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Video Summary
In this video, attorney Clark Speaks offers essential guidance for individuals navigating the aftermath of a serious accident. He emphasizes that once initial medical needs are met, victims must pivot to gathering information and formulating a clear action plan to protect their interests. By sharing an anecdote about preparing his son to face a bully, Speaks illustrates how professional consultation builds the confidence necessary to confront intimidating insurance companies. He warns that failing to seek immediate medical assessment or providing recorded statements without legal advice can lead to denied claims. Ultimately, the source highlights that making informed decisions through legal help is the best way to secure fair compensation for lost wages and suffering.
Transcription of the Video
I’m Clark Speaks, the catastrophic injury lawyer. Welcome to The Verdict. Hello, my name is Carson Grace Tumer. I’m here with American injury lawyer Clark Speaks, and I just want to talk to you about—and kind of ask—this is your forte: what do you do after you’ve been in a serious accident and the dust settles a little bit?
To me, a highly important thing is after you’ve received the emergent medical treatment that you need and after you know you’ve seen the medical people that you need to see and you’re out of harm’s way, then I think the next thing is, you know, you’re at home trying to figure out what to do next. It is to gather information, to make a decision to act, and to make a decision to do something about the situation that you’re in and what it brings to mind.
I remember when my kids were little and they went to daycare… [Story about son Nicholas and a bully]. …I know that he felt better and more confident about the situation because we had thought about it; we had a plan. He was going to stand up for himself. He had gathered some information and thought about it, and he knew what his plan was.
…It’s also true that he was prepared either way. He was prepared because he had thought about it; he had spent some time thinking about it and asking the right questions, and he had consulted with someone who had helped him put together a plan.
I think it’s the same in this context. After an accident, people have certain problems: they have to receive medical treatment, they have to pay for it, they have car repair or car replacement they have to deal with, they have lost wages—maybe they’re out of work for a period of time—they might have future medical bills, they might have permanent impairment they’ve got to address, and they need to be compensated for their pain and suffering.
So they have questions: Do they need a lawyer at all? Should they receive medical treatment immediately or should they wait and see? Maybe they recover on their own. We’ve all had sports injuries. Do you go to the doctor every time you’ve had an injury? I most definitely do not. So it’s hard to know in this situation, should I go to the doctor?
In this situation, if you don’t go to the doctor, the insurance company is going to sit back quietly and let you make that mistake. Then, if it later turns out to be a substantial injury that you don’t heal from through time and rest, then they are not going to pay for it. So it is important to be assessed by a medical professional immediately if there’s a chance that you might be injured.
Another question that comes up is, should you give a recorded statement? Because the insurance adjuster is going to call you and say, “Hey, I heard you were in an accident, and we want to do the investigation and like to ask you some questions about it. Is now a good time?” The truth is, they have a completed accident report that’s five pages long that has every fact you can think of—the weather, the road condition, all these things.
What are they looking for? Why are they asking you this information when they have it in front of them? You need to know should you answer those questions or should you not. The thing to do, in my opinion, is to consult with a professional—someone that does this all the time, someone that does this for a living, someone that’s done it for hundreds of people over dozens of years.
They can help you answer these questions: Do you need a lawyer? What kind of lawyer do you need? Is this the right law firm? Is this the right fit? Is this the right process for me? Do I need to answer these questions? Do I need to give a recorded statement? Should I go to the doctor?
Most of the time we’ve ever made bad decisions, it’s because we had incomplete information or we had the wrong information. By asking questions and by gathering good information, then we can make good decisions—good decisions that are going to produce the ideal outcomes for ourselves and for our family going forward.
I think that’s what is important after an accident: to gather information from reliable professionals and make good decisions. That’s why we encourage people to call us. You don’t have to hire us; just call us and ask questions.