You Have The Right To Remain Silent – And You Probably Should

It’s a Tuesday morning, you’ve had your cup of coffee and are on your way to work, and, through no fault of your own, you are involved in an automobile accident. As your car comes to a rest, you are most likely confused, perhaps a bit dazed, and the adrenaline surge has left you just as quickly as it arrived. Other motorists have begun to stop and ask you if you are alright. And, within a brief period of time, the police arrive to investigate the crash.

Right now, at perhaps the worst possible moment for you, your right to pursue a personal injury claim for the injuries you have sustained could be in serious danger. You are about to be put through a series of different people questioning you about the collision and the injuries which you may have suffered, whether it is the other driver, other motorists who may have stopped, the investigating police officer, or, eventually, the other driver’s insurance claims adjuster. And the statements that you make to any of them could cause serious damage to your case.

Your Injuries May Not Be Immediately Apparent

Because of the physical forces that are involved in car crashes, by far, the most common injury that motorists sustain are soft tissue injuries – strains of ligaments, tendons and connective tissue, usually of the neck and back. Physicians and physical therapists will almost universally agree that you may have experienced one of these soft tissue injuries in the crash, yet you feel nothing at the scene of the accident. It may be only during that night, or the next day or two, that your neck or back begins to stiffen and you begin to feel the pain. Yet, you have everyone, first at the accident scene, and then later, pressing you for the details of your injuries.

At the collision site, even if you don’t then feel any aches or pains, you should never adopt an unequivocal stance that you have not been hurt. Doing so will only serve to cast some doubt at trial about the validity or severity of your injury claim if you later do begin to experience pain. Instead, you should politely thank the motorists for stopping, but you don’t need to answer their inquiries about the nature or severity of any possible injuries.

And, when approached by the other driver (who caused the collision) who wants to talk with you about the collision, resist the urge to engage in argument. It wins you nothing to do so, and later, at trial, hearing the other driver describe to the jurors that nasty conversation will cause you much embarrassment and can give the jury the idea that you are a bully or a hothead. And that’s not good for your case.

Do You Talk To The Investigating Police Officer?

Where an accident involves bodily injury to any driver or passenger, law enforcement officers will conduct an accident investigation and later prepare an investigation report. As a part of their investigation, the police will want to talk with you since you may be the best witness to the collision and its causes. Should you answer the officer’s questions? Yes, answer honestly. However, your answers should be concise and you should only answer the specific question asked. And, do not under any circumstance admit any fault in causing the accident. Fault is something that judges and juries decide – not you, who has just been shaken up in a collision and who doesn’t yet have a full picture of the entire incident.

And, importantly, do not unequivocally deny to the officer that you suffered any injury. Instead, when the officer asks if you were injured, if you don’t yet feel any aches or pains, you simply tell the officer that it is too early for you to say for sure. Then, leave it at that.

“May I Record Your Statement?”

After the collision, the other driver will report the crash to his or her insurance company. The insurer will then assign the claim to one of its adjusters. Understand a very important concept: The job of that adjuster is to protect the company’s money. It is not to try to help you.

The adjuster may well call you at home or work to ask you about the details of the collision or your injuries. The adjuster will quite likely even ask to record your statement about the crash. Don’t. Just don’t. Fight your natural tendency to be helpful. You have absolutely no obligation to submit to the adjuster’s interview. And, trust me, the interview which you provide the adjuster will not be so convincing that the adjuster will want to immediately write you a check for your medical bills and provide you a rental car. That interview will be used for the purpose of trying to see if you will make an admission about the cause of the collision or about your injuries that can be used against you later on during an arbitration or trial of your injury claim. You should graciously decline the request to be interviewed and advise the adjuster that your attorney will contact her to discuss the claim.

If you do submit to such an interview, and you unwittingly make a statement which suggests that your own driving may have been a cause of the collision, or that you weren’t really significantly injured, you have just harmed your case. You will hear that statement (called an “admission”) repeated to you during your deposition, and later during your trial or arbitration.

I recommend to my clients that they allow me, as their attorney, to talk with the insurance adjuster. An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to give the adjuster the information that he or she needs to do her job in establishing the appropriate monetary reserves for the case, but which steers clear of making statements that can harm your case.

Once your lawsuit is filed, almost invariably, the defense attorney will ask to take your deposition. (A deposition is an opportunity for the lawyer to ask you questions about the accident and your injuries while you are under oath.) The transcript of the deposition will be used at trial by the insurance company’s attorney to try to show the jury that you are confused in your recollection of the events, or, worse yet, that you are not telling the truth. Under most circumstances, you must submit to a deposition. But, you will be accompanied to the deposition by your attorney who can raise appropriate objections to questions, or even instruct you to not answer certain inappropriate questions, if the circumstances warrant it. In other words, there is some degree of protection for you in that process.

So, if the insurance defense lawyer will always have the chance to ask you questions during a deposition, then why should you create an additional opportunity for possible misstatements by your providing the adjuster a recorded interview shortly after the collision? That’s right; you shouldn’t. Instead, opt to remain silent.

What You Should and Shouldn’t Do

In short, if involved in a collision, you need not, and should not, talk with other motorists, or the other driver, about what caused the collision or whether or not you have been injured. You should talk with the investigating officer about the events of the crash, and, if you can already feel that you have been injured, tell the officer that. But, if you don’t feel injured, do not deny to the officer that you were injured in the collision. Instead, simply tell the officer that you are not sure whether or not you were injured.

A Last Thought …

Finally, one last tip about what to do after an auto accident. Most people carry a smart phone that is equipped with a camera which can take still photos or video. If you are physically able to do so, right there at the scene of the accident before the wreckers arrive and move the cars from where they came to rest, use your smart phone to photograph or video the cars involved in the crash. Be sure to capture the location of all of the cars, particularly with respect to each other. Photograph or video the crush damage done to either vehicle. And, if you can do so without causing an incident, be sure to get the other driver in some of the photos or video. Those photographs or videos can be like gold for the attorney who will eventually handle your case.

Now, drive carefully because I am out there sharing the roads with you!

Disclaimer

This blog contains legal information of a general nature which is intended for educational, research, and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be, used as a substitute for professional legal advice. Each legal case is unique and a lawyer should be consulted for advice specific to your particular case.