The concept of personal injury lawsuits is straightforward. Lawsuits are filed when an individual has been injured or experienced distress by another party. Plaintiffs are then entitled to be awarded based on the damages the plaintiff has suffered. However, compensations are not always a guarantee due to the numerous components that have to be met. Here are some ways to build a personal injury claim and secure substantial compensation for your case.
What are some ways to strengthen my personal injury case?
The first thing a person should do once they have been injured is to gather as much information at the scene as possible. Evidence will serve as strong support to back up your claims. For example, some information and evidence that can be gathered at a scene can include pictures, witnesses, or a clear personal statement of what occurred. Gaining more views of the scene and how the accident happened is extremely beneficial for the court to rule in favor of you. Individuals should also get a medical evaluation to assess the injury. Regardless of how minor the injury is, seeking medical evaluation immediately is paramount to your claim. If you go to a doctor straight away and have some results of how you were affected immediately after the crash you can use those details to point out problems that you may face in the future. Without any supporting official documentation of the injuries and symptoms, your claim could be denied, or the compensation you receive could be cut in half.
Any piece of evidence may turn out to be a key component in any claim. For example, let’s say a person was driving and their brakes had failed, causing an accident. It is important to save the car and all pieces of evidence involved so that the personal injury attorney and an evaluator could inspect the vehicle and file the claims accordingly. If the car owner repairs the brakes and the vehicle without notifying their insurance and filing their claim first, their claim would most likely be denied.
Determine your Losses
If your insurance does not already determine your losses for you it is important to evaluate them, and your expenses. The two types of damages are specific damages and general damages. Specific damages are damages that have a direct price value or something that can be correlated to one. This can include
the cost to repair your car, your phone, your glasses, and pretty much anything with a monetary value. On the other hand, general damages are things that are not correlated to a price and/or is something that cannot be determined as a physical item. This could be emotional pain, and inconvenience of time, psychological damages. It is quite important to cover your case from multiple focal points because the more you can do that the better your case becomes for the court. From the get-go, you have no obligation to take the initial insurance adjudicator’s claim, which is something that you can improve on yourself by including your accounts of the injury.
Having Legal Standing In a Personal Injury Claim
When filing a personal injury lawsuit, plaintiffs must have a “standing”. In legal terms, this means whether the suing party has the legal right to file a lawsuit against the disputed party. Under California law, to file a lawsuit the individual must be someone who is directly affected by the legal dispute. For instance, for you to file a personal injury lawsuit, you have to be the one who suffered from the accident.
Don’t Rush to Settle Your Lawsuit
When is the right time to file a personal injury claim? The statute of limitations and filing deadlines are always a good thing to keep in mind, but don’t rush your personal injury lawsuit! In reality, personal injury cases require some time for the individual to discover and fully learn about the extent of the injury that has occurred. This is a good time for individuals to ask themselves, what claims they are making in the lawsuit. Something that is beneficial that comes from waiting to settle your lawsuit is bringing to light the non-apparent damages that can come later. Anywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks to 2 years and onwards. Anything that this injury can impact in the future. Especially your health and longevity. Problems that occur and eventually become long-lasting injuries are more likely to increase your chances of obtaining a higher settlement. Your attorney that is hired for the case will advocate for your physical and emotional health to appeal to the jury. The attorney could bring up medications, surgeries, treatments, and virtually anything that could advocate for your long-term health being impacted. However, it is also best to avoid over-exaggerating your case so the opposing party does not use it against you.
How can I gain more compensation for my personal injury?
Pride Legal’s network of attorneys is here to assess your claim so you may receive the maximum compensation. Personal injury compensation is awarded based on damages and emotional distress. There are several things to help in gaining more compensation, such as:
- Visiting a doctor immediately
- Only allowing your lawyer to speak to the insurance companies
- Obey all doctor orders
- Preserve evidence
- Stay away from posting on social media, or making yourself ‘public’
If the case is big enough, some insurance companies or defendants will hire private investigators. Their job is to see if a person has really been hurt or not. Going out and posting pictures at the gym or on a hike will not help a person’s case. A person could have their medical bills paid, lost income paid, receive payment for loss of property, and sue for emotional distress.
Talk to a Lawyer Before Talking to an Insurer
It is very important to find the right attorney for you to have the best chances of a higher settlement. Do not pick someone that you got recommended to by a family member or friend without doing research. Study their firm, their previous claims, their skills, and read the reviews of previous customers. Work with your attorney like a team member instead of disagreeing with them whenever you do not get what you want. This will only benefit the entire process instead of hinder it. To be successful the client and attorney must work towards the goal together. As well, get familiarized with the practice and strategy. Once you’ve done all of this it is also wise to crunch the numbers and review the possible outcomes that you and your attorney can envision for this case. The worst option is to extend a case that is an overall losing battle. One of the most important things a person can do to strengthen their personal injury case is to refrain from sharing details with any insurance company before consulting an attorney. Insurance adjusters will collect statements from plaintiffs about the accident. However, the goal of insurance companies is to minimize the value of your claim. Given statements can accidentally become the plaintiff’s admission of fault. Hence, it is crucial that in the early stages of the lawsuit, individuals might want to steer clear of solidifying any settlements.
Contact Pride Legal
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, we invite you to contact us at Pride Legal for legal counseling or any further questions. To protect your rights, hire someone who understands them.
