A car accident can be a traumatizing and life-changing occurrence. Not only will you take a while to recover physically if you get injured but you will also have to grapple with mental and emotional distress. You also have to deal with policy issues to ensure that your insurance company does not stiff you.
In some cases, you might even have to involve a car accident lawyer in Los Angeles. Legal advice will help you get through tall the blockades you are bound to encounter as you try to collect from your insurance company. Insurance companies essentially make their money by pocketing uncollected premiums. So rejecting your claim is their top priority.
While you need to take some measures to ensure that you will get your compensation, these are the main areas covered by your accident insurance claim.
Medical Expenses
Your insurance cover should cover your medical expenses as well as third-party injuries depending on the policy you have. Medical expenses covered can range from outpatient premium all the way to inpatient charges and physiotherapy charges. You are going to need a lot of photographic evidence for your insurer, a comprehensive medical report from your doctor and copies of all x-rays and pharmacy stubs.
Lost Wages
Next, you will need to quantify any loss of income you may have incurred by being involved in the accident. This could be via loss of limbs necessary to work, mental incapacitation, loss of mobility ultimately leading to the loss of your source of income. These terms will be explicitly stated in your insurance policy agreement. You are going to need expert help to ensure you do not lose out when you present your case.
Property Damage
You need to get your car damage assessed to evaluate the amount of money needed to fix it. Be sure to capture as much of the damage as possible. Make sure you also have a report from the cops to enable you to process your compensation faster. You will also need to note if any other personal effects were damaged during the accident and catalog those damages as well.
Emotional Distress
Ideally, insurance is supposed to compensate you for all your pain and suffering experienced as a result of the accident. But this is where they try as much as possible to deny your claim. The reason being you need a recommendation document from a psychological expert. Most often they try to get out of paying you by claiming that you are faking your distress.
In conclusion, make sure you handle evidence conservation like a detective. Take as many photos as possible. Note down all the details of the accident and ensure that you get a copy of the police report as well as video evidence if you can.
