Whether you've been injured on the job or in a car accident, you need someone to protect your interests. At Potter, Carmine, and Associates we work hard so you get the settlement you deserve. If needed, we're not afraid to go to court and represent your best interests.
Each injured person in an auto accident has his or her own particular needs with regard to information gathering and obtaining lost wages, medical expenses and property repairs. However, the following advice should be understood as factual suggestions.
If you were injured in an auto accident, certain steps are necessary to protect your rights. An initial report should be provided to your own auto insurer as soon as practical. If you were in a car that you did not own you need to report the accident to the insurance company that insured the car, and your own personal insurance company (keep notes for yourself) describing when you called and reported the accident to each insurance company, who you spoke to, the adjuster’s name, phone number and claim number. You should provide clear, concise, factual information including the date, time and location of the accident as well as a complete list of injuries sustained. Those injuries which hurt only slightly should still be reported as one cannot tell at an early point in time whether those injuries will become a greater problem at a later point and your failure to report any injury promptly may be a reason for your insurance company to later refuse to pay for treatment.
In the event that you are afraid to report the accident to your own insurance company promptly, your attorney can report the accident for you.
You have no obligation to discuss the accident with the insurance company insuring the party who was at-fault in the accident. The adjuster who will be handling the case for the at-fault party is a trained professional who is not acting in your interest. That adjuster is principally interested in protecting the insurance company’s money. Frequently the insurance adjuster will look to take a statement from you in a fashion to slant your claim. It is to your disadvantage to give a statement to the adjuster for the at-fault party. Sometimes the adjuster will want to meet with you and have you accept a payment for the “inconvenience”. Any payment for “inconvenience” will damage or possibly end all right to collect from the at-fault party, future medical expenses, wages and compensation for your pain, suffering and impairment of your life style. Meeting with the adjuster is frequently a mistake. Those offers should be rejected.
If you are hurt in an automobile accident or some other accident you should first seek prompt medical attention. If you are unable to work, you should obtain a disability note from your physician which will indicate how long, what injury you have, that it was caused by your auto accident and how long you need to remain out of work if, but only if, your injuries are disabling. Photos should be taken of your vehicle and of the other vehicle if possible and the scene of the accident as soon as possible.
It is advisable that you obtain a list of the names, addresses and phone numbers of any independent witnesses and retain that list.
In the event that your car sustained damage, you will need to get an estimate of repairs. If your vehicle was totaled, you will need a written statement from a used car or new car dealer as to what was the value of your car on the date of the accident.
Not too long ago, I tried a case for a pedestrian who was injured when a rusted cable caused the collapse of a fire escape ladder. Fortunately, I was called within forty-eight hours and was able to get a piece of the rusted cable and was able to have that cable tested by a metallurgical engineer. Had we not been able to get the cable, a dispute would most certainly have developed over how the fire escape ladder collapse occurred. At trial, it was clear that the cable broke because of negligent maintenance and corrosion and therefore there was no room for dispute.
A prompt gathering of relevant facts resulted in a favorable outcome for my client. The same holds true with regard to the need for witnesses names, addresses and phone numbers as well as photographs of the vehicles or of the accident scene; the sooner, the better.
It is advisable that an injured person contact an experienced attorney in his or her home state, one who is knowledgeable in personal injury claims, in order to promptly gather the necessary information and advise you of your rights. If you need an attorney in another state, your Delaware attorney will be best able to coordinate your legal representation. Out of state attorneys who are not licensed in Delaware frequently do not know Delaware law and cannot help you properly.