6 Necessary Steps to Take During a Personal Injury Compensation
Filing a personal injury claim can be a challenging task without proper guidance. Most people have no idea of claiming injury compensation because they haven’t been accident victims. If you get injuries due to another person’s negligence, dog bites, or other related accidents, you can claim your compensation through a personal injury lawyer.
The following are the steps to take for a complete personal injury lawsuit:
Consult an experienced Attorney as Soon as Possible
Regardless of the gravity of the injury sustained, consult an injury attorney immediately after the accident. An experienced lawyer will help you get the rightful compensation since they know the ins and outs of personal injury laws. An attorney may need the following information from you:
The cause of the accident: Let your lawyer know if you have made a statement after the accident and have a police report. You can also bring along any pictures taken at the scene of the accident.
Hospital bills: Medical bills play a considerable part during personal injury compensation, so carry all the bills incurred from the accident.
Effect of the injuries: In most cases, most personal injury claims compensation for the time lost for business or work. To get better compensation for the same, you need to show how your life is affected by the injuries.
Gather Evidence
Inform your injury lawyer what caused the accident and maybe who was responsible. Henceforth, a lawyer will collect statements from witnesses and those who helped you after the accident. They can also check if the accident scene had traffic footage or a CCTV camera to get more evidence.
Seek Further Treatment
In some cases, victims do not get proper medical care after the accident. Others may need rehabilitation services to speed up recovery. Your lawyer will ensure you get the appropriate medication before pursuing a personal injury claim.
Issue a Compensation Claim
After collecting enough evidence, an injury lawyer will file a compensation request with a liability insurance company. Your claim package will include the cost of treatment, travel costs while seeking medical assistance, and items destroyed during the accident.
Reach a Settlement
In most cases, many insurance companies reply to claims with a settlement offer. Some companies may even try to offer the victim a settlement offer before they get a chance to consult a lawyer. If such happens, take the settlement offer to your lawyer for further review. If the request is okay, you can proceed and sign the paperwork and receive the funds.
Take your Claim to Court
In some cases, you may fail to reach an agreement with the insurance company, and thus you proceed to court. The court process has the following phases.
Discovery phase: The phase allows the insurance company and your lawyer to gather more evidence related to the case.
Meditation: Both parties- your lawyer and the insurance company can use a mediator and try to reach an agreement before an actual court hearing. Most companies settle claims during the mediation phase to avoid the court process, while others will proceed with the court process.
Trial Phase: At this stage, a judge will issue the final ruling after listening to both parties. At times the victim or the insurance company may feel the trial wasn’t fair and decide to appeal the verdict.
Learning the process of personal injury compensation can save you in the future if you require pursuing legal action. An accident victim shouldn’t use pocket expenses to cater for an accident they didn’t cause, and therefore they should seek assistance from a reputable personal injury lawyer for compensation.