It can be a nightmare situation. You’ve been injured in an accident and are scrambling to collect the information necessary to file a claim. Or, if you’ve experienced a catastrophic injury, a loved one may be collecting this information on your behalf.
When it’s time to file a claim for your injuries and damages, you find out that the information provided to you has been falsified. Don’t give up hope—you still need and deserve help.
Whether your Pennsylvania car accident involved a car or a commercial truck, hiring a lawyer is the smart move for people who want to get help when they’ve been given false insurance information. A lawyer can help you track down the facts and get your claim filed, even if you were given false information.
If you’ve been given false information, here’s what you should do to make sure you can still file a claim for your damages.
Immediately Contact Your Own Insurance Company
In the absence of readily available, accurate insurance information from the other party in the accident, contact your own insurance carrier for help. If you have collision coverage, you can use it to pay for your own damages.
If the other party has insurance and your insurer discovers that they could be responsible for the damages, they may be able to file a subrogation claim against the other insurance company.
Document Everything
If you are still at the scene of the accident and are physically able to do so, document everything. Take down the names and phone numbers of eyewitnesses. Then, collect all insurance information from all parties involved and snap your own accident scene photographs.
Write down statements from all parties involved. Keep records and receipts of all hospital and medical visits, car repairs, and more.
Contact the Police
If a police report has been filed, contact the investigating officer to tell them that the insurance information provided by the other party was falsified. At this point, the police may want to take the lead on collecting accurate insurance information from the party, and they can provide it to you.
If a police report has not been filed, contact the police to file a report immediately, making them aware that the information you were given is not accurate.
Hire an Attorney
At this point, consider hiring an attorney to protect your interests and your ability to file a claim in a timely fashion. Hiring an attorney can ensure that you don’t miss deadlines and can also help put pressure on the opposing party to provide accurate information. If they do not want to release their insurance information, your attorney can send a demand letter and follow up with a suit if necessary.
Drivers who are parties to accidents are required by law to provide their name, address, registration, and proof of financial responsibility to other parties injured in their automobile accident.
A strong legal team can help identify this individual through their investigation, too. Lawyers are skilled at looking through evidence and requesting more (like security camera footage or black box data).
Although the police may perform an investigation, there’s a chance it could take longer or get pushed to the bottom of an officer’s inbox. Having an attorney represent you helps ensure you are taken seriously and get the information you need.
Next Steps
Once you’ve collected the insurance information you need, you can proceed with filing your claim. If you’ve hired an attorney, they’ll take care of filing the claim and collecting evidence to build your case.
Examples of evidence include:
- Dashcam videos and truck black box data recorders
- Police reports
- Eye witness statements
- Pictures and CCTV of the accident
- Documents related to medical bills and property damage
Collecting this information can be burdensome when coupled with responding to requests by insurers and police investigators. Having an attorney represent you allows you to rest and recover from your injuries without worrying about missing deadlines, forgetting paperwork, or leaving out evidence.
It’s also a good idea to contact the State Department of Insurance if you suspect that the falsified information you were given could be part of a greater insurance fraud or scheme. Your attorney can help you decide if that’s needed and can show you how to file a report.
Get the Representation You Need
Post-accident can be a vulnerable place to be. That can be true even if you are given the correct insurance information by the other parties involved in a collision. You don’t have to handle it alone. There are people out there who can help. A law firm, like Cohen, Feeley, Altemose & Rambo, have dedicated themselves to helping accident victims and their families.
When an accident attorney is representing you and has your best interests in mind, you can get the rest you need so you can heal from your injuries and recover your life.
Sources:
Subrogation in Insurance: What it Is and Why It’s Important | Investopedia.com
Section 3744.0 – Title 75 – VEHICLES | Pennsylvania General Assembly
demand letter | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
