Tips to Increase Auto/Personal Injury Accident Insurance Settlement

Tips for improving your case and increasing your settlement

If you're in a car accident or suffer a personal injury, the actions you take immediately after the accident are critical for determining how much compensation you will receive from the insurance company, and how well your case will stand up in court if you need to take the case to trial. Follow these seven tips to ensure that you will receive the full settlement you're entitled to.

1. Write down the names of any witnesses to the accident. Their testimony may be crucial later on, and gives you a valuable third-party assessment as to the significance of the auto accident.
2. DO NOT talk to the other driver’s insurance company. Doing so only supplies ammunition for them and weakens your case.
3. Tell the doctor about all your symptoms... and don’t minimize them! The doctor’s testimony later on will damage your bad back case if they saw you two days after the accident and you said nothing about your sore back.
4. Be honest with the doctor about any problems you had before the accident so they have a complete picture. If the insurance company shows up with records of a bad back 5 years before the accident, it will put your doctor in a tough spot if you didn’t mention it after the accident.
5. Take photos of the car in which you were injured or the spot where your accident happened. If the car gets crushed before you see our Maine injury lawyers, the chance for photos is lost.
6. If you have bruises or scars, take photos immediately. Sometimes these disappear in a few days and the chance to demonstrate physical injury visibly is lost.
7. Call our accident attorneys as soon as you’ve been to the doctor and BEFORE speaking with the insurance company. This tip alone could double the size of your settlement. We will take all the photos and do the investigation before the evidence disappears. For instance, skid marks on roads at accident scenes last only a few days, but can be the difference between winning and losing a head-on accident case. If you call us right away the insurance company knows you are serious and will immediately set aside money in your case to show you have a competent, winning attorney. Plus you can forget all the hassle and just work on getting healed.

The attorneys at Hardy, Wolf and Downing are trusted by thousands of Mainers to handle auto accident and personal injury cases. We don't just talk tough, we are tough, and we will go the extra mile to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Not all Maine attorneys are equal -- trust Hardy, Wolf and Downing to take care of you before, during, and after your case.

Contact our Maine attorneys to talk about your case today.