You Need Hard Copies To Negotiate a Wisconsin Car Accident Settlement

Whether, after a serious car crash in Wisconsin, you seek to obtain a fair settlement with the defendant's insurance company through negotiation or through litigation in court, you can already be sure of one thing: Every step will involve written and printed documents, letters, e-mails, declarations and photocopies, and during the entire process you will need to keep your files in order.

No matter what information you exchange with the defendant on the telephone or in a personal conversation, if it's not on paper, it does not exist.

Do not rely on anything the insurance company tells you unless you have received their written confirmation of what they said. During such verbal exchanges, take notes and ask the other party to agree on your interpretation of the conversation. If, after some time, you have not received a written confirmation, you can bring them under pressure by sending a letter on your own referring to their verbal statements and saying that, if not contested by a certain date, you will consider the terms as accepted by them.

Two files are especially important to your case: the accident file - describing the circumstances of the crash and establishing the other party's fault - and your medical file.

In the accident file, you should keep:

• Witness statements
• Police reports
• Pictures and other on-the-scene evidence
• Expert reports
• Statements from the other party

Your medical file must include a paper copy of every doctor's appointment, statement and prescription, pictures of injuries and scans, medical bills and in general all paper documents attesting to the description of your injuries and their treatment.

If you have been hurt in a Wisconsin or Illinois car, truck or motorcycle accident, contact the attorneys of Hupy & Abraham, S.C. today at 800-800-5676 (toll-free) or 414-223-4800 (local) for a free evaluation of your case, or send us an e-mail with your questions. Hupy & Abraham has lawyer offices in Milwaukee, Madison, and Appleton in Wisconsin, and Gurnee and Bloomington in Illinois.