Questions Insurance Companies May Ask After a Car Accident
Car accidents are devastating, especially when the accident wasn’t your fault. Your car has to be repaired. It might even be totally destroyed. You might be severely injured. Your passenger(s) might be injured, as well. In order to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages, you will have to file an insurance claim with the at fault driver’s insurance carrier.
Soon, you’ll start receiving calls from the at fault driver’s insurance adjuster. The insurance adjuster will sweet talk you in an attempt to persuade you to lower your guard and make a statement that might be harmful to your claim. Even the most innocuous sounding questions from the insurance adjuster (e.g., “where were you coming from when the accident happened”) can dramatically influence the value of your claim.
Contrary to what the insurance adjuster might tell you, you are not obligated to speak with an insurance adjuster before hiring a lawyer. In fact, we do not recommend that you speak with an insurance adjuster before you hire a skilled car accident lawyer.
Contact Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers today if you’ve been hurt in a car accident and you want to ensure that you receive fair compensation for your losses. With proper legal assistance, you can focus on recovering from your injuries, while a dedicated lawyer handles all of the paperwork and communicates with the insurance company on your behalf.
Schedule a free, no-risk consultation with a knowledgeable Atlanta injury lawyer by calling (404) 939-94704 or through our online contact form.
What to Expect When an Insurance Company Contacts You
Right after your accident, the liable party’s car insurance company will likely call you to conduct an interview. The goal of that interview is to document what occurred from your point of view and determine what damages were caused by the accident.
Although we do not recommend that you speak with an insurance adjuster without first hiring an attorney, if you choose to speak to the insurance adjuster, you should only provide information about the property damage to your vehicle. If you were injured by the collision, you should not communicate any information about your injuries to the insurance adjuster until you have completed all of your medical treatment.
Many times, injury victims tend to downplay the severity of their injuries when they speak to the insurance adjuster. If you downplay the severity of your injuries, only to later discover through additional diagnostic testing, chiropractic treatment, or orthopedic treatment that you do have serious injuries, the adjuster will lowball your claim by arguing that there must have been some intervening event (after the car accident) that made your injuries worse.
Types of Questions You May Be Asked
The at fault driver’s insurance adjuster will ask many questions when calling a victim that has been involved in a car accident. Some examples of the questions that you might be asked by an insurer that you should answer include:
- When did the accident occur? Please state the date and time.
- What is the year, make, and model of the vehicle you were driving at the time of the accident?
- Were there any other vehicles involved?
- What type of damage was done to your vehicle?
- Is your vehicle in need of repairs? If so, what repair shop did you take it to?
- Was there a police report?
Some examples of the questions you may be asked by an insurer that you shouldn’t answer include:
- In what direction were you traveling?
- Were you wearing your seatbelt at the time of the crash?
- How did the crash occur?
- Did the weather play a role in the accident?
- Did anyone witness the crash? If so, can you share their contact information?
- Were you hurt?
- Were you taken treated by a paramedic or transported to a hospital?
Although the insurance adjuster will press you to answer those questions and try to make you feel bad if you don’t answer them, simply say, “I’m not yet prepared to discuss how the collision or occurred or what my injuries were. I will follow-up with you once I complete my medical treatment.”
By working with an attorney, you can ensure that the insurance company will not be able to take advantage of you. A lawyer can prepare you for any questions that the insurance company might ask, help determine the value of your claim, and negotiate with the insurer on your behalf.
Contact Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers
If you’ve been injured in a car crash that was not your fault, it is in your best interest to reach out to a car accident lawyer. At Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers, our lawyers have helped car accident victims recover the compensation that they deserve for over three decades. Let us review your case and deal with the insurance company’s questions so you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
Call us at (404) 939-9470 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation.