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- Perry Car Accident Injury Attorneys
- Phone: 641-792-3595
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Iowa's statute of limitations gives injured accident victims up to two years after the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. That window may sound generous, but the mistakes that sink a car accident claim almost always happen in the very early stages, before most people have even thought about hiring an attorney. Understanding what to do and what to avoid from the very beginning is essential to giving your case every advantage possible.
Five Critical Secrets to Protecting Your Iowa Car Accident Claim
Regardless of whether you ultimately decide to hire an attorney to represent you, the following five points are critical to receiving a fair and just settlement for your injuries after a car, truck, or motorcycle accident in Iowa.
1. Tell Your Doctor Everything That Hurts
One of the most important pieces of evidence in any car accident claim is a complete and accurate medical record. Your doctor is required to keep detailed records that include your description of how you were injured, your physical complaints, the examination findings, and all treatment you received. Insurance companies base their settlement offers heavily on this information. If you fail to tell your doctor about every symptom or area of pain, it will not be treated properly, and no one outside of your own experience will know about it.
If you begin to report a new problem weeks or even months after the accident, the insurance company will argue that the issue was not caused by the crash and will use that gap to reduce their offer. Be thorough and honest with your medical providers from the very first visit, and continue to report any new or worsening symptoms at every appointment.
2. Follow Your Doctor's Orders Without Exception
If your doctor recommends physical therapy three times a week and you only attend once a week, you are handing the insurance company a powerful argument against you. Adjusters routinely argue that a claimant could not have been truly injured if they did not follow their own doctor's treatment recommendations. Even when you are feeling better, continue to attend all scheduled appointments, take prescribed medications, and complete all recommended therapy. Following your doctor's orders is not just good for your health, it is critical to the integrity of your claim.
3. Keep a Diary to Document Your Injuries
Very few accident victims think to write down how they are feeling on a day-to-day basis, and that is a missed opportunity. A personal diary that records your symptoms, your pain levels, your limitations, and how the injury has affected your ability to function at home and at work can be extremely valuable evidence. It provides an accurate, contemporaneous account of your recovery that is difficult for an insurance company to dispute. A well-kept diary can directly contribute to a higher valuation of your claim.
4. Keep All Documentation Related to Missed Work
Lost wages are a recoverable component of most Iowa car accident claims, but only if you can document them properly. Keep copies of all doctor's notes excusing you from work, and maintain a careful record of every day and every appointment that required you to miss time on the job. This documentation needs to be organized and preserved from the very start, not reconstructed from memory months later when your case reaches the negotiation stage.
5. Be Careful What You Say and to Whom
The insurance company and their attorneys will use anything and everything you tell them against you. This applies to recorded statements, casual conversations with adjusters, and even what you post on social media. Insurance companies may monitor your accounts and use a status update such as "feeling good today" as evidence that your injuries were not severe. Do not discuss the details of your accident or your injuries with anyone before speaking with an attorney, and be extremely cautious about what you share online throughout the claims process. And no matter what, do not lie. Even a small misstatement can permanently damage your credibility and your case.
Iowa Insurance Claims: Six Things to Do and Six Traps to Avoid
An insurance settlement depends on the strength of the claim behind it. Here is what experienced Perry car accident attorneys advise their clients to do and avoid from the moment after an accident occurs.
Six Actions That Benefit Your Iowa Insurance Claim
- Contact an attorney as soon as you decide to file a claim. The sooner a lawyer gets familiar with your case, the sooner they can prepare it for negotiations or trial and work toward a fair outcome on your behalf.
- Report the accident to your insurance company promptly. An accident that goes unreported for too long can lose credibility, and Iowa's statute of limitations only permits a lawsuit to be filed within two years of the injury date.
- Collect all available evidence at the scene. Take photographs of the vehicles, any injured parties, damaged property, and the weather and road conditions. Make sure police were contacted so an official report is created, and gather contact information from any witnesses.
- Seek medical attention even if you feel fine. Injuries like whiplash can take several days to fully manifest. Getting checked out by a doctor shortly after the accident creates a medical record that connects your injuries to the crash.
- Keep organized records of all communications. Every letter, email, or phone call from the insurance company, your healthcare providers, your employer, or any other party related to your injury or treatment should be saved and filed in an organized manner.
- Continue to follow all of your doctor's treatment recommendations. Complete all prescribed medications, physical therapy sessions, and follow-up appointments, even when you start to feel better.
Six Actions That Can Damage Your Iowa Insurance Claim
- Do not speak to anyone about the accident before consulting an attorney. Insurance companies frequently attempt to get claimants to give a recorded statement immediately after reporting the accident. Their goal is to get you to admit some degree of fault or downplay the severity of your injuries and damages.
- Do not destroy any evidence connected to the accident. Preserve the damaged vehicle, the clothing you were wearing at the time of the crash, and any other physical items that could be relevant to proving your claim.
