Tag: Car accident

Insurance companies are not your friends!

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From our Personal Injury Section:

Insurance companies are not your friends! 
You are not in “good hands”, they are not like your “good neighbor”, and in “15 minutes” they could completely damage your life.

The adjuster calls you immediately after an accident; they are so friendly on the phone. They reassure you that they will “take care of all of your bills”. They give you their direct line. They call from the “Quick Resolution Center” or “Rapid Response Team”, to make you think they are doing everything they can to help you.

But, in reality, what they are doing is trying to get you to agree to a settlement as quickly as possible, for pennies on the dollar, before you can speak to a lawyer. Many times this happens before you have even seen a doctor to know the full the extent of your injuries.

Insurance companies are not your friends! They succeed at their job when they give you less than you deserve. Far too many times we have seen this scam happen to clients, ultimately, leaving them with unpaid bills, and no compensation for their pain and suffering. This leads to collection notices, law suits, and sometimes, bankruptcy.

Here is what you can do to help minimize these bad outcomes.

– If you are in an accident, call the police as quickly as possible.

– DO NOT speak to insurance adjusters.

– DO NOT give any hospital or medical provider your Auto Insurance information. Instruct the hospital to bill your HEALTH INSURANCE. If you don’t have health insurance, tell them your are Self Pay.

– IMMEDIATELY call an attorney for a consult

– IMMEDIATELY call your OWN Auto Insurance company, and instruct them NOT TO MAKE any payments to any medical providers. This is referred to as “MED PAY”. Tell them, DO NOT MAKE ANY MED PAY payments. (Hospitals love to bill Med Pay, because they get 100% of their artificially inflated bills).

– Hire an experienced attorney as quickly as possible, and tell him/her everything you know. The attorney will reach out to the insurance companies.

There are many more tips that we can provide, but following just these ones above could possibly save you thousands of dollars, and years of headaches.

Visit our website for more information. www.AloLegal.com

Image Source: https://clark.com/insurance/best-auto-insurance-companies/

What to do if you are in an auto accident

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As part of our expanding Personal Injury practice, today we bring you a guide on what to do if you are involved in a car accident:

— Call 911 —
If you are hit by another driver, the best thing to do is call 911. Not only will they send help if you are injured, but they will also document a lot of information that you will need later on. Further, they interview witnesses if available.

— Remain Calm —
If you are hurt, try not to move very much. If you feel you are in an unsafe place, try to calmly move to a safer location until help arrives.

If you are not hurt, see if others with you are hurt or need help. There is no point arguing with the other driver about who’s fault it was. Once the officer arrives, they will sort it out.

— Remember what happened —
If you can take notes about where you were going, what side of the street you were on, where your car ended up, what color the traffic light was.
This is useful immediately to help you think about what you will tell the officer who shows up, and also important later on down the road.

— Take pictures and names of witnesses —
Everyone has a camera on their cell phone these days. When you get a chance and you are out of harms way, take pictures of the cars, the intersection, the license plates, the insurance cards, any marks on the road, or any spills.

If there are any witnesses try to get their names and numbers.

Call your attorney, and don’t talk to insurance adjusters.
I have had many clients tell me about how insurance companies tried to low ball them on pain and suffering. Its quite shocking the amounts insurance companies will offer when an attorney is not involved. They will try to bait you into taking a quick offer, even before your treatment is done.

Call your lawyer, set an appointment, and tell the lawyer what happened. The lawyer will take care of the rest.