Mistake #7
Rushing to settle your case
We have met with many accident victims who, shortly after an accident, have expressed a desire to resolve their insurance claim as quickly as possible. This is certainly understandable— that event is an unpleasant memory for anyone (to put it mildly). Most want to wrap up a claim as quickly as possible and move on with their lives! Doing so, however, can have disastrous consequences.
The fact is that many of the injuries or losses you’ve suffered may not become evident until several months after your accident. Insurance adjusters are well aware that the full extent of your injuries are not likely to be known early on, especially if it’s a serious accident. This means that the sooner they settle with you, the less the insurance company will have to compensate you for your losses.
Since insurance companies know that a quick settlement is almost always to their benefit—and your detriment—they are happy to agree to it. In fact, one insurance company sends adjusters to accident victims’ homes days after their accidents. These adjusters wave a check for a few hundred dollars in front of the individual, encouraging them to settle the insurance claim on the spot, many times before the accident victim has even seen a doctor!
Whatever else you do, take the time to get a complete and thorough medical diagnosis of your injuries. Even if you received emergency care, you should have a follow-up appointment with a doctor. Make sure you give your injuries plenty of time to manifest themselves fully. It is only at that point that you will be able to determine the full extent of your injuries and what fair compensation for them would be.
Why is it so crucial not to rush to a quick settlement? The answer is simple: You only have “one bite at the apple” when it comes to an automobile insurance claim. There are long-term consequences to making a hasty decision. Once you accept payment from the at-fault insurance company, you cannot renegotiate the settlement, regardless of the lasting effects of your injuries. It does not matter if you become incapacitated or your family loses you prematurely. The moment you settle your claim, you and your family are responsible for any further expenses relating to your accident which you may incur down the road.
We once represented a woman whom we’ll call Gretchen. Gretchen came to us a few weeks after an accident in which she was rear-ended. Her neck was very sore, and she had been diagnosed with “whiplash” injuries by her chiropractor. The at-fault insurance company stopped by her home a few days earlier and apologized for her injuries. They offered her $500 to settle her claim. Gretchen didn’t feel comfortable taking the settlement while she was still in pain, so she came to us for advice.
We told Gretchen it was in her best interest to wait and see how she healed. Doing this would allow her to know the full extent of her injuries and have a clearer view on how she should proceed. At the time, she didn’t see the whiplash injuries as a big deal. Thankfully, however, she heeded our advice.
A few months after her initial visit, Gretchen’s injuries had not resolved; in fact, they had gotten worse. Her chiropractor referred her to a specialist, who found multiple disc herniations in her cervical spine. He recommended that she undergo an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)—a neck fusion surgery, in laymen’s terms. Needless to say, it was a very expensive operation that would dramatically affect her life, as well as the value of her insurance claim.
Fortunately, we were able to obtain a substantial settlement that covered all of Gretchen’s medical expenses and compensated her for the months of pain, difficulty sleeping, and limited activities with her family that she had to endure after the accident. We were able to help her obtain this settlement, because she had waited patiently before pursuing settlement of her claim. That decision made all the difference in terms of her ability to obtain a fair settlement versus the $500 the insurance company had initially offered.
We hope Gretchen’s experience serves as a warning flag for you. You have to resist the impulse to rush things after an accident. You must try not to feel pressured by an adjuster who knows that you want to get the claim resolved as soon as possible. Your main focus should be to obtain fair and just compensation for your injuries and losses—nothing is more important than that!