Posted on Friday, July 21st, 2017 at 4:31 pm
When a person is injured in a car accident, it can be a scary time because of the uncertainty of making a claim with an insurance company. If another driver caused the accident, the injured driver can make a claim for compensation against the person who caused the accident. However, the claims process can sometimes be intimidating. There are many questions that come up during the claims process, and an injured person may wonder what kind of information he or she has to hand over to prove his or her claim.
When a claim is filed with an insurance company or through a lawsuit, there will most likely be an investigation of the accident itself and an investigation into the nature and extent of the injuries the injured person claims he or she suffered. These investigations are approached differently. Depending on the kind of claim to be made, the investigation of the nature and extent of the injuries can feel like the most intrusive part of the investigation because it can involve the disclosure of personal medical information.
Once the injured person decides to seek compensation and starts a claim with an insurance company, the claim generally triggers an investigation of the claim. If the person is making a claim with his or her own insurance company, the investigation process may include sending the insurance company medical history documents to prove the injuries. In some cases, the insurance company may require the person to see a particular doctor chosen by the insurer for an evaluation.
If an injured person filed a lawsuit to seek compensation, there is a similar investigative process known as discovery. During discovery, there is a lot of information that is sent back and forth between each party in the lawsuit. This discovery process can include documents as well as depositions, in which questions are asked and answered in order to get information to use later in trial. However, discovery is limited to issues the court deems relevant to the lawsuit, and which are not privileged. Even if medical information is private, if it relates to the accident and the person’s injuries, it may be disclosed in discovery.
Ultimately, the court makes the final ruling in a personal injury case as to what kind of information has to be revealed in discovery. If the insurance company, or the at-fault driver, requests a lot of information, hoping to overwhelm the injured plaintiff into dropping the lawsuit to avoid complying with discovery, the plaintiff can ask the court to make a decision on what has to be turned over.
Contact Us for Legal Assistance
If you have been injured in a car accident, you may have a claim for compensation to cover your injuries. The investigative and discovery stages of the claims process can be long and difficult, but if you have an experienced personal injury attorney handling your claim, it can be less stressful and allow you time to heal. If you were injured in a car accident in Atlanta, Georgia, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C. for more information.