In the first moments after a serious car accident, you are not thinking about building a solid legal claim against the other driver. Instead, you may be terrified, in pain, and worried for the other people in your vehicle. But your actions over the next few hours, days and weeks can impact your ability to get reasonable compensation from the insurance company.
Here are three mistakes that auto accident victims in Bellevue often make that can sabotage a personal injury claim:
- Lying. It might be tempting to exaggerate the extent of your injuries or downplay any partial responsibility you might have for the crash when talking to the police or the insurance adjuster. But if you are caught lying, it could destroy your claim. Keep in mind that Washington is a comparative negligence state. That means you can still receive compensation for your injuries even if you are partly — even mostly — at fault for what happened.
- Talking about your case on social media. Discussing your injuries, claim or lawsuit on social media is risky. Videos or photos of yourself could potentially be used as evidence to claim your injuries are not as severe as they are. Or you might accidentally reveal details of a confidential settlement and potentially invalidate it.
- Waiting too long. In Washington, the statute of limitations on most car accident claims is three years. That is how long you have from the date of your injuries to file a lawsuit. If you wait too long to pursue your legal options for recovering damages, you won’t get the chance to make your case, no matter how much the evidence is on your side.
Avoiding these and other preventable errors can help you receive maximum compensation with a minimum of delay.