You may be asked to speak about the car accident that injured you in the days after the crash. The other driver’s insurance company is going to want to hear from you about what happened, and in your own words. They do not have any right to a statement from you. They are your adversary in a car accident case, and you do not want to do anything to give them a hand up in their fight against you. This especially includes admitting any type of fault for the car accident, either in whole or in part.
You may not even think you have admitted fault for the accident, but the insurance company will act like you have. Then, it can be much more challenging to win your case, and you may have to overcome your own words to receive any compensation whatsoever, and especially a full-size check for your injuries.
Hiring an Austin car accident attorney is the best way to keep yourself out of a position where you may be coerced or tricked into admitting fault for the crash. You will not have to do any speaking because your car accident lawyer will do it for you.
The insurance company will need to approach your lawyer to talk to you, and your attorney will rarely even grant them this permission. You will have the maximum amount of protection from the games that the insurance company may play to try to save money at your expense.
You Must Prove That the Driver’s Negligence Caused Your Injuries
When you have suffered an injury in a car accident, you can be entitled to financial compensation if you can prove that the other driver was at fault for what happened. Negligence means that the other driver did something that would be considered unreasonable under the circumstances. Their actions will be compared to what another responsible driver would or would not have done. For example, a reasonable driver would stop in time, and they would not rear-end a car that was in front of them. A reasonable driver would also not be distracted by texting when they were driving.
You must prove that the driver did something to breach their own duty of care. You must also show that the motorist’s actions were the direct cause of your injuries. If you did something that can mean that you are at fault, or partial fault, for the accident, you may be unable to prove that the other driver’s actions were the cause of your injuries.
You May Be Barred from Receiving Compensation if You Were Partially at Fault
In Texas, you cannot recover any money at all for your car accident if you are more than 50 percent to blame for it. Even if your share of the blame is below that amount, your total compensation will be reduced by the amount of fault that you bear for the accident. Thus, the insurance company has every financial incentive possible to try to blame you for the accident. At the very minimum, it means that they will save money. It can even mean that they can avoid paying you altogether. Admitting any type of fault for the accident will do their work for them, and it will make it much easier for them to get out of the liability for the accident that they would otherwise have when their driver was really at fault for the accident.
You May Be Admitting Fault Even When You Do Not Realize It
You may even effectively admit fault through an offhand statement that you may make about the accident when you are not careful. When you talk about the accident to anyone, whether it is at the scene, or in the days afterwards, what you say can definitely be used against you. You may even make what you think is an innocent statement, but your words can get twisted and taken out of context and used against you when it is convenient for the insurance company. You may not even have intended to admit any fault for the accident, only to be surprised when your own words are used as evidence in your case.
When you say anything about the car accident, you may not have the complete information at your fingertips. You may know what you saw and perceived, but that may only be a part of the picture. There can be other evidence that you may only learn later in time after you have already made a statement that can have harmed your case.
You May Not Be in a Position to Speak About What Happened in the Car Accident
Further, it may take you some time to recover emotionally from the accident. You may not yet be able to process the events that have occurred, and you may not even yet have a complete recollection of what you have experienced. You can make a premature and offhand statement based on what you think may have happened at the time, before things have settled. However, you may find yourself bound by what you have said.
You never quite know when what you have said may be taken as an admission of fault. Once you have said something, you cannot take it back. Your words will effectively be on the record to be used when it is convenient for the insurance company. Even when you have other evidence clearly proving the negligence of another party, your own words can serve as a counterweight when it comes to any determination of liability. The same thing holds true whether this determination is made by a jury or an insurance company.
Your Words May Be Used Against You for the Rest of Your Case
Once you have admitted fault for the accident, it can be difficult to take back the statement you have made. If you do, you can be harming your own credibility in the eyes of the insurance company or the jury. Your credibility is everything when you testify in your case. If you are telling two conflicting stories, a jury may not know which story to believe, so they may disregard everything you say and not give anything credence.
