If you have been in a truck or car accident in Hollywood or anywhere in South Florida, you need to think about your financial future. The reality is that the medical expenses and loss of income following a collision can be devastating. Even if you get some insurance money, it may not be enough, especially if your injuries take a long time to heal.
While your first priority will be to take care of your health and your family, there are several steps you will want to take to make sure your financial future is also protected:
- Talk to an attorney: Even if you have excellent insurance, an attorney can review your likely future costs and can help you explore options for recovering as many of those costs as possible so you don’t leave money on the table. Most important, an attorney will fight for fair compensation for you so you don’t have to pay for more than you need to out of pocket.
- Have a written plan: As soon as you’ve been in a traffic collision, create a written plan for how you can reduce expenses and pay for all of your bills. Create a budget as well as ideas for staying afloat.
- Keep payments current: The time after a Hollywood car accident is not the time to pay off your credit cards. Work on making the minimum payments on all of your accounts on time. Set up auto pay if you need to.
- Protect your future earning power: Talk to your attorney about taking classes while you are injured or protecting your future ability to earn a living. This may affect any claims you have, so always speak to your lawyer first. You may also want to talk to your lawyer about any concerns you may have about being fired from your job while you are recovering.
- Reduce spending where you can: Get rid of any unneeded subscriptions, cable services, streaming services, and any other spending you don’t need. This is the time to tighten your belt, eat out of the pantry, and generally reduce your spending as much as possible. If things are difficult, you may want to consider selling some of your possessions.
- Join a support group: Worrying about finances at the same time as you’re worrying about recovery is difficult. Consider joining a support group for survivors of car and truck accidents so you have people you can talk to.
- Find local resources: Your support group and your lawyer are both good places to find out about local resources to help you financially. Explore all your options.
- Protect your credit rating: One of your biggest priorities when you have been injured is to protect your credit rating. This is a three digit number which tells lenders what your credit risk is. Your credit rating will determine your ability to get financing or even a lease. To protect your credit rating, make sure you make payments on all of your bills on time. Pay the minimum if you have to but keep paying on time.
Do you need to speak to an attorney today about how you can safeguard your financial future? Contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation with a Hollywood car accident attorney.