People who have been injured in car accidents often ask us what they should be doing to protect their rights. We asked David Greig, a personal injury lawyer and a partner at Greig Wilson & Rasmussen LLP to share what he tells clients who come to him for help. David has been handling personal injury claims for over 25 years and had this to say about what you should do following an accident:
- Report the incident to the police and the insurance company promptly. Your failure to do so may compromise any claim you might have. It’s particularly important to do that immediately if you’re injured in a “hit and run.”
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers handle motor vehicle cases and most offer free consultations. David is one of them and if you want to talk to him, he can be reached at (604) 583-7917, or by email at (dgreig@gwrlawyers.com) dgreig (at) gwrlawyers (dot) com. David frequently answers basic questions by phone and does not charge for that.
- Buy a cheap calendar, diary, or notebook from a local store. Make notes about the incident. Record the names of any witnesses, and details of the collision. Write down the names of doctors you’ve seen, and record your injuries, medications, and treatments. Keep it simple, but try to record the important stuff. If you’re still sore in 9 months, you won’t likely be able to remember the details.
- Follow the advice of your care-givers. If the doctor prescribes medication, take it, or tell your doctor that you can’t or won’t. If X-rays are ordered, get them done. If physiotherapy, chiropractic care, or RMT are recommended, go for it! Your failure to undertake appropriate treatment can come back to haunt you.
- Finally, never, ever settle unless you’ve obtained some legal advice about the value of your claim. If you sign a release and take the money, you’re “finished”. If you later discover that your case was worth three times what you settled for, it’s too late.
During his personal injury career David Greig notes he has had cases were clients have received reasonable offers from ICBC, and wanted to settle. In those cases he encouraged them to settle and in those circumstances, there were no legal fees and no delay. But how do you tell if an offer is reasonable? Advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer is invaluable if you want to be sure that a settlement offer you receive from ICBC is reasonable and it’s even more critical if it turns out the offer is not what it should be given the circumstances. Talking to a personal injury lawyer, like David Greig, will give you peace of mind that you are being fairly compensated and if it turns out you’re not….you’ve got someone on your side to help you with further negotiations or taking your case to trial.
Tags: car accident, claim, ICBC, ICBC claims process, injury, legal advice, personal injury
