Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Don’t Make These Common Mistakes in a Personal Injury Claim
Accidents happen in a matter of seconds, yet they can have a lifelong impact on victims. Physical and emotional trauma can take a toll on you and your family following a serious injury. The costs associated with a serious injury can be extremely high. The negligent party should be held responsible for your damages. Immediately after an accident, you will want to know what to do to help ensure that you will get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Waiting Too Long to Seek Medical Treatment
Many people wait too long to get medical care after an accident. When you delay treatment, it becomes more difficult to prove that the injuries were caused by the accident. It is essential to link your injuries with the incident that caused them, which can become challenging the longer you wait to see a doctor. It is also important to note that some injuries can worsen over time. For instance, you could have a concussion and not realize it until much later, so you should always get checked out immediately.
Failing to Keep Important Evidence
In order to win your claim, you will need to present evidence of your injuries and other damages that you sustained as a result of the accident. You need to keep all information and documentation regarding your injury. Don’t rely on others, including the hospital or doctor, to keep records, since information can sometimes be inadequate or could be lost over time. Create a folder to gather documents and notes starting with the first day of the incident. It is always better to have too much information than not enough.
Talking to an Insurance Adjuster Without an Attorney
You may not realize that when you make a statement to an insurance adjuster, it can be used later. For that reason, you will want to make sure to be careful what you say. You don’t want to say anything that could reduce or even eliminate your claim. Typically, the insurance company will want to get a recorded statement from you immediately after the accident. It is advisable to speak with a personal injury attorney before you talk to the insurance company.
Delaying Filing A Claim
Legal claims can take some time to resolve. The longer you wait to begin the legal process, the more difficult it will be to locate and gather evidence to support your claim. Witnesses move away, documents are lost, and videos are erased. The sooner you file a claim, the better your chances will be of proving your claim. Importantly, the law limits the time to file a personal injury claim. The North Carolina statute of limitations to file most personal injury claims is three years from the date of the incident or the date of finding out about the injury.
Many times, personal injury claims get settled before they go to court. A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will review the details of your accident, answer your questions, and help guide the process to obtain compensation for your injuries. If you were hurt in an accident that was not your fault, call us today at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to request a free initial consultation.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/evidence
https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_1/gs_1-52.html
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