So many emotions and thoughts are running through your mind right after a car accident. You are worrying about the health of all those people who are involved in the accident. You want to contact your family and friends to let them know what happened. From talking to police and ambulance workers to inspecting your vehicle for damage and gathering insurance information, the number of things that are happening at that moment can be overwhelming. The last thing on your mind is the possibility that you may end up in dealing with debt.
Ohio Car Accident Debt Is a Mounting Concern
Car accident debt varies from person to person based on a range of different factors:
- How much car damage there is
- Who was at fault
- Whether both parties have car insurance
- What’s covered by each person’s individual policy
- Medical injuries
- Seeking alternative transportation
- Lost wages if you can’t return to work
Most often, we think people who fall into car accident debt skipped out on obtaining car insurance or health insurance. However, this type of debt can happen to anyone even if you are covered. One of the stumbling blocks that you will encounter is coordinating your costs created by the car accident to what you believe the insurance company will pay when filing a claim. In this manner, you are trying to lower the amount of out-of-pocket expenses.
Insurance Claims Downsides
Sometimes insurance claims don’t go as smoothly as planned. It can take months for a claim to go through because it must be handled by multiple agents of the insurance agency, including the claims adjuster and the medical claims representative. By the time you receive compensation, it may be too late. If you needed medical procedures, the bill may not be paid because the insurance company is still going through the claim’s process. So the medical bill can be turned over for debt collection after the car accident.
Even if the claim is accepted, you may not get as much compensation as you expected. This may cause even more stress as you still have mortgage or rent, food, and transportation expenses that you still have to pay from your own bank account. If you are unable to return to your job immediately, and you don’t have an emergency fund that can cover your costs for the next few weeks or even months, you end up in a tough situation. You may sit there trying to decide on which bills have to be paid immediately, and which ones will have to go into default since you just don’t have enough money to pay for everything.
From having an insurance claim denied to not being paid properly or on time, a person who has experienced a car accident can end up waist-deep in debt.
Dealing with Car Accident Debt
The best way to deal with car accident debt is to start before the accident even occurs. Look over your insurance policy and get a clear picture of what will be covered for an accident. This strategy can help prepare you for what will happen during the claims process. Also, make sure you have an emergency fund in place so you can pay for medical bills and other expenses until you are compensated.
If an accident does occur, you need to have a plan of action in place to get a claim out as soon as possible. You want to provide complete medical and insurance information to all parties that need it to lower your chances of having a claim denied due to providing incorrect information.
Also consider getting in touch with legal representation, especially when there are doubts on who was involved with an accident. An experienced attorney can go over your insurance policy, claims and police reports to help you figure out your rights and what type of compensation you can obtain from the insurance company. During a time when so much is happening to you, you don’t want to come across any surprises that can force you to go into deeper debt.
Don’t let car accident debt collection scare you or cause you undue stress. Contact the Chris Wesner Law Office, LLC today for a consultation so we can inform you about your rights and what options are available to you.