Insurance companies are notorious for doing anything they can to try to lessen how much coverage or compensation they provide auto accident victims. While the most common tactic is probably diverting liability wrongly onto the victim, it is also not unusual for an insurer to try to outright deny the victim has suffered any serious injury at all. In particular, if you are in a low speed accident, then you can be confident that the responding insurance company will express undue doubt about the extent of your injuries.
By pointing at the damage to a driver’s vehicle in a low speed accident, insurance companies try to extrapolate and speculate their physical injuries. For example, if there is only a small dent on a fender, then the driver should have only small injuries. This logic is inherently and obviously flawed, though. People are not cars.
A sudden jolt can cause severe injuries to a person’s vertebrae, which are sensitive portions of the spinal structure. Sitting in a car that is struck by another going at parking lot speeds can cause you to rock back and forth violently. This sudden motion is likely enough to harm your back to some extent. If you already have a preexisting back injury, significant and lasting injury is all the more likely.
In fact, whiplash is a common and serious injury in low speed auto accidents. The sudden shaking of your neck can cause whiplash, which causes symptoms like chronic pain, migraines, lack of concentration, insomnia, and so forth. As it can be seen, whiplash is a severe injury, yet it can occur in slow collisions.
An insurance company, possibly even your own, may try to diminish the amount of damages you deserve after an auto accident because it occurred at a low speed. Do not let them walk over you. If you have been hurt, you deserve care and compensation, no matter the details of your accident.
If an insurance company is trying to pay you less than you deserve for your damages, or you need damages beyond your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage, come to The Pittman Firm, P.A. When you have Florida Personal Injury Attorney Wes Pittman on your side, you have an experienced litigator who knows who to fight against insurance companies. He has been championing for the wrongfully injured for more than 30 years, securing millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients. Get a free case evaluation with his firm by calling (850) 764-0383 today.