If you have been involved in a bike accident in Hyannis, you must take necessary steps to protect your legal rights.
It all starts by not accepting any offers from insurance companies until you speak to an experienced Hyannis bike accident attorney. You should be especially weary of an adjuster who tries to talk you into accepting a settlement offer before you speak to an attorney. Chances are they are trying to get you to accept a low offer or to deny you compensation.
If you want to protect your legal rights, here’s what we recommend you do after your accident:
Call the Police
Always call the police when the accident occurs even if you suffered minor injuries. The police officers will get you medical help if necessary. They will also do an investigation and issue a police report.
A police record will be very useful in your case because it will help establish the facts. The last thing you want is to try to prove to an insurance adjuster exactly what happened without facts.
Gather Evidence
Never leave the scene of an accident without witness names and contact information and photographs. You can use your cellphone to take pictures. Take pictures of the accident from different angles, making sure you capture the road and weather conditions, skid marks, physical injuries and details of the driver’s car.
The police might take photographs and witness information but it doesn’t hurt to have your own evidence.
Contact a Hyannis Bike Accident Attorney
Unless you know the law very well, you are likely to make plenty of mistakes that the insurance company could use against you. An experienced bike accident attorney can help you avoid these mistakes.
For instance, they know the statute of limitations that applies to your case so they will ensure that your case progresses within that timeline. They will also track your medical records to ensure that medical costs remain reasonable. And they will protect your rights and guard your interests while still demanding a full and fair compensation from the insurance company. They know which damages you should be awarded and they will work hard to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
Doing all this by yourself while still trying to recuperate from your injuries can be stressful and you need someone to look out for you while you focus on recovering.
See a Doctor
Always see a doctor after an accident even if you came out of it unscathed. We can’t tell you the number of times clients have told us that they walked away feeling fine only to start feeling aches and pain later on. Just because there are no apparent injuries, doesn’t mean there are no injuries at all.
A visit to your doctor will help document your injuries and you can start treatment as soon as possible. Always take your doctor’s appointments seriously, don’t miss any of them without a valid reason.
Your case will be weakened if you miss even one doctor’s appointment. The insurance adjuster will argue that your injuries weren’t severe, otherwise you wouldn’t have missed your doctor’s appointment and as a result, you might end up receiving a much lower amount of compensation.
Don’t Give Out Recorded Statements
Only make a statement under advisement by your attorney. Some insurance agents are sneaky and they will tell you that you need to record a statement in order for them to start processing your claim. This is not true.
Let your attorney prepare you for any recorded statements. This will prevent you from misspeaking when confronted with confusing questions and from failing to fully express the facts of your case.
Speaking of talking to insurance adjusters, you should stay away from social media or at least avoid talking about your case on social media. Be sure to read a post we recently wrote about how social media can sabotage your case
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Be Realistic
Settlement amounts vary widely from one case to another. The amount of settlement you receive will be affected by a number of factors such as insurance limits, physical impairments, length of treatment and seriousness of your injuries. Your attorney will value your case based on these and other factors. However, if you have doubts about how much your case is worth, you can always seek a second opinion.
To find out more ways that you can protect your legal rights after a bike accident, you can speak to one of our Hyannis bike accident attorneys by dialing 508-775-1660 or by visiting our Kevin P Landry offices in Hyannis.