Personal Injury claims are designed
to help people who were injured as a result of some one else negligence pay for
all their bills. Most of the time, these claims are used to pay medical bills,
lost wages and to compensate for all the suffering and inconvenience that they
faced as a result of the accident. In the US, there are 14 million lawsuits
filed ever year and not all of them are successful. In cases where the lawsuits
are unsuccessful, the victim will have to pay for their own medical bills and
even the lawyer fees of the guilty. It's unfair, but that is the risk that has
to be taken when filing a personal injury claim. Hopefully, the tips below can
assist you to win a claim.
1. Determine a claim amount: when
you are involved in an accident and you are intending to claim for personal
injury, you will need to have idea about how much money you would need.
Remember, this is not your lucky number or a number you pull from the sky, this
amount has to include your medical bills, your lost wages, lost bonuses, and it
has to cover the costs to repair the car. Make sure the amount will satisfy all
this and you would have a good compensation. You should only tell your lawyer
of this amount so they can negotiate to get the exact amount or more. Do not
disclose it to the other party because they will try and negotiate it to a
lower amount.
2. Get acquainted with the processes
and procedures: this is neither a simple nor a difficult thing to do. Your
lawyer can fill you in on what you should do. Basically, you need to fill in a
bunch of forms, and be present at meetings with the insurance adjuster to
discuss your claims. You will keep discussing until you have reached a
settlement amount.
3. Get things justified and in writing:
Suppose that the insurance adjuster offers you a lower amount than what you
want, ask them why and how they calculate this. Once they have provided you
with their reasons, you can respond to their offer in writing. When they
realize that you mean business, they will start increasing their offers. As
soon as you have agreed on all the details, make sure that you have an official
agreement on everything. Make sure everything is in the form of a legal,
binding document and should contain the amount of compensation that was agreed
upon.
4. Get a Personal Injury lawyer: Not
all lawyers can be personal injury lawyers. Basically, you can hire a lawyer
that does other things as well, but it will be more beneficial for you if you
hire someone who is well versed in personal injury cases. You need someone
whose main cases are personal injury cases. You need their experience and skill
to help you win your case, either in or out of court. A good lawyer can get you
the amount you want after going to court but a great lawyer can get you more
than what you need without even going to court. Give that a thought.
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