5 Ways to Damage Your Personal Injury Claim

Your Personal Injury Claim and the Recovery or Settlement you can get from it is important to healing and moving past
your injuries. However, the actions you take can absolutely negatively affect the outcome of your claim, and at the
very least the amount of recovery or settlement you get. In this article, we are going to explore 5 different ways
that you can damage your personal injury claim. If you have any questions about your current claim or want to speak
to a St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer now, call or contact our
Firm. Our Personal Injury Lawyers don’t charge any fees for our consultations, and we never
charge any lawyers fees unless we win your claim.

Five Ways to Hurt your Personal Injury Claim

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It can be much easier than you think. When you’re hurt, and money is involved, insurance companies and businesses are
going to be following your actions and recording your words to try to limit your recovery. Everything you say and do
can be used for your benefit, or against you. For instance, any unprepared statement that you give to an insurance
agent can be used to limit your care or your settlement. Also, if you don’t get the proper care within a reasonable
amount of time, you may exceed the statutory limits for recovery that your state allows and lose your case entirely.
Listed below are 5 ways that you can seriously damage your personal injury claim. DO NOT DO THESE.

1. Unprepared Insurance Statement

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After an accident or injury, the insurance company is going to call you and want your version of the events. If you
aren’t prepared for this call, and if you haven’t thought out and rehearsed what you are going to say, there is a
chance you can damage your claim. Every word you use to describe the accident and everything that you forget to say
regarding the accident can affect your recovery, in a positive or negative way. If you tell the insurance agent or
shift manager that you can’t exactly remember what happened, they are going to fill in the blanks for you in a
manner that implicates you as being at fault, rather than the other party or a dangerous business practice.

So how do you keep this from happening? Prepare your statement. Sit down and write out what you want
to say. Prepare answers to a list of questions they may have. Stick to your statement. If you need help preparing a
statement for an insurance agent, or another agency that wants to record your response, our Personal Injury Lawyers in St. Louis can help. We’ve done this before, and we can guide
you on the correct steps to take.

2. Not getting the Medical Care you need in Time

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When you’re hurt, you need to go to the hospital or your doctor and get the care you need. Even if you can’t pay for
it right now, you need to do it. Your health is more important, and a personal injury settlement can always cover
all the costs that you’ve incurred while seeking the care you need. However, if you don’t immediately seek care, you
can jeopardize your ability to recover from the accident.

Here is an example. Let’s say you decided to tough it out and several months went by. You dealt with the pain as best
as you could, but then one day you’re injured again, somewhere else, and now you have two injuries instead of just
one. The insurance company or business you work for can say that the second injury caused your first one, and that
they aren’t responsible for an injury that occurs off of work property or work hours. In one fell swoop, you’ve
possibly destroyed your personal injury claim.

How do you stop this? Get medical care as soon as you are hurt. Go immediately to the hospital, see
a doctor or specialists, and get all of your medical care recorded and the doctor’s recommendations recorded. With
these facts and records on your side, the insurance company and your workplace won’t be able to deny your injuries.
Your health is important, and you should always promptly seek care after any accident. If you have any additional
questions about what you should do to seek the proper care, our Personal Injury Lawyers in St.
Louis are here to help. Give our Firm a call, we don’t charge any fees for our consultations, and we
don’t charge any lawyers fees unless we win your claim.

3. Lying during a Personal Injury Claim

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Lying is one of the easiest and fastest ways to destroy your Personal Injury Claim. If you lie about
how injured you are, how the accident happened, or the actions you took before or after the accident, you can
destroy your injury claim instantly. Lying will make any claim you bring forth untenable, and unbelievable.

Don’t LIE! You are the one that is hurt, you’re the one who has the most to lose and the most to
recover. Lying is not going to help you in the situation. Tell the truth. If you’re worried about not getting the
maximum settlement or recovery you need, prepare your statements ahead of time, and if you still aren’t confident,
our Personal Injury Lawyers in St. Louis can help you. We don’t charge any consultation fees, and
we don’t charge any lawyer fees unless we win your claim.

4. Not Accepting the Right Settlement

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Knowing when to accept the settlement the other side offers is as important as knowing whether or not you should
start the suit in the first place. A settlement that covers all of your injuries, your lost work wages, and gives
you additional money on top of that is typically going to be a good settlement. You have to make sure that it covers
ALL of your damages, and if you’re going to have lasting injuries, it also has to cover the costs to deal with those
injuries. If you get a settlement like this, and it takes care of all of your needs, the last thing you should do is
deny it outright. If you’re holding out for a better settlement because you want more money, either to punish the
company or because you just want more, you could be jeopardizing the success of your claim.

What is the right move in this situation? Knowing when to accept a settlement can be hard. Will your current injuries
cause issues in the future? Does the current settlement actually cover everything, and does it leave you with any
money left over after all of the bills are paid? If you aren’t sure about the settlement you are currently being
offered, or if you want to know if you should ask for more because of your injuries or because of lost work, our personal injury law firm in St. Louis can help. Our Injury Attorneys
have decades of experience helping those injured get the full settlements they need. We can do the same for you.

5. Accepting the Wrong Settlement

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This is the reverse of the above situation. You’re hurt, you have bills you can’t pay, and you are either missing
work or you’re out of a job because of injuries. You need money, and you need it fast. You take the first settlement
they offer because you need the money now. Unfortunately it doesn’t cover all of your needs, and actually leaves you
paying medical bills that you shouldn’t have to. You realize too late that your settlement should have been much,
much higher.

How do you keep this from happening? Collect all of your medical bills, your damages, and estimates either for what
the doctor says you need, how much continuing care will be, lost work wages, damages to your vehicle (if
applicable), and any other losses or damages you’ve had from the accident. Add all of those numbers together, and
that is the very least of any settlement that you should accept. However, you’ve been injured, through no fault of
your own, and you can seek a higher settlement. Remember, you didn’t ask to be injured, and you didn’t ask for your
life to fundamentally change. If you are unsure about how to proceed with a settlement, or if you want a personal
injury lawyer in St. Louis to give you advice about what you should do next, call
our Personal Injury Firm today. Our Personal Injury Lawyers don’t charge any
consultation fees, and we never charge our clients any fees unless we win their claims.

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

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