How Embarrassment May Reduce Your Personal Injury Award

Embarrassment is an emotion you should leave at the door while starting negotiations for an injury settlement. Getting and acting embarrassed can easily derail your negotiation plans. Here are a few ways in which this can happen:

You May Not Describe the Accident Fully

If you are embarrassed, you may find it difficult to describe the moments leading up to the crash, the crash itself, and the moments after it. That would be unfortunate because only a candid and explicit description will get you the settlement you deserve. For example, you shouldn't omit how scared you were just before the crash or how you thought you were going to die. The moment the adjuster starts to suspect that you are editing your story is the moment they will think that you are hiding something, and that isn't good for your claim. Work with your personal injury lawyer to make sure your story is complete.

You May Belittle Your Pain

Getting embarrassed may also cause you to belittle your pain. This is bad because you need to be compensated for your pain, and describing your pain also allows the adjuster to understand the nature of your injuries. After all, severe injuries tend to be more painful than less severe ones; belittling your pain may make the adjuster think you aren't that hurt. Therefore, this isn't the time to act macho or prove how tough you are; get real with your pain. This includes both emotional and physical pain.

You May Omit the Accidents Effect on Your Personal Life

Accidents affect people in personal and intimate ways, some of which may be embarrassing to some people. For example, if you pelvic bone has been affected and you can't get intimate with your partner, you need to let the adjuster know about it because it should be added to your damages.

You May Feel Less Educated Than the Adjuster

The moment you start feeling inadequate is the moment you start handing the adjuster victory. To win any form of negotiation, you need to show that you are on the same level as the opposing party and you can give as good as you get. Therefore, even if you don't have a professional degree (which some adjusters have), you shouldn't be in awe of the adjusters understanding of the insurance industry and terms. In fact, if you don't understand something, don't be embarrassed to get the adjuster to explain it to you; that is their job and they won't lie to you directly.

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