Why You Should Not Settle With Insurance Companies (5)
There are over 6 million car accidents in the United States each year at a cost of over $250 billion. Nearly have the people involved in these collisions are injured and every day over one hundred people die in car crashes. If you drive a motor vehicle or are a daily passenger in one, chances are good that you'll be involved in at least one crash during your lifetime. And unfortunately, you may be injured and pressured by an insurance company to settle without litigation. There are many good reasons why you should not settle without consulting a personal injury attorney.
Take the case of John, who was a passenger in a car that lost control on a sharp curve of a country road. He was in the back seat of a car that had had the seat belts removed and was thrown to the floor-luckily for him because the car landed on its roof and skidded 100 feet before crashing into a tree. John was taken to the hospital where they diagnosed a broken collarbone and various lacerations and bruises. He settled with the insurance company; they paid his medical bills and gave him a small compensatory amount for pain and suffering and lost wages. However, X-rays did not show that he had fractured vertebrae in his neck and two years later John was in such pain that he consulted a specialist. He had suffered a broken neck in the crash and needed surgery to relieve his pain. The portion of the bill he was responsible for will take him years to pay off.
A personal injury attorney knows that more than just standard tests may be needed to properly diagnose injuries suffered in a car crash, a fall, or other accident. An MRI or PET scan would have revealed the extent of John's injuries and the insurance company would have been liable for them, saving him years of pain and financial suffering.
Soft tissue injuries are another complication of physical accidents and often don't present symptoms for weeks or months after the incident. By that time, if you've settled with an insurance company, you have no recourse and have to shoulder the expense of treatment yourself.
Insurance companies are in business to make money while they protect the financial interests of the insured. It is not in their best interests to encourage victims of car crashes to get diagnostic tests. Indeed, they often offer settlements above and beyond medical costs in an attempt to get a victim to settle quickly and absolving them of any future liability.
A Miami Personal Injury attorney can protect your interests and insure that you receive all the financial compensation that you are entitled to. They have the experience to prevent your going through an experience that can be very costly physically and financially.