You’ve been in a car accident. You’re shaken up, your car might be damaged, and now your neck is killing you. If you end up being hurt in a car accident, you’ll want to file a claim with your insurance company to help with medical costs and other costs related to your accident. Unfortunately, if you experience whiplash from a car accident, your claim can be at risk of being rejected.
Whiplash can be a controversial injury that is mistakenly seen as false or malicious. If you’re suffering from whiplash and worried about submitting your claim to your insurance company, you need to be ready for the risks. Here are five reasons why your whiplash could get rejected.
- They’re hard to prove
Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues of the neck. It’s caused by your neck being forcibly moved backwards and then forwards, or vice versa. When this happens, the muscles, discs, nerves, and tendons in your neck can experience pain and shock. The problem is that traditional diagnostic scans like x-rays and MRIs don’t show soft tissue damage, which makes them very difficult to prove to an insurance company.
2. The symptoms vary widely
Not only can whiplash be hard to prove, it can also cause a wide variety of symptoms. This is something insurance companies don’t like, since it doesn’t fit a standard set of guidelines. Depending on the person’s age, pre-existing conditions and other conditions, whiplash can cause anything from low back pain, to shoulder spasms, to neck stiffness.
3. The insurance company thinks the injury could have been mitigated
If your insurance company believes that something could have been done to mitigate how serious the injury is, like seeking medical treatment or missing follow-up appointments, then they may claim that the injury was exacerbated by neglect and deny the claim. If you don’t get treatment right after your accident, your insurance may claim that the injury wasn’t very bad, or that your injury wasn’t even caused by the accident.
4. An incorrect or incomplete claim
It may seem ridiculous, but something as simple as a form not being filled out correctly could result in your claim being rejected. If you submit an incomplete form or incorrect information—even if it was by accident—that could cause your claim to be denied.
5. You have a pre-existing condition
If you have an old sports injury or have suffered an injury to your back or neck in the past, this could be enough for your insurance company to deny your claim.
How to have a successful whiplash claim
If you want to make sure your whiplash claim isn’t rejected, there are a few steps you can take. First, get in touch with the top car accident lawyers in Las Vegas so you don’t have to go it alone. Navigating the tricky waters of insurance and car accidents is something you’ll be grateful to have a skilled lawyer for. Also, avoid giving a recorded statement to your insurance company until you’ve talked to a lawyer. While insurance adjusters may seem friendly and approachable, the information they collect could be used against you.
You’ll also need to keep an eye on the time limit. You don’t have unlimited time to make a claim. After the date of knowledge, you’ll have three years to get compensated. That might seem like a long time, but if you sit on your claim for a long time, it could end up weakening your case.