Being hurt or injured through no fault of your own is nothing to be taken lightly. Each year, millions of people get into accidents through no fault of their own either at home, at work or in public places. However, despite this high number of people, many people are at a loss of what to do if they find themselves in this situation. There’s certainly a lot to deal with from insurance to the legal side of things, particularly if the accident or injury was somebody else’s fault. The good news is that filing a personal injury claim isn’t something that you will have to do on your own. We’ve put together a guide to help you know what to expect from the process.
Getting Legal Assistance:
Before you can file a claim, you should get a legal professional on your side. Your lawyer will be the party responsible for contacting the person or organization responsible for your injury, logging the damage and how it happened, and giving you a general idea of how much your claim is worth in terms of compensation. Your lawyer will be able to let you know if your claim is worth more than the insurance company is offering you and advise you on the best steps to take throughout the entire process. You can find your lawyer here: https://www.shw-law.com/west-palm-beach-personal-injury-lawyers/.
The Investigation:
Anybody can make a personal injury claim, but it will need to be supported with facts and evidence. Your lawyer will usually be the only source of communication between you and the insurance companies involved, and the investigation will be based on a number of factors including the severity level of the accident, the number of parties involved, and whether or not the police were called at the time. It may take a few months for your lawyer to gather more details or get further evidence from the scene or witnesses to further strengthen and verify your claim.
Medical Evidence:
One of the biggest mistakes that personal injury claimants make is failing to get medical treatment after the event of an accident. You may be asked to attend a medical office that works in injury recovery and see a medical expert who can bring this evidence to your case. Bear in mind that your level of injury plus any psychological effects it has caused will influence how much compensation you get, so it’s important to be honest.
Settlement Options:
After the above steps have been completed you will typically receive a settlement offer from the insurance company, the value of which is determined using who’s at fault, the severity of your injuries, how much the injury has cost you in medical expenses, and how much you’ve lost out on in terms of being unable to work or how much you have missed out on since the injury, for example, canceled vacations. If your injury is likely to affect you for a long time or be permanent, your settlement will also take future income loss into account.
If you have been injured through no fault of your own, get a good legal representative who can expertly guide you through the next steps to get the compensation you deserve.