The car accident team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can help you with your injury claim after a collision in Broussard, Louisiana. We can evaluate your case and explain your legal rights.
Our clients do not have to deal directly with the insurance company. We gather the necessary evidence and negotiate with the claims adjuster so that you do not have to. You can focus on getting better while we take care of the rest. Call us today at (337) 777-7777 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Working with a Broussard Car Accident Lawyer Has Some Benefits
The law does not require you to work with a lawyer on an injury case, but there are quite a few reasons why you might want to do so.
Here are some of the pitfalls of trying to take care of your case on your own:
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Settling Before You Complete Your Medical Treatment
It can be tempting to settle your injury claim when you think that your medical treatment is nearly finished. After all, you have a stack of medical bills and may have been out of work for some time. Maybe you could really use the money.
There are two problems with settling your claim before you finish your prescribed regimens. First, you might need to undergo additional procedures. Let’s say that after you complete your physical therapy, you go back to your doctor for a follow-up visit. The doctor examines you and says that you are not fully healed. You will need surgery to restore full function to your injured area.
If you already settled your case, the insurer will not pay for the operation. You will have to spend thousands of dollars out of your own pocket for the surgery.
The second problem with settling before you have completed medical treatment is that you do not yet know if you will have lingering impairment from the injury. Despite medical treatment, you might never be the same after a severe collision. Chronic pain and other difficulties may not appear suddenly after your accident, or manifest for months to come.
You should get compensation for any future medical bills that you may incur as a result of your accident. If you hastily settle just to put this experience behind you, you may find yourself running into additional expenses.
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Giving a Recorded Statement
Claims adjusters typically ask an injured person to give a recorded statement. These usually take place over the telephone. The adjuster will ask you questions from a script and record your responses.
The danger of giving a recorded statement is that the adjuster can take your words out of context. By twisting your replies into something you did not intend, the adjuster can slash the value of your injury claim. Always remember that the adjuster works for the insurance company, not for you.
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Posting on Social Media
In today’s “over-sharing” world, many people memorialize their daily lives by posting photos and comments on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites.
Once you post something online, you lose control over that item. For example, you may post your car accident to social media to let your friends and family know about your current situation. The insurer can take your words and photos to trivialize the extent of your actual injuries. They might even make the argument that if you were able to post to social media, clearly, you were not as injured as you claim.
Realize that anything you post online could come back to haunt you. The best practice is to stay off social media after a car accident until your injury claim is behind you.
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Lowball Offers
One trick that claims adjusters use is to offer a fast and easy settlement to an injured person to quickly resolve the case. Insurers hope that you will snatch the check without understanding your legal rights.
Keep in mind that you will have to pay your medical bills out of that check. You might think that the settlement is free money in your pocket when it might not even cover your full expenses. You could be left with costs you cannot afford to pay. One of the most frequent reasons that people file for bankruptcy is healthcare bills they cannot afford.
Also, that lowball offer is the only check you will receive. The insurance company will make you sign a waiver when you get the check. In this document, you forfeit the right to ever go after additional compensation for your losses from the accident. Many people find out too late that they should have gotten much more money for their injuries.
You do not have to face these situations on your own. Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can navigate the claims process for you. Call us today at (337) 777-7777 for a free case evaluation.
Getting Help from a Lawyer for Your Broussard Car Accident Claim
It is to your advantage to work with an experienced Broussard car accident lawyer from the start. You have a limited amount of time to take legal action against the person whose carelessness caused your injuries. In Louisiana, you only have one year from the date of your collision to pursue a civil action, according to Civil Code Article 3492. Waiting too long to act may hurt your chances of financial recovery.
Rather than trying to juggle all of the rules and procedures involved in these situations, you should have the opportunity to focus on rebuilding your life. Our clients get to step away from the stress of legal matters because they know that we are taking care of their injury claims.
At Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers, we help people who were hurt by the negligence of others. We can evaluate your Broussard car accident and let you know if you might have a claim for damages. Our staff works on a contingency basis, which means that we do not get paid for our services unless we recover compensation for you. Call us today at (337) 777-7777 to get started.
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