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Everything You Need To Know About Hiring a Car Accident Attorney or Truck Accident Attorney

Crashed car burning at night.

Hiring a car accident attorney or truck accident attorney is important if you have been injured from a vehicular accident. Your injuries may not be severe, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need medical attention. You should contact a car accident attorney or truck accident attorney who can help with the insurance companies and your medical bills. It’s also good to know the law to make sure you are compensated fairly for your injuries.

If I were hiring a car accident attorney or truck accident attorney after being in a car accident, these would be some questions I would ask:

  • How much does Geico payout for pain and suffering?
  • What are the chances of winning a personal injury lawsuit such as a car accident and a truck accident?
  • What happens if I reject a settlement offer?
  • What is a cash settlement for insurance?
  • What kind of damages are compensated for emotional distress?
  • How much should I settle for getting hit by a car?
  • How can I prove my pain and suffering?
  • How do insurance companies determine settlement amounts?
  • How do you win a settlement?

How Much Does Geico Payout for Pain and Suffering?

Many people who have been in car accidents or suffered some other type of personal injury as a result of a car crash, wonder how much the insurance company Geico will pay out of the loss. Unfortunately, every case is different, and it is difficult to say with certainty that one person will absolutely get the same amount of a payout for a similar loss. This result will differ from car crash to car crash, and also differ from person to person, as each case is to be handled individually.

Categories of Loss

Although it is difficult to determine what the exact payout will be for a car accident or truck accident with Geico, you can think about it this way. There are different results for different people, but most truck and car crash injuries will fall into specific categories for review. It is important to remember, most Geico policies have a cap at $100,000 coverage for bodily injury claims. The pain and suffering component of a settlement will need to be tagged into the total of the bodily injury claim, and it will most likely need to go within these limits to be approved by the Geico claims adjuster. The first few categories reviewed by the Geico claims examiner will be the bodily injury claims, which could most be tied to the pain and suffering aspect of settlement regarding those claims.

Let’s review those categories below, to get an idea of how much Geico will pay for pain and suffering related to a bodily injury claim after a car accident and truck accident.

Head Injuries

If a person is in a car accident or truck accident has a head injury, this may be serious and will warrant more of a recovery compensation package from Geico. People who have been in a car accident and truck accident can have many different types of head injuries that will be potentially life-threatening or life-changing. These injuries include:

  • Facial injuries
  • Broken teeth
  • Restricted neck movements
  • Tightness in the neck
  • Whiplash
  • Concussion
  • Numbness in the neck
  • Memory loss
  • Dental repair work
  • Lacerations to the forehead
  • Nerve damage
  • Eye injuries
  • Headaches
  • Nightmares
  • Neurological issues
  • Cognitive issues and memory loss
  • Residual head trauma
  • Skull fractures
  • Subdural hematoma
  • Broken facial bones

In these cases, after the medical bills and future loss of earnings are factored in, the pain and suffering can begin at several thousand dollars to upwards of tens of thousands of dollars or more. Additionally, in the case of surgeries to correct broken facial bones or the correction of missing dental work, there may be additional surgeries in the future. These surgeries and the cost of repairing broken facial bones or teeth need to be accounted for in the settlement of a loss as well.

Arm Injuries

For this type of pain and suffering, the accompanying type of injuries to the person’s body may include the following, such as;

  • Fractures of the ulna
  • Fractures of the fingers
  • Bone chips
  • Broken arms
  • Laceration to arms

These types of injuries can have pain and suffering that goes as high as several thousand dollars to upwards of more compensation. People who have to care for others or who need to have cared for themselves may receive compensation for arm injuries in the form of pain and suffering related to their injuries. They are no longer to be able to lead satisfying and independent lives, when they cannot use their arms to get around in their daily routine. The pain and suffering for these injuries can typically run in the thousands of dollars for compensation.

Spine Injuries

Cervical spine injuries can be common after a car crash. These types of injuries can also exacerbate pre-existing injuries to the spinal column. In this case, a person can experience a compression injury, spinal nerve damage, weakness in upper limbs, or sensory symptoms related to a car accident or truck accident. These injuries may be serious, permanent, and debilitating as well. If a person after a spinal injury has issues with balance, walking, standing upright, or sitting, the personal injury and pain and suffering damages could be quite high. These damages for pain and suffering related to the spine could be reimbursed in the tens of thousands of dollars by Geico.

