Things I Would Never Do As A Personal Injury Attorney

Drive with state minimum coverage.
- State minimum insurance coverage is $30,000 per person/$60,000 per occurrence. In the event of serious injuries or lost wages, this is not nearly enough coverage if I have to make an Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claim. If possible, I would opt for Enhanced Uninsured/Underinsured coverage to make sure there are enough funds available for my injuries.
Drive without collision coverage.
- It may be tempting to waive collision coverage, but even when the other driver is clearly at fault, I do not want to wait on an insurance company to accept responsibility and fix my vehicle. It is much quicker and easier to go through my own insurance company for the damage to my vehicle and get my deductible reimbursed later.
Waive Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) coverage.
- PIP coverage is no fault coverage for lost wages and medical expenses. Whether I am at fault or the other driver is, I want to know that I have money available to cover my lost wages and medical expenses without waiting on a lawsuit to resolve.
Give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company.
- These statements aren’t to determine who is at fault, the other insurance company can ask their own driver what happened. The only reason the other insurance company wants these statements is to try and use it against you later.
Skip seeing a doctor.
- I’ve had too many clients who didn’t realize how hurt they actually were, or how long the “minor” neck pain would last. See a doctor and make sure there isn’t something more serious going on. An injury may seem minor, but the “minor” injuries are the ones that cause people to hold their neck years later and say “yeah, my neck just hasn’t been the same since that fender bender a few years ago.”