What Common Obstacles Do People Face When Pursuing Compensation for Whiplash Injuries?

Drivers and their passengers frequently suffer whiplash injuries in rear-end car accidents. Even if there is a presumption of liability in a rear-end car accident, it is far from the end of the story when it comes to pursuing compensation. The real challenges occur when you are trying to negotiate the actual amount with the insurance company. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your legal rights is to contact an experienced car accident lawyer who can handle your case.

Disbelieving Insurance Companies Questioning Your Injuries

Whiplash is a very common car accident injury that occurs in rear-end crashes. Many car accident victims will claim that they have whiplash. Do not let the fact that whiplash is common make you believe that it is minor. However, the insurance company will take that approach when they respond to your claim.

Many of the symptoms that you report are your own experience. They may not be clearly apparent on an objective test like an MRI. You cannot expect the insurance company to take your word for anything, especially when it means that they may have to write a check. They will be very skeptical of any claim that you make, and you can expect them to challenge what you describe as the scope and extent of your injuries at every turn. This is just the way that insurance companies handle car accident claims.

Challenges Proving Causation

Whiplash often presents itself like many other types of head and neck injuries. In addition, you do not often begin to experience symptoms right after the car accident. You may feel a dull pain in your neck or back in the days after the accident.

As a car accident victim, you have a legal obligation to prove that the other driver’s actions were the cause of your injury. If your symptoms began to manifest themselves weeks after the accident, the insurance company may claim that you were suffering from another type of injury that is unrelated to the car accident. You would need to prove that there is a connection between the accident and your injury.

Lowball Settlement Offers

You can expect an extensive negotiation process before you get the money you deserve. Along the way, you may need to work to persuade the insurance company how badly hurt you are. Then, you would need to field settlement offers that do not come close to paying you what you deserve.

You would reject any offer that does not fairly pay you. Negotiation means you would counter the insurance company’s low offer with a higher counteroffer. Eventually, you and the insurance company would meet somewhere in the middle. Still, their propensity for making clothes settlement offers will prolong the time until you get your settlement check.

Even though liability may not always be in question in an accident that results in whiplash injuries, you should still hire an experienced attorney to handle your claim. There is a large difference in the amount of money you could get when you have a fighter in your corner versus when trying to deal with the insurance company on your own. A whiplash injury attorney would estimate the value of your claim, and they would fight the insurance company to maximize the value of your case.

Contact the New Jersey Whiplash Injury Lawyers at Kitrick, McWeeney & Wells, LLC

If you have been injured in an accident, the New Jersey whiplash injury lawyers at Kitrick, McWeeney & Wells, LLC stand ready to fight for you. Schedule a free consultation by calling us at 732-920-8383 or contacting us online. Our offices are in Manasquan and Brick, New Jersey, and we serve clients in Middlesex County, Atlantic County, Mercer County, Monmouth County, and Ocean County.