Having a car accident is stressful, given the fact you have had a minor one without any health hazards and that you managed to save your life. A lot is going on after the accident that can put you in a tough spot.
Because of this and many other reasons people sometimes procrastinate a damage claim that has risen from a car accident. Some try to heal up, some are in hospital, some simply try to get as much info as possible to make a rock-solid case. There are plenty of reasons but there is also one thing you need to know, as far as the length of time you have to claim damage.
This case is not your typical one event is the same for all. This is something that is changed from case to case and you have to be mindful of your circumstances to make a successful claim. What we managed to find out is that you have two time periods that you shouldn’t mix up. One is a deadline for filing the claim with your car insurance, while the other is a potential lawsuit that has its deadline for filing. This all might be a bit confusing, but here we are today to talk you through this and to tell you that, if you require one, check out this car accident lawyer.
So, all of you are wondering what that time for filing a claim is, and we are going to tell you – within a reasonable time. Yes, we know this doesn’t make a lot of sense and it is a bit ambiguous, but we will try to clarify a bit.
Car insurance claim deadline is, basically, your time that has or should pass from the unfortunate event to the moment you file for the damages. You can do this by filing a claim with your insurance company or the insurance of the other accident participant. When it comes to filing for damages you can file for the damages to your car, to your health or both. Don’t let anyone try to persuade you that you can file for both at the same time. It sounds a bit harsh but there are insurance companies and lawyers that will try to discredit you and confuse you by leading you to the wrong path. You need to understand that the third-party car insurance company, or the one that represents the other party involved in the accident, is there to low-ball you as much as possible. They are in the business of making money not giving it away. They have a lot of tricks and a lot of lawyers who have the sole purpose of paying as little as possible.
Now to return to the damages claim deadline. As we already mentioned there are no strict rules or timelines. In most cases that have lawyers, courts and different companies involved you will see deadline going from one month to several years, depending on when the statute of limitations steps in. In this case you have to make a prompt claim or one that is issued in a reasonable time after the accident has happened. What does this mean?
This means that depending on your insurance, and the investigation that they have to undertake, you have from a few days to maybe a month, depending on the place you live.
You can also claim for damages after that period but you have to have a strong reason for that.
Now, as I already mentioned, this has a lot to do with your own insurance company and their rules for these things. I saw a lot of mistakes being made in minor damages. People usually tend to overlook the minor bumps and scratches on their vehicles and they do not claim damages immediately. Once they begin to be bothered with those, they try to claim but they are initial shot down by their own insurance company. Why is this so?
Well, the thing is that after a certain time frame passes, let’s say a month or two, it is really hard to assess the damage that you are claiming for. This is why they will, most likely pass on the claim and will not even investigate it. If there are claims where you have bigger damages, to your health and vehicle, there is a time frame that should, and usually is, respected and it is immediately after the one claiming for damages gathers all the information and medical documentation needed for the claim.
No matter what type of damages in the car accident you had it is always beneficial to start the claim as soon as possible. This will make it impossible for the insurance or any other party involved to deny or try to downplay anything that you put up as evidence of the accident. There are other reasons why you should do this ASAP as well and some of those are:
• Easier gathering of evidence that can be crucial to your claim and that can benefit you at the end. The longer you procrastinate the longer the key evidence is losing its credibility.
• Witnesses are also something you need to pay attention to. Memory is a strange thing and if your accident had any witnesses it is a good thing to claim for damages ASAP before the memory of those that should witness in your benefit fades away.
• Your memory is also important. Hours or days after the accident are always the clearest in your mind which is why good practice is to claim for damages, if possible, in that period. You will remember all the details that might end up as crucial at the end.
• Claim the damages sooner if you want to get paid sooner. This is a common-sense thing, and you need to know that these things often get dragged too long and you may end up waiting for your damages for a year or more, depending on the case. This is why the sooner you claim your damage the sooner you will end up with the money on your account.
In the end, we just want to say that all of you that have had these situations and that need to claim for any kind of damages after an accident, do not wait long and do not hesitate.
Find a good lawyer from this field and file the claim as soon as you can speed everything up, and not lose any details in the process.
