You Need to Protect Your Rights in a Personal Injury Case

When you are involved in an accident, whether it is a slip, trip and fall accident, animal bite, motor vehicle accident, or other accident related injury, where another party was negligent and responsible for the accident and your injuries, it is important you protect your rights. It is not uncommon for the other party’s insurance company to contact you directly and want to start negotiating on a settlement.

Depending upon the type of accident, you may have originally contacted the police to file a report, as well as your own insurance company to start a property claim and initiate a personal injury claim against your own insurance policy. It is perfectly acceptable to do these things on your own. However, once you have completed the police report and filing a claim with your insurance company, the next thing you need to do is contact an accident injury lawyer in Toronto.

Why Contact a Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer?

There are several benefits you could receive by taking the time to discuss your personal injury accident with a qualified injury lawyer in Toronto. To illustrate how a lawyer can help, consider the following:

You are involved in a car accident and experience personal injuries. After you are released from hospital, you get a call from the other party’s insurance company. They want to speak to you about the accident, have you provide a statement, and work towards a settlement to take care of your medical bills. For most people, this sounds great that the other party’s insurance company is being so nice, helpful and friendly.

However, what you and many other people do not realize, is insurance companies have their own personal injury lawyers on retainer. All insurance companies want to settle for the least amount of money as possible. They are in business to make money, not pay it out. If they do have to make a payout for personal injuries, they want to pay out the least amount possible.

If they can get you to agree to a settlement to cover all of your current medical expenses, without regard for potential future medical expenses, then they have come out ahead. In addition, what many people do not know, is the amount being offered in the settlement by the insurance company could, and often is, significantly lower, than what you would otherwise be entitled to receive, had you retained your own Toronto personal injury lawyer.

Why You Should Not Speak to the Other Party’s Insurance Company

Anything you tell the other party’s insurance company, can and will be used against you later. Throughout their questioning of the events, one of their goals is to try to get you to admit you were at least partially at fault for the accident or that the impact was not so significant or that you injuries are minor in nature. If they are able to shift blame, then it can create doubt as to whether the person responsible for the accident was negligent.

It is worth mentioning that you do not have to speak to the other party’s insurance company. While they might seem like your new best friend, remember, their goal is to get you to say something they can use against you later or get you to settle for the least amount of money or imply that they are willing to settle your case and delay prospective settlement as much as possible and then ultimately deny your claim. Sometimes, they will resort to pressure and intimidation tactics to try and get you to talk or admit fault. You do not have to tolerate this type of treatment.

You have the legal right to hang up the phone. If they call back, simply do not answer the phone. Ideally, the best thing to do, should they call, is simply tell the insurance representative you are in the process of speaking to a personal injury lawyer in Toronto and you will have your lawyer contact them, and then hang up.

Then, pick up the phone and call Grillo Law in Toronto at 416-614-6000 for a free case evaluation and consultation appointment to discuss your personal injury accident in more detail. At Grillo Law, we will help protect your rights and ensure you receive the best legal advice during your confidential and private consultation.