After you have been injured in a car accident, you might find yourself overwhelmed, and it is easy to make mistakes that can end up hurting your case. For example, the insurance provider of the other driver might ask you to make a recorded statement. This is always a bad decision, and you should instead speak immediately with a personal injury attorney.

You Do Not Have to Make a Recorded Statement

You can ignore an insurance provider's request that you make a recorded statement. They will often try to sound friendly and professional in order to encourage you to make a statement. Some claimants have chosen to make recorded statements as a way to expedite the claim, but there is no legal purpose for making a recorded statement, and it can simply be too risky. 

When the adjuster is conducting an investigation, they will take your statement, the statements made by witnesses, the police report, and any incident reports and use all of this as a way to determine what happened. If there are any discrepancies between what you said and the statement made by a witness, this might be used to call your claim into question. 

You might have made a mistake, especially if you were tired, confused, angry, or in pain when you made your statement. Instead of giving a statement, you should speak with a personal injury attorney to find out the best course of action for you.

How an Adjuster Might Trick You

When an adjuster asks you how you are doing, you may accidentally say that you're fine. This can be misinterpreted as an admission that you are not injured when you may have simply made that statement out of habit. Even if you believe you are not very injured, you may later discover that your injuries are worse than you realized.

What to Provide the Insurance Adjuster Instead

With the help of an attorney, you will want to provide medical records that prove that you were injured. You will also want to compose a demand letter for payment for your injuries. To compose a demand letter, both you and your attorney will want to calculate the damages you have suffered. 

Do not downplay the damages you have suffered because you will want to maximize your settlement no matter what. After you have accepted a settlement, you will not be allowed to pursue any further damages.