MOTOR VEHICLE MISHAPS & WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Attorney & IUOE member Greg Hach, Partner, Hach & Rose, LLP

If you or a member of your family has been in an automobile accident, there are a few things you should know before having to deal with the aftermath – injuries, rehabilitation, medical bills, lost wages, and insurance companies can be overwhelming. Hopefully, the accident resulted in property damage only and no one was seriously injured. But in the unfortunate, and all too common, circumstance that bodily injury was sustained, there are a few things that should be etched in your mind if you are ever faced with a serious automobile accident.

INSURANCE COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES:

Insurance companies and their representatives, whether it is your insurance company or the company of the other driver(s) involved in the accident, are concerned primarily with limiting their liability for any resulting injuries. Speaking to the victims immediately and requesting statements, whether written or oral, before you have a chance to consult an attorney limits their liability to you in a subsequent lawsuit. Some injuries are easily recognizable as serious from the outset, but others, although seemingly minimal in the days after the accident, progress into something far worse. In an effort to avoid paying a victim fair value on a claim, very often an insurance company will attempt to settle a claim before a victim has retained an attorney. 

For example, our firm recently won a verdict of $2.2 Million dollars for a man who did not feel the full effects of his injuries until a few months after his accident (another driver rear-ended him while at a stop light). The herniation in his neck required surgery a full 3 years after the accident. A nominal settlement offer at the outset of his case would have prevented a fair result four years post-accident when the full extent of his disability was realized.

The fact is, insurance companies will try to pin you down immediately into making a statement. They know that if they speak to you quickly it is less likely you had an opportunity to consult an attorney prior to their taking a statement that can be used against you at a later date. The best advice when in that situation is to take a number, and tell them you will call them back. In the meantime call an attorney. If you feel comfortable with us, give our office a call. If not, you should consult an attorney you are comfortable with – but you should do so prior to signing anything or making a statement.

Too often clients are railroaded into making statements or taking settlements from an insurance company immediately after the accident and think it’s no big deal because they feel okay. In more cases than not, if you have been in an accident, symptoms of back trouble could take days even weeks to manifest. It is in those circumstances that you need to be mindful of what you are signing or discussing with the insurance companies. When the insurance company calls, they often record the conversation ‘for quality control purposes’ when in actuality it is used for ‘reducing their liability to you’. Do yourself a favor and consult an attorney as quickly as possible after your motor vehicle accident.  

If you have a question about injuries sustained in a motor vehicle mishap feel free to give us a call at (212)779-0057 or e-mail us at info@hachroselaw.com.