The insurance company may try to speak with you in the days after the accident. It is more likely than not that you will get a call from the insurance adjuster who has been assigned to your case. They may want to have a friendly conversation where they try to learn more about the accident and your health condition. Make no mistake; as friendly as the insurance adjuster may seem, they have their own motives at work when they are talking to you.
Insurance Companies Use Tried and True Methods in Your Claim
The insurance adjuster has a playbook from which they operate. They are trained to elicit as much information as they can from you so they can use it on behalf of their employer. They may ask you questions about the accident to hear your version of the story. The insurance company may even ask you to give a statement on the record about the accident. They are really working to gain ways to undermine your case before you can even have the chance to file a claim. They are not your friend in any way. Nothing you can say to an insurance adjuster will persuade them to not only have their employer pay you, but to also compensate you for the full amount of your damages.
Instead of making any kind of statement or saying anything that can be an admission of fault, you can let the evidence in your case speak for itself. Your Austin, TX, car accident attorney will gather physical evidence that will be used to prove negligence, including statements from witnesses who saw the accident and pictures of the scene. A trusted car accident lawyer can build the case that you need to persuade the insurance company of their own driver’s liability. The evidence that your car accident attorney can assemble will be much more powerful than any words you can speak. In fact, your own words can be used to undercut this evidence.
Let a Car Accident Lawyer Do the Talking For You
The best way to avoid making any type of statement that can compromise your case is by not speaking to the insurance company at all. There is nothing that says that you have to talk directly to the insurance company. Even when they try to talk to you about the accident, you can politely decline their request.
You can avoid having to deal directly with the insurance company when you hire a car accident attorney to represent you in your case. The insurance company will be unable to approach you directly when you are represented by a car accident lawyer. Any request to talk to you will need to go through your car accident attorney. If the insurance company still tries to talk to you about the accident, you will only have to refer them to your lawyer. You can have the confidence that comes with knowing that you do not have to talk to the insurance company, and you do not have to worry about them trying to trick or trap you.
Your Austin car accident attorney can do all of the talking for you. Their most powerful statement will come when they file a claim for your accident injuries, which includes the evidence needed to prove that the other driver was negligent. The insurance company will not have any loose statements that they can use in your case to undermine your own claim. You can have peace of mind, knowing that you have someone in your corner who can make an effective presentation on your behalf. Trying to handle your case on your own can lead to unforced errors, possibly costing you a significant amount of money. A mistake can even cost you everything and lead to you not receiving any compensation at all.
You Take on No Financial Burden When You Hire a Car Accident Attorney
Money should not stand between you and the help you need from a car accident attorney. A lawyer never asks you to make a direct payment to them as a requirement for their legal representation. You do not have to pay a retainer or hourly bills in connection with your case. The only way that a car accident lawyer is paid is when you receive a settlement check or jury award for your injuries. Thus, you do not have to come up with any money early in your case, and you do not have to worry about finances when hiring a lawyer. The main thing you need to worry about is the other driver’s insurance company trying to compromise your case by using tricks and deception.
Hire an Austin, TX Car Accident Lawyer As Soon As You Can
It is vital that you not wait too long to hire a car accident attorney to represent you in the legal process. The longer you go without a car accident lawyer, the more at risk you are of being pressured by the insurance company. You can end up making a statement which can either overtly admit fault for the accident or be deemed as an admission of fault.
After a car accident, it's natural to feel overwhelmed and unsure of what steps to take next. One key step that you should never overlook is hiring an Austin car accident lawyer as soon as possible. When the insurance company sees that you do not have a car accident lawyer, they will view you as a target of opportunity. When they see that you have a car accident attorney representing you, they will back off and treat you differently because they know that they can be held accountable for their own conduct in your case.
You will not have to pay anything upfront to hire an Austin, TX personal injury attorney, and it can give you some protection from insurance company overreach, threatening your case. Don’t delay, call today.
