A car accident injury claim is a legal process that provides compensation for the damages and injuries that victims of motor vehicle accidents sustain. Motor vehicle accidents can cause injuries ranging from minor to severe, but regardless, those involved in the accident should not assume that they are automatically entitled to receive compensation. If you don’t know how much your settlement should be, here is a guide to help you.
1. Consult with your auto accident lawyer
When it comes to the question of how much should you settle for, you need to understand that this is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer. It all boils down to having an understanding of your specific case and knowing all there is about what you are entitled to based on the evidence presented. The best way forward would be for you to seek consultation with an experienced accident injury lawyer, so they could guide you through this process. Your car accident attorney will be able to provide expert insight into your situation and help determine how much should be settled. If you live in Atlanta, you can research how an Atlanta auto accident lawyer can help you get more information. The benefits of getting a lawyer are that they can properly assess your claim, and they have extensive knowledge in the process of settlement.
2. Analyzing medical records
One of the first things that your accident injury lawyer will do after meeting up with you is request copies of medical records pertaining to your accident. This will be the starting point for assessing your case and giving advice on how much you should settle. The medical records can provide information about the extent of injuries that you have sustained, which will determine how much compensation you are entitled to get if your claim is successful. It is important that all documents are kept intact for reference when it comes time to negotiate a settlement deal with the insurance company. Once injury claims have been made clear by assessing medical records, next up would be determining whose fault the accident happened in the first place. Knowing who was at fault can make or break your claim because this determines whether you are entitled to financial compensation for damages due to the accident under the law.
3. Collect evidence
Having a successful claim depends not just on analyzing medical records, but also on the ability to collect the right documentation and evidence to show the extent of your injuries and for them to be able to substantiate your claim. So if you want to know how much an injury settlement is, it’s important that you gather evidence such as:
- Witness testimonies
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Damage to the vehicle involved in a car accident
- Medical documentation such as x-rays/MRI scans
Having this information readily available will be very helpful when it comes time to discuss a settlement deal with the insurance company. Understanding who is at fault and gathering evidence can make or break your case, and having the right lawyer would make all the difference when negotiating an injury claim.
4. Negotiate with the insurance company
With everything that has been covered, negotiation would come next and this would be done through your accident injury lawyer. If your claim is successful, this would be the time when you need to reach an agreement with the insurance company regarding how much your injury settlement should be. The negotiation process can be quite time-consuming, so it would be important for you to pick an attorney that you are comfortable working with because they will play a big role in helping move negotiations forward. Another thing to consider is hiring a car accident attorney who has extensive knowledge of negotiating claims and settling personal injury cases successfully. When it comes to settling on an amount for compensation, it’s significant that people understand the importance of not settling too soon or too late after your accident claim has been made. If you settle before having proper documentation and evidence collecting done, it can be difficult to file another claim later on.
5. Understanding the settlement amount
Once negotiations are done, it will determine how much your injury claim should settle for. The settlement decision would be made by getting together all the information compiled throughout the entire process of negotiation, medical records, and evidence collected. The amount established would depend on having an understanding of how much it will cost to compensate for your pain and suffering, loss of work income due to the accident, mental distress caused by accident injuries, etc. It’s important that you are adequately compensated for your pain and suffering because this is what personal injury claims are based upon. If your claim doesn’t merit any compensation at settlement, then it basically means that you would not get anything more than just paying off all your bills related to treatment expenses.
6. Excessive insurance company offers
Some people have found being offered some really ridiculous amounts when it comes to settling injury claims, and the reason might be that insurance companies know they can get away with it since many people do not have all the necessary evidence and documentation needed to prove their case. If you find yourself in such a situation where your settlement is too low compared to what you’ve lost, at least consider taking the time to build up your case before agreeing to anything so as not to lose out on more compensation than necessary. The key takeaway here is how important it is for you not just settle right away after making an accident injury claim because there are different things that come into play when determining how much personal injury settlements should settle for. Car accidents are complicated claims, but being able to establish fault can help establish an appropriate valuation of damages.
Having an accident injury claim is not easy, but having the right lawyer and support can make a big difference when it comes to building up your case and negotiating an appropriate settlement. With all the evidence and documentation gone over, you should consider taking time to determine how much injury settlements should be paid out in order to get it. So, make sure you pick the best attorney you can work with and be patient!