Body Injuries

Bodily injuries are most likely injuries to the trunk, side, front or back areas of the body. These injuries are typically in the middle of the body and can include internal organ injuries such as the bladder, kidneys, or spleen. If a person is injured in the bladder region and suffers internal injuries, there may be the case of bruising to the abdomen, soft tissue injuries, or urinary function problems that may result. The pain and suffering related to these injuries can be moderately calculated, as the person injured may be partial to permanently disabled after this type of loss. These injuries may be reimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars by Geico for pain and suffering.

Leg Injuries

Leg injuries after a car accident or truck accident can result when a person’s legs are jammed against the dashboard or steering column, during a crash. Pain in the legs can exacerbate numbness, tingling, or spasms in the legs, which may affect the person’s ability to walk, run or sit. As a result of these types of injuries, the person injured may not be able to maintain a regular work schedule, or even pursue regular employment again. If a person is paralyzed, becomes a paraplegic, has rods inserted into the legs, or needs pins to repair a leg fracture, the pain, and suffering associated with this type of loss can run into the tens of thousands. Additionally, people will more than likely also need rehabilitation and ongoing care for these types of losses, and that will too be factored into the recovery for this type of injury.

Scars and Laceration Injuries

If an individual has scars on the face or body, there will be reimbursement for these losses. In the case of a person’s face, such as if a victim’s face is cut severely from broken glass after a car accident, then that individual may have a high level of pain and suffering related to the injury. The scars to the face can be in the thousands in regard to compensation from Geico on a pain and suffering claim.

Facial injuries can include:

  • Bruising
  • Lacerations
  • Cuts and scrapes
  • Deep wounds
  • Scars around the face, eyes
  • Smashed nose
  • Discomfort in the face

It is difficult to determine the exact amount of loss for pain and suffering, as each case is different. But these figures can work as a general guide to how much a person can recover in regard to compensation from Geico insurance company on a loss from a car accident or truck accident.

If you feel that you have been the victim of a car crash and you deserve compensation for pain and suffering, you need to find a reliable car accident attorney or truck accident attorney. We will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the compensation that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.

What Are the Chances of Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit Such as a Car Accident?

A personal injury lawsuit will be won out of the result of a lawsuit on the merits, after a personal injury suffered by an individual or class of people. A personal injury can result from an injury that is experienced in a car accident or truck accident, but can also occur at any type of accident whether in a vehicle or not. Anyone can have a personal injury, and if you have injuries, medical bills, expenses, and lost wages, then it is important to file a personal injury lawsuit to get back the compensation that you deserve related to the losses you experienced.

Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits

There are many different types of personal injury lawsuits, and your ability to win one of these will depend too on your ability to prove your loss. If you can prove your loss, then you need to also prove that the person you are bringing the action against had a duty to not act in a way to injure you, and that duty was therefore breached. Remember, anyone can bring an action for anything, at any time. That does not mean that a court of law will agree with you to offer reimbursement for your pain, suffering, troubles, lost wages, or injuries. You have to have all of the right components.

Let’s review some different types of personal injury lawsuits to see what injuries can be recovered in a court of law.

Ride Share Accidents

When a person is injured in a rideshare accident, such as with an Uber or Lyft, there could be personal injury damages. A driver may be driving too fast, or even too slow, and can cause an accident with another vehicle. A driver who is a rideshare operator may also have a defective issue with breaks or other vehicle problems that can cause an accident. Rideshare drivers can run red lights, refuse to yield onto oncoming traffic, or just drive dangerously resulting in personal injuries to the passengers. In these cases, there may be a good chance to win a personal injury lawsuit. Hire a good rideshare accident lawyer to help you.

Construction Accident

People who work at, walk through, or live near construction areas can be injured in a construction-related accident.

Some of the personal injuries can include:

  • Being caught between objects
  • Suffering crushing injuries
  • Objects falling on the person
  • Falling from great heights
  • Electrocution on the job site
  • Struck by a flying object or crane
  • Falling into concrete or heavy water

There are many rules and regulations to make construction sites as safe as possible. For example, OSHA makes sure that all construction sites in the country are following all safety rules at all times. But accidents can still happen, and when they do there can be a good chance to win a personal injury lawsuit in these cases by hiring a lawyer specialized in these cases.

