Overall car damage may harm your case depending on how the insurance company views it in regards to the severity of your accident. One of the common tactics insurance adjusters may use to devalue or deny a car accident claim is to create a connection between the severity of your vehicle damage and the severity of your injuries. Atlanta car accident attorneys can fight this unfair practice to help victims fight for what's fair.
Car Damage and Injury Severity
Two main situations where property damage matters to your claim are when there is little visible damage to your vehicle, or there are substantial damages to the point of serious repair or total loss.
If your vehicle sustained little or no property damage, the insurance adjuster may try to claim that your injuries couldn't possibly be too severe. The adjuster may try to say that since the vehicle sustained direct impact with the other vehicle or object, and there was little or no damage to the vehicle, your body must have been unharmed as well.
The absence of physical damage, whether to your vehicle or your body, is not grounds for dismissing a claim. Soft tissue damage and internal injuries are quite common in car accidents, no matter how minor the damage may be to the vehicle.
Car Damage & the Cause of the Accident
In cases where your vehicle sustains serious damage, you may want to wait on getting it repaired or considered a total loss. Keeping the vehicle as evidence could help demonstrate the cause of the accident. In serious cases, an accident reconstructionist may examine the vehicle and other aspects at the scene to recreate what caused the accident.
Further, if a vehicle defect is suspected of causing the accident, preserving it for examination is important. Talk to your Atlanta car accident attorney about preserving the automobile as evidence for your case.
Make Sure Your Car Accident Claim is Handled Properly
An Atlanta car accident attorney can help injured Georgia residents seek justice and fair compensation following serious auto accidents. Victims or their families may set up a consultation with a lawyer for help with a car accident claim, and to discuss how car damage may be factored into claim value or used to prove liability.