Car accidents are physically and emotionally exciting events, but not in the way starting a new job is exciting, winning a game, or riding a huge roller coaster is exciting. Instead, they can kick in your body’s adrenaline response, they can send your heart racing, they can make you breathe fast, they can cause you to shake, and they can impair your thinking and affect what you say.
It’s a fact, crashes are startling to the mind and body, which is why it’s so common for people to speak without thinking. With a body flooded with adrenaline, they’ll be quick to say, “Oh, I’m fine, I’m not hurt!” and “I’m so sorry, the accident was all my fault.” These are common mistakes that people make that can seriously hinder their personal injury claim.
For the purposes of this article, we’re going to address the latter statement where people admit fault for the crash – one of the worst things people can do that can kill their claim.
Admitting Fault Can Kill Your Claim
If you’re ever in a car accident, do NOT admit fault no matter what, even if it appears as if you’re at fault. Insurance companies are in the business of making profits and if another driver admits fault, they are very quick to jump on that statement and use it to their advantage.
Often, a driver will admit fault to the other driver, to the police, to the insurance adjuster, and by doing so, they’ve completely done themselves in and the accident may not be their fault at all.
No matter how you feel about an accident, don’t admit fault. There may be other forces at work that you’re completely unaware of that caused the crash. For example, perhaps you turned your head back to tell your kids to stop fighting in the backseat, but at that moment the other driver was texting on her phone and she blew through a stop sign and T-boned your car. You may “think,” you were to blame when in fact, she was deeply engaged in a text conversation and failed to stop at the stop sign, let alone slow down for a rolling stop.
When you talk to the other driver and the police, stick to the facts and never admit fault. Tell them what happened from your perspective, and nothing else.
Should I Talk to the Insurance Adjuster?
Usually, insurance adjusters will want to talk to you. Should you speak to them? No, it’s not in your best interests. What you should do is hire a personal injury attorney and let him or her handle all communications with the insurance adjuster. If you do end up speaking to one, again, do not admit fault. Just stick to the facts and don’t take any blame because if you do, we can almost guarantee it will come back to haunt you and can result in a devalued or denied claim, neither of which serves you in any way.
