A car accident can have devastating consequences on your health and finances. You’ll need to deal with damages to your car (and possibly other property) and expensive medical bills. Treatment for injuries resulting from a crash can last for months and sometimes years. However, filing a claim with your insurance company or starting a legal process against the other driver may result in compensation for all your losses. A car wreck injury attorney in San Antonio can help you determine a strategy to fight for your rights.
Ask a Car Wreck Injury Attorney in San Antonio: How Long Should You Wait to File a Claim?
There is no deadline additional to the state’s statute of limitations to file a claim with an insurance company unless stated in your policy. Ideally, you should file the claim after you have a complete medical diagnosis and understand the length and cost of your treatment. According to the law, an insurance company is not allowed to deny your claim based on technicalities (such as the time it took you to file the claim) unless this resulted in detriment to the vehicle(s) or further damages. Denying the claim based on a late filing may result in the insurance company being accused of prejudice.
On the other hand, the law protects the insurance company’s right to investigate the claim and the conditions of the accident. Insurance adjusters must verify the information contained in your claim to establish liability percentages, since Texas is under a “comparative shared fault” law.
Evidence
As with most legal processes, you must prove your claim by providing evidence demonstrating what happened. Valuable evidence for a car accident claim may include:
- Pictures and footage, personal or from surveillance cameras, of the accident and the damage to the vehicle(s)
- The testimony of people who witnessed the accident
- The testimony of health care professionals and authorities
- Copies of police reports
- Copies of medical records and bills
Without necessary evidence, your claim will likely be dismissed. While it’s the insurer’s job to find evidence to build the case (via the investigation performed by adjusters), it’s your responsibility to provide anything that can help demonstrate what you are saying. Your attorney will be able to explain the evidence that you need to build your case and help you obtain additional evidence if necessary.
External Factors Alter the Quality of the Evidence
The longer you wait to file your claim, the harder it will be to prove, and you may also have trouble remembering important details. Key witnesses may move away or die, and police reports and medical records can get lost. All these factors may be considered an impediment for the insurance company to verify your claim and could constitute grounds for dismissal. If you decide to wait before filing a claim, you and your lawyer must start drafting a strategy and building the case (securing evidence) as soon as possible.
The Concept of Bad Faith Denial of an Injury Claim
When an insurance company denies a claim, they must abide by the law and g et proof to support their decision or risk being charged with “bad faith denial.”
Settlement Negotiations
Once the insurance company decides that your claim has merit, they will offer a settlement amount to avoid going to court. It’s important to understand that you should never take the first offer you get, as it will probably be too low. You and your lawyer need to calculate compensation that covers your economic damages (loss of income, medical expenses, and property damage) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress). With this information, your lawyer will draft a counteroffer.
Settlement negotiations may be lengthy, and it may take months to get your compensation money. Still, it’s best to wait and get a fair amount than settle for a low offer that may not only not be enough to cover your losses but may also force you to pay further medical expenses out of pocket.
Filing a Lawsuit
If the insurance company denies your claim, or if their offer is not enough to cover your expenses and losses, you need to take the case to court. During a trial, you and your lawyer will need to prove that the insurance company has to pay you, and for this, you will need to present the evidence you have already been gathering. In Texas, the statute of limitations for car accidents is two years.
During a trial, a jury or a judge will decide if your case has merit and will set a compensation amount. While it’s possible to get higher compensation if you go to trial, it’s also important to note that a trial process can be long and time-consuming. You’ll need to pay for all associated expenses out of pocket. A car wreck injury attorney in San Antonio will help you file all paperwork according to court rules and keep track of meetings and deadlines. They will also speak on your behalf during the trial.
There’s no fixed answer to how long you should wait to file a car accident claim other than the statute of limitations. After reviewing your case, your lawyer can tell you when is best to proceed in order to increase your chances of a positive outcome.
