It happened! They’ve run their vehicle into you, or maybe you’ve run into them. No matter. The collision left you unsettled. It’s upsetting, embarrassing, a sure inconvenience; and somehow, someway it’s going to cost you money and no doubt a lot of it. You’ve got to get your vehicle fixed, treat injuries, make up for lost wages, deal with the insurance company, and worry about your premiums going up. Your time, money, health, and future are clearly in jeopardy.
Was it just a matter of time?
Accidents are happening all over, every single day. Trucks are running into cars, cars into motorcycles, and vehicles into pedestrians. You’ve gone unscathed for a lot of years but now your number came up.
Accidents occur on public roadways, private parking lots, casino and hotel garages, driveways, in dealerships, and a myriad of other places, on both public and private properties. It’s like playing dodge ball with 3,000 pound cars and no out of bounds markers.
Insurance companies are in business to make a profit
Insurance companies spend millions of dollars a year to continually school and persuade the driving public about what to do when an accident occurs. That’s because they have a much-preferred sequence they’d like to see people follow. That sequence is designed to get insurance companies as actively involved as soon as possible after there have been accidents. Their goal is to control the situations as quickly as possible and from the very beginning and at every opportunity. That enables them to reduce their exposure, keep payouts as low as possible, and resolve situations quickly before they mushroom and become more involved.
Insurance companies have a definite “preferred pattern” they want to see people follow after accidents happen. Those patterns are often printed and carried with our proof of insurance cards. They are prominently displayed on their websites. Customers get direct mail pieces and personalized correspondence to remind them about what to do. Of all the phone numbers insurance companies ever published or displayed, the most prominent ones are for reporting accidents. When you go to their websites, claims reporting is prominently featured and real easy to find and use. This happens because of their carefully calculated and intended design.
Overall their advice is functional, but it’s missing the most important step
After an accident the typical insurance company guidance reads as follows:
- Check yourself and others for injuries
- Summon emergency services in the event of severe injuries or death
- When advisable move vehicles and passengers out of harm’s way to stay safe
- Contact the police
- Exchange IDs and insurance information
- Take photos, videos, and witness statements and gather their contact information
- Contact your insurance company and report the accident
- Report the accident to your state’s DMV
But something really big is missing from the list
Where is “contact an attorney”? Insurance companies keep “get a lawyer” off their lists because that is for your advantage, not theirs, and they know it.
It does not exist in their world, and it should! It should be on every one of their lists. They have their attorneys. They have their payout tables that show averages for the damages and medical treatments you must endure. They have preferred or “certified” repair shops they send you to. They have preferred medical personnel and facilities they want you to see.
What do you have? Good faith. Good faith that the same insurance company who:
- Keeps ratcheting up your premium payments year after year
- The ones who remind you not to be tardy in paying
- The ones who track your tickets and driver’s license points like you’re a felon
That insurance company, who proves they are all about you all the time, NOT!
You’re keeping good faith in them for fair treatment and outcome?! You’re quite possibly about to go against their army of veterans who serve every day in the trenches of “accident wars” and you’re doing it with no representation! On top of that you probably already did what they trained you to do and reported the accident to your insurance company, allowing them to get ahead, move first, and seize any initiative.
They have already started documentation on you. They have recordings and statements. You’re on the record with information about what you said happened. And they’ve played you from the very start when they first asked “Are you okay? Was anyone else hurt?” Because that’s when most people’s immediate responses are: “I’m fine.” During the adrenaline rush of accidents victims often feel fine until later when they have settled back into normal states and injuries and damages present themselves.
“Contact an attorney” has to be on your list
Put “contact an attorney” on your “what to do in case of an accident” list and move it up near the top! Did you know an attorney can actually report the accident to your insurance company for you? They can also contact the DMV on your behalf. Why risk missteps and errors when you could have proven accident response professionals working on your behalf from day one?! And if you have already reported an accident, no problem. A good personal injury lawyer like Chichyan Law will gather up the loose strings and frustrating tasks you’ve been dealing with and proceed ahead to your good benefit.
Morris Chichyan is a solid, well-schooled, highly experienced attorney. He doesn’t hide behind celebrity status and Hollywood imaging. When you call Morris Chichyan you talk to Morris, not some associate attorney or some call screener more interested in immediately evaluating the weight of your case than the merits.
And here’s what is really nice. Besides your initial consultation being free, you pay no legal fees until and when at such time that your case settles.
Avoid celebr-attorneys and contact Morris Chichyan today for a free, no obligation evaluation of your situation.
