What Should You Never do After a Car Accident?

If you are involved in a vehicle accident, there are various steps that you need to take to recover compensation for your losses. However, there are also various things that you should absolutely never do. Here, we want to discuss what you should not do after a car accident if you want to recover maximum compensation.

Not go to the Doctor

It is not uncommon for many individuals to skip going to the doctor after an injury occurs, but this is a huge mistake. Even if you do not feel much pain right after a vehicle accident, you need to be evaluated by a doctor who can look for any hidden injuries that have occurred. By going to the doctor right away, this lets the insurance carrier know that any injuries that you sustain likely occurred as a result of the vehicle accident.

Sign Over All Medical Records

It is not uncommon for individuals to simply sign any document put in front of them by the insurance carrier after a car accident occurs. Sometimes, this includes a medical record release authorization form with no dates written in. What happens here is that insurance carriers are looking to obtain your full medical history so they can look for pre-existing injuries that could explain your current pain and suffering. Always speak with your Denver accident attorney before signing over any medical records to insurance companies.

Take the First Settlement Offer

Insurance carriers are notorious for offering quick settlements that are far below what you should actually receive. These early settlements are tempting to take, often because individuals need compensation for their vehicle repair or medical bills that are already coming in.
Sometimes, the insurance carrier will make a settlement offer before anyone knows the full extent of the total expenses in the hopes that they can get away with paying less money overall. Once you sign a settlement offer, that is the end of the ball game. There will be no way to go back and recover more compensation if your injuries or property damage expenses are more than you thought.

Post on Social Media Platforms

You need to stay off social media after you are involved in a vehicle accident. It can be tempting to jump on to Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok to discuss what happened to you, but doing so could jeopardize your claim.
If you discuss the initial accident, your injuries, or your recovery process, you may slip up and say something that can be used against you by the insurance carrier. Additionally, even discussing things about your personal life and what you were doing day-to-day not related to the accident could be used against you by the insurance carrier or the at-fault party’s legal team. It is best to just stay off social media until after you have received your settlement.

Discontinue Medical Care

Many individuals discontinue medical care before their doctor says they should. Often, people do this because they feel fine and think they no longer need medical treatment. Please understand that if you stop seeing your doctor at any point while your claim is ongoing, this could result in the insurance carrier delaying compensation or even lowering the overall compensation amount. They could claim that you or not as seriously injured as you said you were initially.