Bodily injury Attorney

The 4 Keys to Getting a Fair Settlement of Your Bodily-Injury Claim If you have been injured by someone else's negligence and you plan to make an insurance claim for compensation, believe it or not, you alone hold the key to getting a fair settlement. From the first moment that you were injured, until the time that you are holding a settlement check in your hand, your conduct has a significant influence on the size of that check. This article will help you understand what you can do to increase the odds of getting a better insurance settlement. The key is to understand how insurance companies think, and what they are looking for when evaluating your claim. These days, insurance companies use standardized criteria for evaluating claims. In fact, many insurance companies even use a computer software program called "Colossus" to evaluate claims. Think about that. One day, your claim will be reduced to bits of data entered into a computer program that will spit out the dollar figure for the settlement of your claim. If you knew what the computer program was looking for, you could give it what it wanted to increase the size of your settlement. Even if you are dealing with an insurance company that does not use the "Colossus" computer program, that insurance company instructs its adjusters to apply uniform standards to evaluate and settle claims. That means that if you knew the standards that they were applying, you could affect the size of your settlement. Bear in mind, I am not talking about cheating. I would never in a million years suggest that you do anything to defraud an insurance company, ever. What I am talking about is understanding how the claim-evaluation process works, and how to use that knowledge to your advantage when negotiating and settling a claim with an insurance company. Knowledge is power. And when it comes to increasing the value of your insurance claim, there are a few things you should know. KEY #1: GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM First, if you were injured: Go to the Emergency Room. This is a good idea for many reasons. Obviously, if you have been in a car accident or other type of injury-producing event (such as a fall, a dog attack, etc.) you need medical attention to rule out or treat serious injuries. Your safety and well-being are therefore reasons enough to seek out medical attention. But additionally, going to the emergency room on the date of your incident actually adds value to your insurance claim. Why? Because the way insurance companies see it, reasonable people go to the hospital if they believe that they may be injured. Keep in mind, insurance companies are trying to detect fraud when they evaluate claims. People who are not really injured, but who are just trying to get money from the insurance company, likely did not go to the hospital on the date of their incident, but merely asserted a claim for compensation months later after talking to friends and relatives who told them that they might have a claim. So the first key to increasing the size of your settlement is to promptly seek out and obtain medical attention; either at the emergency room or an urgent care clinic. Do this as soon as possible after an accident or other injury-producing event. KEY #2: FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S ORDERS The second key is to: Follow Your Doctor's Orders. If the doctor recommends chiropractic care or physical therapy, do it. If she orders an MRI, get one. The same reasons apply. First of all, you should always follow your doctor's orders when you are injured in the best interests of your health. But second of all, doing so will actually increase the value of your settlement. Why? Because insurance companies are trying to detect fraud. And people who are sincerely injured will show signs of being committed to their treatment regimen, and will follow up on all of their doctor's recommendations. On the other hand, people who are not sincerely injured may wait months before treating with a chiropractor or physical therapist in the hopes of manufacturing some medical bills, so that they can settle with the insurance company. To summarize, the second key to increasing the size of your settlement is to follow doctor's orders. The insurance adjuster, or the "Colossus" program if used by the insurance company, are judging you to determine how much your settlement should be. If your medical records show a committed course of follow-up treatment as ordered by your doctor, the insurance company will believe that you are not faking, and your claim will rate higher than if your record is spotty and inconsistent. KEY #3: HIRE A LAWYER The third key is to: Get Legal Representation as Quickly as Possible After Your Incident. Statistics show that insurance claims settle for far greater amounts when an attorney is involved. Richard A. Derrig and Herbert I. Weisberg concluded in their scholarly article Determinants of Total Compensation for Auto Bodily Injury Liability Under No Fault; Investigation, Negotiation and the Suspicion of Fraud, published in Insurance and Risk Management, volume 71, January 2004, at pages 633 through 662, that claims asserted by attorneys settle for an average of fifty percent higher than claims asserted by the claimants themselves. The reasons cited for this clear advantage include the attorney's assistance in securing access to needed medical service, the control of the information that flows to the insurance adjuster from the attorney, the attorney's experience in the field of personal injury law, the increased costs to the insurer presented by attorney involvement, the attorney's utilization of the doctrine of "insurer bad faith," and the increased pressure on the adjuster to close files when an attorney is present. In other words, hiring an attorney will level the playing field, and will put more money in your pocket. Some matters are best left to professionals. For instance, if you are not mechanically inclined, you probably should not attempt to repair your car's engine. Likewise, if you are not an attorney, it is a smart idea to get counsel regarding your bodily-injury claim instead of asserting it yourself. KEY #4: REVIEW YOUR INSURANCE COVERAGE The fourth key is to: Review Your Insurance Coverage. Even though the other person's insurance company will pay your settlement, your own insurance policy may have coverage that adds to your total settlement, without increasing your premiums. The California Insurance Code prohibits an insurer from retaliating against you by increasing your premiums, or canceling your policy, as a result of paying you policy benefits when the accident was not your fault. Therefore, you might be better off allowing your own insurance company to pay for the damage done to your vehicle out of your "collision" coverage, and to pay for some of your medical bills out of your "medpay" coverage. Remember, each case is different, and your best bet is to have a lawyer advise you about these matters. The key here is that knowing and understanding your own insurance policy will likely help you to get a better overall settlement in the end.