This is Kentucky Injury Attorney Tate Meagher with the Meagher Law Office. In this post, I will go over the biggest mistakes personal injury victims make that impair the settlement value of their cases.
The first mistake is that the injury victim believes everything the insurance adjuster says about their case. The insurance adjuster is interested in protecting the insurance company they work for and their insured. They do not care about your interests, so you should not believe everything they say.
The goal in any case is to get a fair settlement value. You need to start settlement negotiations at a value that is higher than the fair settlement value of your case. The insurance company will start at a lower value, so you need to start much higher than the fair value of your case. In car accidents in Kentucky, I highly recommend starting with a demand offer for the policy limits in most car accident cases.
Do not get discouraged if the insurer denies liability in your case. I have personally resolved countless cases for fair value after the insurance company initially denied liability. Continue pursuing the case if you believe the other party or parties are liable for the incident.
In car accident cases, there may be uninsured motorist coverage available if the driver was uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage available if the at-fault driver didn't have enough insurance. Investigate how much insurance is available to you.
If you are having pain, go get treatment immediately. If there is a gap in time without any treatment, it can impact the value of your case.
If the doctor tells you to do something, listen to them. If you don't follow the doctor's instructions, the value of your case will go down.
Be completely honest with your doctor. Do not downplay or exaggerate your injuries. Misrepresenting your injuries can negatively impact your case.
Even if you think it's just a minor car accident, call the police. They will come to the scene, do an investigation, and document the accident.
No one will know the approximate value of your case until you are either finished treating or have reached maximum medical improvement. Injury cases take time to resolve, but it is worth the wait.
Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company. In my opinion, it rarely benefits anyone to give a recorded statement. Insurers are not looking out for your best interests but for their company and insured. I highly recommend not giving a recorded statement.
Remember, if you have been injured in a car accident, slip and fall accident, or dog bite accident in Kentucky, don't wait. Call Tate. Also, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch more of my videos. Thanks for reading!
This post was written with AI assistance and reviewed by the Meagher Injury Lawyers team.
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