7 Tips to Maximize Your Injury Claim Settlement
Tip #1: Avoid Insurance Tricks to Devalue Your Claim
Don’t provide a recorded statement to the adjuster. Don’t even speak to them without a reliable personal injury attorney to protect you. Like any corporation, insurance companies are concerned first and foremost about profits, which means their loyalties are to their shareholders, not you. Anything you say or do that can be used against you absolutely WILL be used against you. Rather than risking jeopardizing your claim, have a legal professional handle your communications with the adjuster.
Tip #2: Attend Your Doctor’s Appointments and Avoid Gaps in Treatment
If you have appointments, make them. If you have been prescribed medication, take them. Otherwise, you will look like a fraud and the adjuster will take advantage of this opportunity to rip your claim apart. Plus you have your health to think about.
Tip #3: Know Your Insurance Coverages
If you don’t understand your insurance coverages, speak with a personal injury lawyer who can explain them to you. Overlooking potential coverage options means needlessly lost cash – and who wants that? Explore ALL of your options to ensure maximum recovery for your losses.
Tip #4: Go with the RIGHT Doctor
After receiving emergency treatment or seeing your family doctor, go see a skilled chiropractor. He or she should diagnose your injuries and refer you to the appropriate specialist. Also run the necessary diagnostic tests – x-ray, MRI, CT scan, etc. Your test results along with your doctor reports should help you prove the extent of your injuries, which is vital to any claim.
Tip #5: Keep a Post-Accident Diary
Because memories fade, you need to keep a written record of how your injury has impacted your life. Note every instance of pain and how that pain has prevented you from performing certain activities – work, sports, recreation, relaxation, and even simple tasks such as reaching for a high object. Help prove your unique losses by documenting them in a diary. The more detailed, the better.
Tip #6: Don’t Miss the Deadline
The statute of limitations, or deadline to file a lawsuit, for the standard personal injury case is two years from the date of the accident. If you fail to make the time limit, your legal claim will be barred and your right to sue will be lost forever.
Tip #7: Obtain an Attorney Who Has Vast Experience in Personal Injury
Unless your accident resulted in only very minor damages, you want to have a skilled personal injury lawyer. Victims with lawyers – ever after paying the contingent fee – usually receive over twice as much money as those without lawyers. Don’t settle for peanuts, and get the full and fair compensation you deserve with professional legal assistance.
