Do I Need My Car Checked After an Accident if I don’t see any damage?

The answer is yes, you definitely should. It will save you from a lot of trouble in the future after your car has been in an accident. It is advisable to visit a doctor and get a check-up first. If you are severely injured, you need treatment first thing or visit the ER. What if you do not have any injuries and do not feel any pain?

You should still go to the injury doctor for an examination, same thing goes for your car. This is to make sure you are fine and do not have any delayed injuries. Plus, this will save you if you have to file a personal injury claim later. The detailed record by your accident doctor will become legal proof for your injury claims. However, what about your car? It needs a check-up too. You should ensure to get your car checked as soon as possible after the accident, even if you don’t see any damage.

I don’t see anything wrong with my car

Even if do not see anything wrong with your car, there can be things you are missing. Especially after you have been in an accident, you should not trust yourself to do an estimate. Don’t forget, you can only check if your car is alright from the outside. But the  body shop professionals will check it thoroughly inside out and tell you all about it.

Hidden Damage

Hidden damage is exactly what it sounds like. You could have unseen damage and not even know it. Your car may have to be taken apart to see hidden damage. When you take it to the body shop of your choice, the estimator will do his best. However, they wont know exactly what is wrong until they take apart to fix it. What may seem like a minor fender bender could turn into a repair bill that cost thousands of dollars. When they do take it apart to fix it, they will supplement the insurance company for the hidden damage. More than likely, you will never even be aware of this.

Supplements

This is when you have hidden damage. The adjuster supplements the original estimate to pay for these damages. This wont be know until the repair process has started by the body shop. A check will be issued to the body shop for any supplements.

Benefits of Getting Your Car Checked After an Accident

You might think that it is necessary to get your checked out by a body shop. But no, that is not the case. Get it checked even if your car looks alright to you and you do not see any damage to it. Yes, even when you think nothing happened to your vehicle, you should go to a body shop and have it checked out.

Why? The answer is simple. As we discussed above, you could have hidden damage and not even know it. Now that the accident happened, you cannot turn back time. However, you can prepare for the future. There are many advantages to having your car checked out after it has been an accident. Given below are the handful of benefits you can expect from getting your car checked out after a auto accident.

Body shop Professionals Can Examine Better

It is tempting to see for yourself if everything is alright and then go about your day as if nothing is wrong. Many personal injury cases get turned away from attorneys because the drivers did not have proof that their vehicle was damaged. The injured people did not think much of it, but then this backfired them.

The best solution to save yourself from this is to get your car checked as soon as possible after an accident. Your priority after the auto accident takes place should be your injury, and then to the body shop. Yes, after your accident doctor visit, ensure to get your car or truck checked out by the body shop. This will help you in the long run because they will go ahead and write an estimate for what damage they can see. And, the insurance company will know that this damage came from the car accident and not a previous one.

Focus on your injury, but don’t forget to get your an estimate for property damage. Just as you would not wait to see a doctor after a car accident, don’t wait to go get your car or truck checked out after one as well.

Save yourself from future cost

If you don’t go get your car checked out after a auto accident, even if you see nothing wrong, you may not have a property damage claim or a personal injury claim. Attorneys want to see damage done to your car or truck if you are saying you’re hurt. If they are trying to prove you were injured in that particular car accident, they need something to show your car was damaged. If you have nothing to show them, they may not believe you are even injured.

Property damage

If you got hit in the front and don’t see anything wrong and all of a sudden your radiator starts leaking or your condenser, what are you going to do if your claim is already closed? Its important to get your car checked out, even if you don’t see anything wrong. In the future, if you need work done on your car, you may find hidden damage from that accident you had, for which you though nothing was wrong with your car. In some instances, it may be too late to claim for this damage, the adjuster may tell you to hit the road. Always get your car checked out by a body shop even if you don’t see anything wrong with it.

Make Your Claim Powerful

If you are the victim and your car is damaged in any way, it becomes very crucial for to you get your car estimated. Only that way, you can legally prove that your car was in the accident and it got damaged. It is the first thing you need to take care of if you plan to claim from the at fault party. Of course, make sure you see the doctor first.

Even if the picture is clear to your lawyer, they need proof to make the legal allegations. If you have your car checked out after an accident, it makes the whole process a lot easier for you. Not only will your personal injury claim becomes powerful, but also it conveys that you were hurt in the accident. Therefore, to make the at fault party pay you, getting your car checked out after an accident is very beneficial.

Your insurance will also only cover the damages for you if you have estimates of the damage, even if you don’t see anything wrong.

You Have Written Proof

You have written prove that your car was damaged in auto accident caused by someone else. Even if you see nothing wrong, you still should get your car checked out by a body shop. No estimate, the adjuster will say you didn’t even have an accident. Or worse, your attorney wont take your personal injury case.  A personal injury attorney may not take your case because you don’t have an estimate of damages done to your car. If you don’t see a doctor after an accident, you don’t have a medical record of your injury. And, the same goes for not getting your car checked out even if you see nothing wrong with it.

The Bottom Line

It is important to get your car checked after it has been in an accident. Whether it was you who drove or someone else, a professional body shop adjuster is always better than you trying to determine damages. It can save you from many hassles. Plus, you can file claim for damages done to your vehicle and not have to worry about hidden damage.

Even your lawyer cannot do much if you have no proof of the condition of your vehicle after the accident. Therefore, it is suggested to immediately get your car checked after a car accident, even if you don’t see anything wrong with it.