Car accidents are stressful situations, and to help escalate the tension, many people will often apologize to the other people involved. Some people do so because they think they may have contributed to the accident occurring, while others may do so even if they don’t think it was their fault at all. Regardless of the situation, this isn’t a smart decision. Apologizing can have some serious ramifications on your case, particularly if other insurance companies get word that you did so.
Here are a few reasons why it’s smart to refrain from apologizing after an accident, even if you think you were completely at fault for it:
- Admission of fault: Insurance companies are in business to make money, and the more blame they can assign to other people and away from themselves, the more money they’ll make. Knowing this, it should come as little surprise that insurance companies will often try to twist apologies into admissions of fault. This is often far from the actual truth of your intentions, but that won’t stop them from trying.
- You don’t have all the facts: You may think your conduct caused or at least contributed to the cause of an accident, but there’s often more at play in an accident than you know about. These unknown factors can often be the real cause of your accident, but by apologizing and taking the blame for it, you may be dismissing those factors prematurely.
- Actions are more important: Figuring out who’s at fault for an accident should be second-priority when it comes to an accident scene. The first and most important thing that you should handle is making sure anyone who needs medical treatment gets the treatment they need. Attend to everybody in every car involved in the accident and call an ambulance for everyone who needs treatment.
- Know your rights: insurance companies like to try and take statements as soon as possible after an accident to try to capture as much detail as possible before anything’s lost to memory. Unfortunately they sometimes take things too soon, when the confusing whirlwind of everything that just happened is still a jumbled mess in your mind. Insurance companies love to talk to other parties at this point because they often get statements that are not all that clear and easy to twist in their favor. Know that you do not have to speak with them until after you’ve spoken to your own company and a Waterbury car accident attorney, and make sure you never apologize to them for your conduct.
It’s strongly advised you seek counsel from a skilled advocate who can fight for your rights and help you hold those responsible to account. Call the top-rated team at Fitzpatrick Santos Sousa Perugini, P.C. by dialing (203) 583-8299 to request a case evaluation!