For anyone who has suffered injuries as the result of a personal injury accident, retaining the services of a personal injury law firm is often the first step in leveling the playing field when it comes to receiving compensation for those injuries. Unfortunately, a victim is often at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating a fair settlement from injuries sustained as the result of a personal injury accident because the defendant is frequently covered by liability insurance, meaning the victim has to negotiate with a team of experienced claims handlers and attorneys who are trained to limit the company’s exposure.
Finding out that the party responsible for your injuries was covered by liability insurance is good news in the long run; however, it means that all negotiating and/or litigating must be done with the insurance company in order to receive compensation for the injuries caused by the defendant. This can be extremely complicated, frustrating, and sometimes futile, without an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side.
Although an insurance company is legally obligated to cover damages caused by an insured’s negligence, they are certainly not obligated to pay them without contesting the insured’s negligence or contesting the amount of damages sought by the victim. A victim may be the victim in a personal injury accident once in his life, whereas the claims adjuster or attorney for the insurance company spends all day, every day, processing or litigating personal injury cases. If you have been the victim of a personal injury accident, you are in jeopardy of losing out on the compensation due to you if you do not have an equally competent and experienced personal injury lawyer working for you on your side.
When a victim is injured as the result of a personal injury accident, the extent and severity of the injuries are often difficult to determine, much less place a monetary value on. An experienced personal injury lawyer, however, knows how to do just that.
“Damages”, the legal term that refers to injuries sustained as the result of an accident, can take on many forms. For example, you may have sustained property damages to a vehicle, or to belongings inside the vehicle. Damages may also refer to both physical and emotional injuries caused as a result of the accident.
People often undervalue the injuries they sustained in a personal injury accident, resulting in a settlement award far below that to which they are entitled. Sometimes, this is because proper medical examinations were not done after the accident, or follow-up care was cost prohibitive. Other times, a victim is simply not aware that he or she is also entitled to be compensated for the non-economic injuries, commonly referred to as “pain and suffering”, that frequently accompany a personal injury accident. Even with proper medical care and a general knowledge that “pain and suffering” damages are available, a victim may not know how to place a monetary value on the sum total of all the damages suffered in the accident. This is where an experienced personal injury lawyer becomes essential.
A personal injury law firm has the experience and resources at hand to evaluate each individual case and determine what damages were actually suffered by the victim and what those damages are worth. By retaining the services of an experienced personal injury lawyer, you stand a significantly better chance of receiving the maximum compensation for the injuries caused as the result of the defendant’s negligence.