Are you suffering and angry after an injury that wasn’t your fault?As a personal injury lawyer in Henderson, Nevada, my job for 25 years has been to fight for people just like you, to ensure that you that you get the justice and compensation you deserve after an injury has traumatized you or a loved one.
Why?
Why would you need a personal injury lawyer to represent you? Many people figure out the hard way that getting an insurance company to compensate them fairly after an injury in one of the following areas is a difficult and even infuriating uphill battle:
- Automobile Accidents
- Trucking Accidents
- Use of Defective or Dangerous Products
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Claims Arising from Injuries at Work
They see their claims denied, or they are offered small checks that won’t cover their expenses, and they feel panicked and confused over what to do next. They know they’re being treated unfairly, but they don’t know how to fight back against a faceless and unsympathetic insurance company. If the negligent party decides to challenge the claim, and denies any wrongdoing, it’s just going to get worse.
You can fight and win against the insurance companies.
Contacting a Henderson personal injury lawyer for a free consultation early in the process, before the insurance company has had the chance to minimize or deny your claim, is the smartest thing you can do to avoid endless hassle and headaches later on.
Most reputable firms will offer free consultations to assess your case, and my firm, Day & Nance, won’t charge any fee at all unless we are successful in winning your case.
Crucial steps after an injury
Here are five other crucial action steps to take after you’ve been injured in an accident, if you want to ensure you are compensated fairly for your expenses, including medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering:
- See a doctor, no excuses. If you want an insurance company to take your claim of injury seriously, get yourself to a doctor, preferably immediately after the accident, in an ambulance if necessary. An insurance company is looking for any way they can to dismiss your claim, or to compensate you the minimum amount. You make this very easy for them if you don’t see a doctor for your injuries.
Not only do you need to see a doctor, but you need to cooperate fully with the doctor’s instructions, including making it to all appointments and taking all medications as prescribed. The insurance company will be reviewing your doctor’s notes on your injuries, and if you start blowing off appointments, I can assure you they will use this information against you, as evidence that you must not be that injured. I’ve seen this happen many times. - Get contact information for any witnesses to the accident. These testimonies can be extremely valuable to your case. Ask for their business cards, so that you won’t have to worry about deciphering illegible handwriting later on.
You can also have them text you, on the spot, their contact information. Make sure you receive the text and that it contains their full name and email address, before they leave the scene. - Keep detailed notes. Buy a cheap spiral notebook and start recording, every day, your pain and suffering level. Use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being minimum pain and 10 being severe. You could write something like: “Today my pain level is a 7.”
Include information on how your mobility is being affected day to day by your injuries, and any other information on how the injuries are negatively impacting your life. Keep each entry to no more than a few sentences. The more details you are able to present to your insurance company, the harder it will be for them to dismiss your claim. - Save all receipts. Save proof of purchase for any expenses related to your injury, including the cost of transportation, medications or home care attendants. Make sure the receipts clearly show the vendor’s name and the date of purchase.
This can save you a world of trouble later on, when you are being asked by the insurance company to provide proof to bolster your claim. You want to make it is as difficult as possible for them to say that you are exaggerating your injuries and the suffering they are causing. - Do not sign any paperwork or submit to any recorded interviews. You will be asked to do this by the insurance company, but you do not have to comply. They will put pressure on you, and make it sound like your claim being approved is dependent upon your cooperation with these requests, but don’t be fooled. Simply say no.
You especially want to avoid making statements immediately after the accident, when you are most vulnerable and may be upset and confused. If you say the wrong thing, I can assure you it will be used against you.
Beware these words
If you hear any of the following statements from your insurance adjuster when processing your claim, it’s time to bring in the big guns. Do not wait. Call a Henderson personal injury attorney immediately to assess your case, because the insurance company is no longer playing fair with you and is most likely looking to dismiss or minimize your claim.
- “Your injuries were caused by a pre-existing medical condition, not the accident”. A personal injury lawyer will know exactly how to fight this sort of tactic from the insurance company.
Insurance adjusters are doing their jobs extremely well when they use these types of reasons to avoid compensating your claim. This is what they are trained to do by their superiors. It’s completely unethical, but it happens, and not infrequently. Call a lawyer. - “You didn’t file your claim in time and the deadline has passed”. Insurance adjusters will use endless stalling tactics to confuse and frustrate you, in the hopes that you will give up.
When dealing with injuries and trauma after an accident, most people don’t have the energy and stamina to fight on and on, and insurance companies know this, and take advantage of it. If you start being given the runaround by your adjuster, don’t play their game. Show them you mean business and aren’t going to be ignored. Bring in an experienced personal injury lawyer to take over your case. - “Your regular adjuster isn’t available and we can’t find any record of your claim”. Shuffling you to different departments and claiming that your file has been lost are other common stalling tactics used by insurance companies when they are employing a “sit and wait” strategy in order to discourage you into giving up. Trust me: this is all being done by design.
Summary
After an injury, things will often get worse before they get better. Don’t give in to hopelessness and despair! I promise you that the insurance company shenanigans will stop when you get a Henderson personal injury lawyer to take over your case. Let my firm, get to work for you right away, so that you can get your check and move on with your life.
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