Before you accept an early accident settlement

Transcript edited for clarity and readability. Watch the video for the original delivery.

Howdy, Phoenix. Jared from Impact Legal, a car accident attorney here in Arizona. I wanted to chat with you about making sure you don’t settle your case before you have received all the medical treatment you might need.

Something I see through my office quite a bit is people settling out their case. They’ll call in and say, “Hey, I think I got a bum deal. I just got this medical bill, and I’ve already settled my case for a thousand bucks,” or whatever it might be, “and this bill is ten thousand bucks.”

A lot of times, they’ve already settled it out. The insurance company has given them that money, they signed a release, and there’s really not a ton more that can be done. This is a common pitfall when it comes to accidents because the insurance company is going to be able to get in touch with you very quickly. They’re going to take advantage of that and try to put that cash in your pocket.

A better way to manage a case would be to seek that medical treatment as you need it, as quickly as possible and as close in time to the accident as possible. Get as much treatment as your body needs. Don’t sit there and be like, “Oh, I think I’m okay. It might be all right.” Get the treatment you need. Put yourself in the position you were in before the accident. Don’t go crazy, but do what’s reasonable.

Once you’ve gotten that medical treatment, assessed all that, talked to your doctors and you’re as good as you think you’re going to be, that’s the time to start talking and thinking about a settlement and sending something to the insurance company to let them know, “Your client has injured me, and I need some compensation for that and for this pain and suffering.”

I wanted to let you know that’s something I’m seeing. We see insurance companies jumping on the phone really fast, trying to get those settlements and that fast cash in your pocket. Avoid that at all costs. Get the treatment you need, and then talk to a lawyer, and we’ll help you get the compensation you deserve. Thank you so much. See you on the next one.