Bodily Injury Claim | 4 Ways a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Ensure You Get Full Value
Topics and Questions this article covers: What factors affect a personal injury settlement? | How is settlement value calculated for bodily injury claims? | Why it is good to have a lawyer for a bodily injury claim? | How do I maximize my personal injury claim? | Get a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer near you
When a motor vehicle accident occurs, the injury victim may have a complex damage claim that involves both property losses and bodily injury-related losses. Getting fully compensated therefore requires a high-level of skill and experience.
Maximizing your compensation is extremely important — especially in cases where you’ve suffered severe injuries. Why? Severe injuries can impact everything from work, to lifestyle, and more. This can disrupt your life heavily. The ongoing burdens can be too much to bear. Obtaining a “small” compensation in return may not be enough to help.
That’s where a personal injury attorney comes in. Experienced attorneys are relentless advocates who will stop at nothing to secure the maximum possible compensation on your behalf.
Let’s take a look at what they do, and how.
Factors of a Personal Injury Settlement
What Factors Impact Injury Compensation?
In the vast majority of cases, injury victims receive significantly more compensation when they hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Other factors that can impact how much a victim can receive for their claim include:
- The type and severity of their injuries
- The pain and suffering they experience
- The value of their property damages
- Their medical bills and expenses
- The insurance policy limits of any applicable insurance policies
- If more than one party was at fault for the accident
- The jurisdiction where the lawsuit is or would be filed
How is Settlement Value Calculated?
How much compensation injury victims receive depends on a combination of their claimed economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages reflect purely financial losses, such as lost wages, property loss, and medical expenses. Economic damages are somewhat “easy” to measure, though they do require extensive documentation to support the claim.
Noneconomic damages reflect non-financial losses, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and quality of life degradation. These can be significantly more difficult to measure, and skilled attorneys know how to persuade the court as to the “accuracy” of their calculation.
Now, how do you know what you’ll get in a settlement? Essentially, settlement is a reflection of the “risk” in litigating the claim all the way through to trial.
The more likely it is that you’ll “win” your claim if it were to go to trial, and secure the damages that you’re claiming, the higher the settlement amount is likely to be.
For example, suppose that you’re claiming $100,000 in damages in a car accident dispute. The defendant acknowledges early on that they were at fault (so there’s a 100 percent chance that they will be found liable in court). But they disagree that you suffered $100,000 in damages, instead saying that you suffered only $50,000 – and it seems like there’s a 50 percent chance that your damages claim will accepted by the court.
Given these factors, a settlement splitting the difference ($75,000) would be fair to both sides, as it avoids exhausting and uncertain litigation while reaching a reasonable compromise based off expectations.
The Importance of Having a Lawyer for Your Bodily Injury Claim
Why Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Personal injury lawyers take many steps and have many ways to ensure you get the full value of your injury claim. Four of the most essential ways a personal injury lawyer can help are:
- Knowledge and experience in personal injury law and bodily injury claims
- Highlighting the strengths of your injury case
- Negotiation skills
- Protecting their client from insurance companies
Knowledge and Experience
Personal injury attorneys bring invaluable knowledge and experience to the table. Based on their experiences and recent cases in your area, they have a good idea of how much your claim is worth. With this knowledge, they can hold out for a reasonable settlement offer from the insurance company. However, you likely don’t have the background to know what your claim is worth and therefore run the risk of settling for much less than you deserve. Discussing your case with an attorney first is always a priority before speaking with an insurance claims adjuster.
Highlighting the Strengths in Your Personal Injury Case
Your lawyer will look for the strengths in your case and highlight them to the insurance company. For instance, if you were in a car accident and the driver who hit you was driving on a revoked license or had several accidents in the past, and you have a clean driving record, your attorney can use this to your advantage. At the same time, they can point out the weaknesses in the at-fault party’s claim, which can also give you more leverage for a higher settlement.
Negotiation Skills
Experienced attorneys know how to negotiate. They know the strengths and weaknesses in both sides of the case and point out the ones they can use to your benefit when working on negotiating a fair settlement. They anticipate the insurance company’s moves and know how to refute their arguments. A good attorney isn’t afraid to stand up for their client’s rights and advocate for them.
Protecting You from the Insurance Company
Insurance companies use many tricks and tactics to attempt to pay less than the full value of a claim or to shirk their responsibility to pay it all. For example, they can ask you for a recorded statement about your accident and injuries. Even though you are under no obligation to provide such a statement, they can make it seem necessary to process or expedite your claim. If you agree to one, they can ask you questions and manipulate your answers or ask you leading questions that are designed to get you to say things that justify a lower settlement offer or a complete denial of your claim.
How Do I Maximize My Settlement?
Injured parties can take many actions to help maximize their settlement.
First, they should seek medical care as soon as possible. They want to get all injuries documented on the medical record. Then, they need to hire a reputable personal injury attorney. Cooperating with their attorney and getting them any necessary information when they ask for it will help maximize and expedite your claim. Other actions you can take to help maximize your personal injury settlement include:
- Following your doctor’s medical advice
- Collecting evidence
- Keeping records, bills, and receipts to submit to your attorney
- Avoid speaking to the insurance adjustor without your attorney present
- Don’t accept a settlement without first speaking to an attorney
Maximize Your Settlement by Getting Legal Help Today
Call us at 1-800-THE-LAW2 or complete the form here to get connected to an experienced personal injury attorney in just 10 minutes or less. They will assess your bodily injury claim and discuss your next steps to get you on the road to obtaining the accident compensation you are entitled to receive for your personal injuries. Consultation is free, so don’t delay!
