correctly determine if you were at fault or if you are indeed injured and in need of medical treatment. However, any statements that you make just after an accident, while in an excited state, can be used against you later in court.

So, be careful what you say, don’t jump to conclusions, don’t claim fault, don’t deny injury, and take note of statements made by others.

5) Don’t believe that the insurance company, including your own, is your friend.

We’ve all seen the television commercials. “You’re in good hands.” “We’re on your side.” “We’re there when you need us.”

Many people believe that insurance is a fair proposition. On the one hand, you pay your premiums, year after year. Then, when a legitimate claim arises, insurance should cover their end of the bargain. End of story, right? Wrong.

Most people are unaware how adversarial an insurance claim process can actually be. Once an accident happens, insurance companies go into action immediately, not to cover the claim but to defeat it.

It is the job of the claims examiner to be the contact person between you and the insurance company and their singular purpose is to minimize financial loss for the insurance company. This objective is achieved at your expense.

6) Don’t be sloppy.

If your injury is serious enough to file a claim, then you should be serious enough to keep things in order.

Keep all paperwork organized and in a safe place. Keep track of all important names and numbers. Make sure you take plenty of photographs of any damage to both yourself and your property.

It’s also a good idea to keep a journal of your daily progress as you recover from your injuries. If the accident warranted it, hopefully the police were called and you filed a report. If so, make sure to get a copy of that report.

7) Don’t settle a claim without at least consulting an attorney first.

It is not uncommon for insurance companies to offer you a nominal settlement within mere days of an accident. Why? They know that you may have suffered property damage and even physical injuries that you may not have discovered yet.

If you settle your claim before you discover the full extent of the damage, injury, and compensation that the insurance company is responsible to pay for, it’s too late. You lose.

8) Don’t deny or delay medical treatment.

If you’ve been in an accident and do not feel completely, 100% okay afterwards, seek medical attention immediately.

Many serious internal and closed head or traumatic brain injuries may not reveal themselves for several hours or even days after an accident. Sometimes, these often life-threatening injuries may appear at first as insignificant mild pain, headaches, or dizziness.

Go to the emergency room or your regular physician and get checked out. When it comes to your medical condition after an accident, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

9) Don’t rely on “company doctors.”

Although, in most cases, insurance companies have the right to have you examined by their doctors, remember, these doctors are their doctors for a reason.

In most cases, insurance companies have pre-established relationships with certain doctors or medical facilities and often these doctors operate under an undisclosed you-scratch-our-back-we’ll-scratch-yours sense of loyalty to the insurance company.

You have the right to be examined and treated by a doctor of your choosing. Choose carefully and always exercise this right.

10) Don’t be untruthful.

Do not lie. Do not mislead. Do not exaggerate. Do not be untruthful with the insurance company. Do not be untruthful to any doctors. Do not be untruthful with your own lawyer.

When you file a claim, your own credibility becomes an important issue. No matter how unfavorable the truth may be, it is always better to be honest.

It is always possible to work with unfavorable truths. It is impossible to work with lies. Nothing will kill your case faster.

On top of all that, lying under oath, while giving sworn testimony is perjury, which is a criminal felony offense.