How to Find Closure After a Serious Car Accident

guide to finding closure after an auto accident

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After a Catastrophic Car Crash: How to Find Closure

Where do you start after being injured in a horrible car accident?

A crash is overwhelming, confusion, and chaotic.

A near-fatal auto accident is a devastating event that flips your life upside down.


And what’s more, severe auto accidents are costly:

  • At the very least, you may find yourself saddled with medical bills for an ambulance ride and an emergency room visit.
  • At most, you may need to remain hospitalized for days or weeks. You might need pain medication, X-rays, surgery, aftercare, and follow up doctor visits.

A negligent or reckless driver caused your car accident, the law entitles you, the victim of the accident, to seek compensation for damages by filing a claim.

But closure is about more than compensation, it's about accountability.

When you've were nearly killed in a crash, or maybe lost a loved one, holding the at-fault driver responsible matters.

VERY IMPORTANT:     Insurance Adjusters represent and protect the insurance company...     NOT YOU!

But make no mistake - it's not always so simple.    

The only problem? Settlements and court awarded compensatory damages can vary greatly. What's more, you may have little control over some of the factors that influence the outcome of your injury claim, such as, often, the severity of your injuries.

 

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The good news? You don't face this ordeal alone.

So let's go through what you need to do after your car crash to best solve the legal issue of your injury claim and obtain your well-deserved closure.

BE WARNED:     This is almost always a mistake    

After an accident, you likely went to the nearest emergency room (ER) via ambulance. You needed medical treatment beyond first aid and field medicine offered by paramedics. [1]

Some aren't so lucky in fatal car accident cases. When you walk away from a less severe accident, you might choose not to get immediate medical care. And this can potentially be a serious mistake.

The first step you need to when in a serious auto accident is to seek the medical treatment you need. Don't avoid going to hospitals or doctors, don't wait and see how you feel after a couple of days before seeking medical treatment.

The wait and see approach might raise several issues:

  • First, if you delay your treatment, you could make your injury worse. Many common, severe injuries do not show symptoms for hours or days after the crash.
  • Second, insurance companies will consider that your wait and see approach means you are not seriously hurt.

Insurance companies typically believe that people who are injured get medical help immediately. So, get immediate medical attention.

If you're still in pain after visiting the ER, you should follow up with a different doctor. Generally, ERs only want to make sure you haven't broken a bone or require immediate-response surgery and send you on your way.

Serious injuries such as internal bleeding, herniated discs, or joint and muscle injuries often don’t show up on the ER X-rays. That's why you should see a specialist who can do more advanced testing to properly diagnose your injury. For your health’s sake, you should seek and get follow up treatment without delay.

And again, the insurance company will expect you to get immediate medical treatment and it will not look favorably on your claim if you delay it.

 

 

"Being able to obtain the most money for your car accident claim entails proving that your injuries were caused by the crash. And medical documentation of your injuries provides this proof." - Sean M. Cleary, ESQ

4 Key Considerations to Help You Navigate What Comes Next

after a car wreck


What follows after an accident, as chaotic and as frustrating as it can seem, generally follows a process.

Retaining representation from a competent accident law attorney will help ensure your rights are protected.

If you are looking for a basic outline of what a legal professional will share, the following key considerations will likely come up.

 

 

Report the Accident to the Insurance Companies

     

    Let's jump right in: even if you didn't cause the accident, you'll still need to notify insurance companies, if only to inform them about your injuries and the damage to your car.

    So, yes, you should notify all the insurance companies involved: your carrier, as well as the at-fault driver's insurance company. In short, the insurance company of any vehicle involved.

    In fact, most insurance policies require you to make this sort of report. Therefore, a failure to do so might result in losses of your legal rights, such as the cancellation of your policy.

    Honesty is always the best policy.


    Keep In Mind:

    1. Your insurance carrier might try to avoid having to pay you benefits
    2. The other insurance company wants a statement with a clear purpose in mind: to decrease or even annul the value of your claim.

    In a nutshell, you need to be careful when speaking to insurers about your accident.

    You need to report only to the basic facts and avoid making any careless statements


    Report Only Basic Facts

    1. You were involved in an accident
    2. You provide the general location of the accident
    3. You provide the date of the accident

    Actually, it's best to report the accident in writing. You may believe that your case is clear-cut, but insurers can influence you to say things that may hurt your case.

