Georgia Car Accident Do's and Don'ts
Many of my clients tell me that in the early days after a serious collision, they are confused about their rights and duties. They ask themselves, should I talk to the insurance company for the driver that hit me? Who will pay for the damage to my car? How do I prove that the car accident was the other driver's fault? What can I recover for my injuries? What happens if the other Georgia driver does not have insurance?
What is medical payments insurance and do I have it? Here we will go over a few do's and don'ts for you..
Do's
1) Do Call your own insurance company and advise them of the collision. This will allow for smoother sailing with the property damage claim if the other insurer is denying coverage or liability, it will let you know if you have medical payments insurance under Georgia law and it will satisfy the notice provisions for the Georgia Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverages.
2) Do give a recorded statement to your own insurance company, with some caveats. They may want a recorded statement and you do owe them that under the contract for insurance. My advice is to tell them you will give them one shortly. If you have sustained a serious injury, call a Georgia car accident attorney first and make sure that you are comfortable before the statement. It is recorded, so you need to be cautious as they will sometimes put words in your mouth.
3) Do Bill all Medical Care to Your Health Insurer. If you went to the hospital, make sure that you provided them with your health insurance card and that they have billed your health insurance carrier. Many Atlanta Georgia hospitals and more rural hospitals are now trying to hold off on sending the bill to your health insurer as they are hoping to collect more that the health insurance contract amount by getting money out of your settlement.
Your health insurance company has bulk contracting leverage and has cheaper rates for the medical care you will be getting. If it is not run through your health insurance, you will be stuck paying a much larger bill in the end. They may be entitled to reimbursement under their contract, but you will still come out ahead.
4) Do Visit the Hospital or Your Family Doctor if you are injured. Delays in seeking medical help will be used against you by the insurance company down the road. If your family doctor refuses to see you because it stems from a car accident (as many do), then go to a neighborhood urgent care clinic so that a qualified and impartial medical doctor can see you.
5) Do take Photos of the Cars at the Scene and/or Later if Necessary. People do change their stories and you have to protect yourself.
6) Do call an Atlanta injury attorney soon after the collision if the injury is serious. There are major mistakes that you can make on your own and while it may not matter if the injury is minor, some errors can be irreversible.
7) Do Fire Your Georgia Lawyer if they are not returning calls or giving you solid customer service. This does not mean you should call them every day. It does mean that you should be treated with respect. In Georgia, you may fire your lawyer before the suit is filed and you will owe any costs they have paid out on your behalf and the value of the time they put into your case and that is all. If you have questions, feel free to call me and I will explain the concept of quantum meruit in detail.
Don'ts
1) Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to the other driver's insurance company. You do not have any duty to do so and it is an ambush waiting to happen.
2) Do Not Believe the Insurance Adjuster when they tell you to send them your medical bills and they will be paid. They will also request that you sign a HIPAA form to give them permission to go through all of your previous medical records. To put it bluntly there are never payments in Georgia from other driver's insurance company unless they are settling out the case once and for all. They do not make payments to your doctors and yet they let people believe this in the early going. You will have to follow the other pieces of advice I put on this page regarding getting your own medical care and in the early going it will come from your pocket unless you have health insurance.
3) Do Not Accept any Money or Sign Anything unless you are prepared to settle once and for all. The doctrine of accord and satisfaction holds you to deals where you accept money for a claim where there is language stating that it settles a dispute. Progressive Insurance is famous in Atlanta for driving up to the family soon after the accident and printing out a settlement check on the spot before the family even knows what the injury is.
4) Do Not Hire a Doctor, Lawyer or Chiropractor where their name comes to you from an uninvited phone call or visit after the accident. This is an illegal practice known as running. The lawyers and chiropractors that do this are breaking the law and they are the scum of the profession. They cannot get business through legitimate sources so they pay people to work in hospitals and to cull through Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Reports. They are the lowest of the low.
5) Do Not Treat with a Chiropractor on a Lien if you Have Health Insurance. It simply makes no economic sense as you will have to pay them out of your car accident settlement.
What is medical payments insurance and do I have it? Here we will go over a few do's and don'ts for you..
Do's
1) Do Call your own insurance company and advise them of the collision. This will allow for smoother sailing with the property damage claim if the other insurer is denying coverage or liability, it will let you know if you have medical payments insurance under Georgia law and it will satisfy the notice provisions for the Georgia Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverages.
2) Do give a recorded statement to your own insurance company, with some caveats. They may want a recorded statement and you do owe them that under the contract for insurance. My advice is to tell them you will give them one shortly. If you have sustained a serious injury, call a Georgia car accident attorney first and make sure that you are comfortable before the statement. It is recorded, so you need to be cautious as they will sometimes put words in your mouth.
3) Do Bill all Medical Care to Your Health Insurer. If you went to the hospital, make sure that you provided them with your health insurance card and that they have billed your health insurance carrier. Many Atlanta Georgia hospitals and more rural hospitals are now trying to hold off on sending the bill to your health insurer as they are hoping to collect more that the health insurance contract amount by getting money out of your settlement.
Your health insurance company has bulk contracting leverage and has cheaper rates for the medical care you will be getting. If it is not run through your health insurance, you will be stuck paying a much larger bill in the end. They may be entitled to reimbursement under their contract, but you will still come out ahead.
4) Do Visit the Hospital or Your Family Doctor if you are injured. Delays in seeking medical help will be used against you by the insurance company down the road. If your family doctor refuses to see you because it stems from a car accident (as many do), then go to a neighborhood urgent care clinic so that a qualified and impartial medical doctor can see you.
5) Do take Photos of the Cars at the Scene and/or Later if Necessary. People do change their stories and you have to protect yourself.
6) Do call an Atlanta injury attorney soon after the collision if the injury is serious. There are major mistakes that you can make on your own and while it may not matter if the injury is minor, some errors can be irreversible.
7) Do Fire Your Georgia Lawyer if they are not returning calls or giving you solid customer service. This does not mean you should call them every day. It does mean that you should be treated with respect. In Georgia, you may fire your lawyer before the suit is filed and you will owe any costs they have paid out on your behalf and the value of the time they put into your case and that is all. If you have questions, feel free to call me and I will explain the concept of quantum meruit in detail.
Don'ts
1) Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to the other driver's insurance company. You do not have any duty to do so and it is an ambush waiting to happen.
2) Do Not Believe the Insurance Adjuster when they tell you to send them your medical bills and they will be paid. They will also request that you sign a HIPAA form to give them permission to go through all of your previous medical records. To put it bluntly there are never payments in Georgia from other driver's insurance company unless they are settling out the case once and for all. They do not make payments to your doctors and yet they let people believe this in the early going. You will have to follow the other pieces of advice I put on this page regarding getting your own medical care and in the early going it will come from your pocket unless you have health insurance.
3) Do Not Accept any Money or Sign Anything unless you are prepared to settle once and for all. The doctrine of accord and satisfaction holds you to deals where you accept money for a claim where there is language stating that it settles a dispute. Progressive Insurance is famous in Atlanta for driving up to the family soon after the accident and printing out a settlement check on the spot before the family even knows what the injury is.
4) Do Not Hire a Doctor, Lawyer or Chiropractor where their name comes to you from an uninvited phone call or visit after the accident. This is an illegal practice known as running. The lawyers and chiropractors that do this are breaking the law and they are the scum of the profession. They cannot get business through legitimate sources so they pay people to work in hospitals and to cull through Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Reports. They are the lowest of the low.
5) Do Not Treat with a Chiropractor on a Lien if you Have Health Insurance. It simply makes no economic sense as you will have to pay them out of your car accident settlement.