LawCall™ is a weekly, thirty minute call-in show about legal topics of interest. Each week, we discuss personal injury, auto accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, slip and fall, DUI accidents and birth injuries, as well as bankruptcy, family law, divorce, landlord and tenant law, dangerous and defective products, legislative matters, and current issues in the legal world. We take your calls LIVE every Sunday at 11:35pm. Call us at 1-877-525-LAWS (5297) during the show.
This Week On LawCall™ — Car and Truck Accidents
If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, you’ll soon be getting medical bills – very large medical bills. Injuries in a typical wreck can easily exceed twenty thousand dollars. For catastrophic wrecks involving eighteen wheelers or motorcycles, the amount can be overwhelming. What do you need to know about filing an insurance claim? How long will it take to get your bills paid? Is the amount they’re offering fair for your situation? Shouldn’t you talk to a lawyer first?
You don’t have to go through this alone. If you’ve been in a wreck and don’t know what to do, you need to tune in to LawCall™ this Sunday, when Tallahassee personal injury attorney Tony Fusco will be discussing how to protect your rights after a wreck– and how to get the best possible offer for your injuries and damage.
What should I do when the insurance company calls me?
After you notify your insurance company that you have been in an accident, an adjuster from the insurance company will call you. They are going to ask a few, standard questions:
- Is your car damaged?
- Where is your car located?
- What happened in the accident?
- Was anyone injured?
When the adjuster asks you what happened in the accident, he or she may ask you to make a recorded statement. You are NOT required to allow them to record your statement. You should cooperate with the adjuster and answer their questions, but you do not have to give them a statement. Do NOT give them a recorded statement at this time.
How do I know the value of my claim?
If you are injured in an accident, you are entitled to recover the reasonable value of your medical bills, your lost wages and a reasonable value for your pain and suffering. Each case is different, and has its own value. At Fasig & Brooks, our experienced car and truck accident attorneys will help you determine what your case is worth. You should NOT let the insurance company determine what your claim is worth.
An insurance adjuster might tell you that their computer “gave” them the value of your claim. No computer- using software designed for the insurance company- can determine the value of your case. Do not listen to them. You should not accept this amount.
An adjuster might send you a check along with a release. They ask you to sign the release, deposit the check, and mail the release back to them. DO NOT DO THIS. An insurance company’s goal is to save money, not spend it. They want to settle a case for less than it is worth. If you have been injured in a car or truck accident and quickly receive a check in the mail from the insurance company, you should immediately seek legal representation.
When you are in a car or truck accident, you need to remember that the goal of the insurance company is to settle your claim for as little as possible. The insurance adjuster may be nice, and seem helpful, but he is working for the insurance company- NOT you. You need someone whose goal isn’t to save a big corporation money, but to get you the best possible offer for your injuries and damages.
The personal injury attorneys at Tallahassee Law Firm Fasig & Brooks don’t represent insurance companies. We only represent the victims and their families. If you’ve been injured in a car or truck accident, give us a call at (850) 222-3232. An attorney is always available, day or night, weekday or weekend, to take your call.
LawCall™ features Tallahassee personal injury attorneys, Vinse Barrett, Jimmy Fasig, Dana Brooks, Mark Nonni and Jaeson Homola, plus guest attorneys from across North Florida who answer your questions on a different legal topic every Sunday. Long-time newscaster Frank Ranicky anchors the program.
