When you incur expensive medical bills for injuries caused by a negligent driver and must be off work while you recover, you want to be fairly compensated in your settlement. While the outcome is not completely in your control, you can do things to influence it. Here, we discuss ways that you can help maximize the amount of your compensation award.
Tips for Receiving What You Deserve in a Car Accident Settlement
One of the most important tips for increasing the chances of receiving a favorable settlement is to hire an experienced car accident attorney soon after your crash. You will need his help to implement these tips. In addition, he will understand the value of your claim and can negotiate a fair settlement for you. Here are five other actions that can strengthen your claim:
- Conduct a thorough investigation. If you hire a lawyer soon after your wreck, he can go back to the crash site to get a better picture of how your crash occurred and look for missed evidence, like skid marks. He can also interview witnesses before their memories fade, hire an accident reconstruction expert if necessary, retrieve surveillance tapes of the accident, and much more. A thorough investigation is critical to proving the other driver’s negligence and your right to compensation.
- Provide medical records with care. An attorney can obtain the medical records you need to provide to the negligent driver’s insurance company and send the records to them for you. This will avoid you divulging sensitive, private medical information and irrelevant information that could be used to argue about the seriousness of your injuries.
- Keep the adjuster informed of your injuries. The insurance adjuster will need to be kept informed about your treatments for your injuries and your recovery. You want to leave this to your attorney to do so that you do not inadvertently say something that hurts your claim. By keeping the adjuster informed, there are fewer surprises when you get ready to settle the claim, and the adjuster is made aware of how serious your injuries are.
- Follow up on medical treatment. It is important that you continue to follow your doctor’s advice on your treatment and continue with it until you recover or are released by your doctor. If there are gaps in your medical care or long periods with no care, the adjuster could argue that your injuries are not as serious as you claim.
- Pursue all avenues of compensation. In some cases, you will have a claim with more than just the negligent driver’s insurance company. For example, you may be able to file a claim under your own underinsured motorist coverage if the other driver’s insurance will not fully compensate you. Your lawyer can help you identify and pursue all avenues of compensation to increase the likelihood that you will receive what you are owed.
There are many other steps you can take to strengthen your claim, and your attorney should be able to give you guidance on what to do. If you were hurt in a car accident, schedule a consultation with a member of our legal team today by filling out our online form.
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