     

Collect Evidence and Keep All of the Bills

     

    In essence, you get adequate compensation for your car accident claim when you provide enough documents. The more evidence you provide, the higher your chances of receiving the compensation you deserve.

     


    Important Tip:     Document Everything...

     

    Here's how you can start:

    1. Obtain a duplicate of the police report
    2. Take photos of the accident scene if you still have the opportunity
    3. Take photos showing damage to any of the vehicles

    “Document your injuries by taking photos and keeping an injury journal. Record how you're feeling physically and emotionally. This journal can help communicate your complex, non-economic damages and increase the amount of compensation you can receive”, Cleary underlines.

    Keep all the bills and documentation relating to your medical care. The damages owed to you are reflected in these documents.


    Collect Records Describing:

    1. Ambulance and emergency services
    2. Hospitalization
    3. Doctor visits
    4. Diagnostic testing
    5. Medication
    6. Therapy

    Additionally, if your injuries prevents you from working, save any payroll documents that show any paid time off resulting from the accident and your salary or wage. These also represent recoverable damages.

    Finally, keep documents for any other expenses related to your accident and injuries. These costs may also constitute potential elements of damages.


    Document Other Expenses - For Example:

    1. Your injuries may require you to make modifications to your workspace or home, such as installing wheelchair ramps or handrails
    2. Some injuries may require hiring someone to take care of your daily chores for you or provide round-the-clock assistance

     

Keep Going to Your Doctor and Finish Your Medical Treatment

     

    So, here's the deal: to get the most money for your motor vehicle accident claim, you need to show that you followed your treatment plan. To the letter.

    Insurance companies and defense attorneys aren't going to be forgiving if you skip doctor visits, even when the reasons are perfectly understandable.

    Unfairly or not, they will use the fact that you missed medical appointments as evidence that you're not injured or at least not as bad as you claim.

    Your medical record is, perhaps, the most critical piece of evidence you'll need to support the claim for damages.

    When you keep and attend every doctor's appointment, lab visit, and therapy session, you create the consistent documentation of your injury and recovery that you need to maximize the amount of money you could receive as compensation.

    Also, make sure you finish all medical treatment, meaning getting a clean bill of health from your doctor, before settling your claim.

     

Don’t Rush the Settlement

     

    When you settle your personal injury claim it's for good. Even if some additional medical treatment comes up, you won't be able to reopen the case later.

    If you settle too soon, the settlement might not include your future medical treatment. That's why, before settling your claim, you should make sure you've fully recovered from all of your injuries.

    Once you've finished the medical treatment and have all your evidence in order, you're ready to start negotiating your settlement.

    Every once in a while, lawyers will encounter the unfortunate situation where an auto accident victim with a strong claim has already accepted a settlement offer. That's usually because the insurance company, the at-fault party, or a defense attorney wanted to get themselves off the hook for as little money as possible.

    These cases are tragic because people are leaving lots of money on the table while giving up valuable legal rights. So, don't accept a settlement offer from a party with potential legal liability to you without first seeking legal counsel.

    Their settlement offer might be a sign they think they owe you lots more money than they are offering, and that they hope you will give up your right to sue them in exchange for cents-on-the-dollar.

    You may feel intense financial pressure to take the money. Nevertheless, it's always a mistake to accept a settlement and to give up rights without first making sure the party offering to write you a check is not trying to take advantage of you.

     


Key Takeaways

After a serious collision participants face a number of obstacles. Enduring pain, medical treatments, and getting back on your feet is just the beginning.

Add into the mix insurance companies, legal claims, investigations, adverse attorneys and other involved parties...it can get overwhelming fast.

However, if you keep in mind the four guiding principles provided above throughout your recovery, you are ahead of the game.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Keep focused on what matters most, and you too will find the closure you seek after a car accident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Case Evaluation


Let's See If You Have a Case...

Please select what happened?
Were you injured / hurt?
What is the primary type of injury?
Were you hospitalized or receive medical treatment?
Were you at fault for the accident?
When did the accident happen?
Where did the accident happen?
Was the other driver driving a commercial vehicle?
Please share how best to contact you
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