#1 MISTAKE: Why your patients should not settle their claim before they’re done treating

QUESTION: What is the most important thing my patient should do before settling their personal injury claim?​

ANSWER: It’s critical for your patients’ recovery and for their personal injury claim not to settle before completing their medical treatment for the injuries from their car accident. As their medical provider, you can be of great support to your patient by helping to educate them on the personal injury claims process and the insurance company’s tactics to coerce people injured in an accident to settle their claim when they’re still undergoing treatment. You can also advise them to consult with a personal injury attorney for a no-fee, no obligation claim evaluation and guidance in how to protect themselves and their rights. You can also inform them they can cancel  their agreement to settle their claim within five business days.

Your patient settling their personal injury claim before they’re done treating is the number one mistake they can make concerning their car accident. 

While this may seem obvious to you as a medical provider, we see clients make this mistake all the time. The question is — how do you help your patients avoid this mistake?

How can you reduce the possibility of your patient settling their claim when they’re still treating with you?

An effective way to prevent this from happening is, during your first appointment with a patient who has been injured in a car accident, provide an overview of the personal injury claim process.

Explain some of the ways that insurance companies take advantage of people who have been in an auto accident and how they should respond to insurance adjusters. 

This will help your patients avoid pitfalls and mistakes.

In addition to the treatment you provide to your patients and helping them recover from their injuries, sharing information about what to do and not do when it comes to dealing with insurance companies will help ensure they get the medical treatment they need, while also protecting their personal injury claim.

We’ve developed a couple of resources for your patients that provide helpful information about protecting their rights and their personal injury claims.

10 Ways You Can Avoid Personal Injury Claim Mistakes

10 Things To Do If You’ve Been Injured in an Accident

Both of these resources advise not settling their personal injury claim until they’re done treating and medically stationary.

We’ve also written a brief article for your patients that provides more detailed information about why it’s critical in protecting their rights and their personal injury claim to not settle their case before they’re done treating.

It’s important to clearly say to your patients “if the insurance company adjuster tries to get you to settle your claim, you should not do that until you are done treating.” Emphasizing how important this is can mean the difference between your patient being able to complete their treatment with you or not.

If your patients has questions, concerns, or doubts, you can suggest that they talk with an experienced personal injury attorney. You can let them know there’s no fee or obligation to talk with a lawyer to get an evaluation of their claim, and that whether they end up hiring an attorney or not, during an initial meeting, they will get good advice and guidance on their personal injury claim and why they should not settle their claim until they’re done treating.

Did you know under Oregon law, if a case is settled within the first sixty days of the car accident happening, your patient can cancel the settlement as long as that happens within five business days of when they agreed to settle the claim?

So, if you find out that your patient settled their personal injury claim and it was just a couple of days earlier, and within the sixty-day time period from the date of the accident, you can advise them to contact a personal injury attorney immediately so that the settlement agreement they initially agreed to can be canceled. It’s important that your patient understands that once those five days have passed, there’s little that can be done about the settlement they agreed to. 

Having a system with your new patients who have been injured in a car accident where you can forewarn them about why they shouldn’t settle their case until they’re done treating will help protect them and ensure that they can continue to get the medical care they need to recover from their injuries.

We’re here to be a bridge of support for you and your patients.

We have developed a robust library of information for your patients who have been injured in an accident, which can be found in the INJURED? START HERE portal on our website.

There are 40 topic-focused articles, with accompanying videos, organized into the four categories that include the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often, which include:

• Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
• What You Need to Know About Your Claim
• How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
• How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam

Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.

Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.

Additionally, if it would be helpful to have the information we feature on our website available in your office to pass along to your patients, we’ve developed brochures for each of the four article series -- in both English and Spanish that we’re happy to send to your office. Please complete the form below and we’ll get them out to you promptly.