Don't Let Your Accident Damages Get Tangled In Mitigation

Posted on: 24 October 2022

Accidents can turn a victim's life into a chaotic mess. However, things will begin to return to normal after a few weeks, depending on the seriousness of the victim's injuries. You might expect to be paid by the other driver's insurer and believe that you are on your way to being finished with the accident situation. Then, the issue of mitigation comes up. Read on and find out what that means and how it can affect your case.

What is Mitigation?

Mitigation, in terms of personal injury issues, means that one or more party has negatively affected the case by their actions or inactions. When you mitigate, you reduce the negative outcomes. For instance, you can mitigate your chances of serious injury by wearing a seatbelt. If you are found to not have been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, you failed to mitigate the damages. You might have been more injured than you would have had you been by wearing one.

The insurer for the other driver looks for incidents of failure to mitigate because that can reduce the amount of compensation owed to the victim. Failure to wear a seatbelt is only one of several issues that could lead to a loss of compensation for the victim.

Other Ways Victims Fail to Mitigate

When victims make things worse, they place their case in jeopardy and potentially reduce their compensation.

For example, the victim could've previously been injured at work, in another vehicle accident, or suffering from a medical condition. This is known as preexisting condition mitigation, and it's a common problem with accidents. In some cases, the other side might request your medical records from the past. If your injuries were caused by the accident and cannot be blamed on any preexisting conditions, speak to a personal injury lawyer at once.

Another example could be that the victim's injuries were made worse because they failed to seek medical treatment after the accident. This is another common problem. If you are hurt, go to the doctor. If any injuries appear later, seek medical help, even if it's been weeks after the accident. You may not be covered for injuries if you don't seek medical care when you learn of them.

Fighting against a failure to mitigate a claim can be too challenging to do alone. Speak to an auto accident lawyer near you to learn more.

Share