- Do not discuss the accident on social media. Insurers can and do monitor claimants' accounts and use posts as evidence that injuries are less serious than claimed.
- Do not delay getting a medical evaluation. If you wait to see a doctor and an injury is later diagnosed, the insurance company will argue it was not caused by the accident and may exclude it from any settlement consideration.
- Do not sign any paperwork from the insurance company without attorney review. A medical release, for example, could give the insurer access to your entire prior medical history, which they may use to argue that your injuries are pre-existing rather than accident-related.
- Do not accept the first settlement offer. Initial offers from insurance companies are almost always lower than what a claim is actually worth. Work with an attorney to fully evaluate the value of your case before agreeing to any settlement.
Broken Bones After a Car Accident: What Iowa Drivers Need to Understand
Suffering a broken bone in a car accident, whether it is your arm, leg, back, hand, or neck, makes an already overwhelming situation even more serious. The long-term consequences of fractures can include extended time out of work, surgical procedures, and prolonged rehabilitation. Knowing how to handle the financial side of a broken bone injury claim is just as important as the medical side.
Do Not Rush Into a Settlement
A common tactic used by insurance companies after a crash is to approach injured victims with a settlement offer very quickly, before those victims fully understand the extent of their injuries or the true cost of their recovery. Do not consider discussing a settlement with the other driver's insurance company until you are out of the hospital and have completed treatment for your injuries. Accepting a premature offer and signing settlement documents locks you into that amount and could leave you responsible for paying your entire medical bill recovery back to your health insurer through subrogation.
Subrogation is a provision found in virtually all health insurance policies that requires you to reimburse your health insurer from any recovery you receive from a third party. However, if your health insurance plan is not a self-funded ERISA plan, Iowa law can offer some protection: if you do not achieve a full financial recovery, your health insurance company is also not permitted to make a full financial recovery. If you work for a company with 500 or more employees, your plan may well be a self-funded ERISA plan, which means federal law governs and the stakes of settling without legal guidance are even higher.
Use Your Health Insurance, Not the Other Driver's Insurer, for Medical Bills
Many Iowans injured in auto accidents assume they should have their hospital and medical providers bill the other driver's insurance company directly. This is a mistake. The other driver's insurer is not required to pay your medical bills as they are incurred, and sending your bills to them is often an insurance company tactic designed to create financial pressure on you to settle quickly once those bills start going unpaid and collections calls begin.
If you have health insurance, provide that information to all of your medical providers and ask them to bill your health insurer. Some hospitals and providers may tell you they cannot bill health insurance when an auto accident is involved. That is not accurate. Providers sometimes take this position because they would prefer to collect the full billed amount rather than the lower contractual rate they previously agreed to accept from your health insurer. For example, a hospital might bill $50,000 for treatment of your broken bones but have a contractual agreement with your insurer to accept closer to $10,000 as full payment. The difference matters greatly, especially in cases involving Iowa's minimum car insurance liability coverage of only $20,000, where a lower medical bill total can mean more money actually reaches your pocket after subrogation is resolved.
Understanding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If you purchased a car insurance policy in Iowa, there is a good chance you have uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage available to you. UM coverage compensates you for personal injuries, medical bills, and lost wages up to your policy limit if the other driver carried no insurance at all. UIM coverage provides compensation when your injuries and damages exceed the other driver's coverage limits.
For example, if you suffered broken bones that required surgery and your health insurance paid $25,000 toward your medical care, but the at-fault driver only carried a $20,000 policy limit, a UIM claim against your own insurer could help you recover your full damages. Keep in mind that bringing a UIM claim comes with specific legal requirements, including obtaining your own insurance company's approval before settling with the other driver's insurer. An experienced Perry car accident attorney can help you navigate these requirements and make sure you do not inadvertently waive any coverage you are entitled to use.
Medical Payments Coverage: When and How to Use It
If your auto policy includes medical payments coverage, the best strategy is generally to wait and use this coverage for your co-pays and deductibles after your health insurance has paid your primary medical bills. Medical payments coverage typically ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on how much was purchased. Some medical providers and health insurers may push you to use your medical payments coverage first, but this is often not the most advantageous approach. An attorney can advise you on the optimal order in which to deploy your available coverage to maximize your net recovery.
Seeking Legal Assistance in Perry
Seeking legal counsel from experienced Perry Iowa car accident attorneys such as those at Walker, Billingsley & Bair can provide invaluable support in filing insurance claims or pursuing personal injury lawsuits. With a comprehensive understanding of Iowa law, their team can help gather evidence, establish liability, and secure the compensation deserved by accident victims.
Suffering from the aftermath of a car accident shouldn't impede your pursuit of justice and fair compensation. The Iowa injury lawyers at Walker, Billingsley & Bair work hard to level the field between injured Iowans and insurance companies.
That's why we provide this FREE book; The Legal Insider's Guide to Iowa Car Accidents: 7 Secrets to Not Wreck Your Case. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa injury claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation. Call 641-792-3595 to order your free accident book today.