Product Liability

In the case of product liability, there is often recovery on the merits when someone is injured from a defective product. If you have been injured by a product that was defective or has been tampered with, it may allow you to recover damages for your personal injury. In the case of a defective or tampered with item or product, don’t throw it away. Keep it and make it available in the case that an investigator wants to see it to prove and verify your losses. Also, keep track of any medical records or emergency services that you are given, in relation to your personal injury. There are usually warning labels on products to advise on the safest way to use the item. Make note of how you used the item, to ensure that you were using it properly. If you were not using the item properly, it may affect the recovery for damages that you receive if you bring a lawsuit to the manufacturer of the item or product. If you are serious about winning this case, find a good defective product lawyer.

Slip and Fall Injury

Many people are injured every year from experiencing slip and fall accidents. Sometimes in a fall, a person can injure a previously injured area of the body. This will be taken into account when determining losses and damages. If individual slips and falls on someone else’s property, and the fall was the property owner’s fault, then there may be a recovery for damages. Often there are hazards, obstacles, dangerous conditions, failure to put up warning signs, potential dangers, contributing circumstances, or other issues that are related to a slip and fall accident. If you are in a slip and fall accident, write down every important event that led up to your accident. What were you doing just before you fell and how did you fall? Many times, weather can be a factor at a property if you slip and fall outside. Was there loose concrete, or defects in the sidewalk?

These are questions you will want to answer regarding the fall. If you fall inside, you may want to consider finding out if there were:

  • Loose carpet
  • Loose floorboards
  • Torn carpeting
  • Recently mopped up areas
  • Waxed floors
  • Cluttered floors
  • Defects in stair railings

Winning Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

When it comes to winning your personal injury lawsuit, you don’t want to leave it to chance. There is a definite skill involved in managing the personal injury lawsuit, and you will want to have an expert behind you to ensure that you get the money that you deserve. Personal injury lawsuits are usually settled out of court. You may be wondering why that is?

Court’s Point of View on a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Well, let’s look at it from the court’s point of view. Although each personal injury lawsuit is different, and they are not similar in terms of the individual’s injuries, they are usually predictable. These lawsuits are claims made to be reimbursed for the personal injuries that someone suffers from a loss. That is not typically “cut and dried,” but almost. In a way, those are the simplest lawsuits to resolve, because there is a personal injury, a breached duty, a loss, medical bills, lost wages, or a disability and money due to put the person back to rights.

These cases are easily settled out of court, but not easily won to get the money that you deserve. When a person is injured, it can be life-changing or just a bruise. There is no telling how this case will be resolved until the negotiations actually begin. In these cases, you will want an expert attorney on your side, to strategize the best recovery for your case on all levels, with nothing left behind.

If you feel that you have been injured and want to initiate a personal injury lawsuit, you need to give us a call immediately. We will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the personal injury that you claim, and will help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses. We are here for you every step of the way. Call us at 762-323-1460 today to discuss your personal injury issues with an expert attorney on our team.

What Happens If I Reject a Settlement Offer?

Whenever a claim or a case is being negotiated with an insurance company, there can come the time that an offer is made and rejected. There are actually some good reasons to reject an offer of settlement. If it is possible to negotiate the settlement offer, it will be better in that it offers the opportunity to come to a middle ground for settling a claim. But in the alternative, there can be times that an offer of settlement will be rejected. If you have been in a car accident or truck accident, you will be settling the case with an insurance company. A car accident attorney or a truck accident attorney can help you with the settlement.

Some Reasons To Reject a Settlement As Advised by a Car Accident Lawyer

The Offer Is Too Low

There can be times that you are made an offer, and it is just too low. This goes again towards your expectation of what you will receive in an offer from an insurance company. If you have an unrealistic expectation of what the settlement will be, then anything short of that in your mind will be an offer that is too low. You may need to talk to an experienced car accident attorney or truck accident attorney about the expected offer of settlement with the insurance company. It is better to find out what will be a reasonable offer and how you should manage the counteroffer if that will be given in response.

The Offer Is Based on Reduction of Liability

If the offer being made by an insurance company, you can best believe that the offer is based on the insurance company’s investigation of the claim. If the insurance company believes that their insured is not at fault, they will make a low offer to you for settlement. If you are wondering why the offer is low if the liability is being questioned, it is for a few reasons. If the insurance company does its best to investigate the claim, but there are still a few unanswered questions, they will settle to the best of their ability, based on the information that they were able to determine from their resources. In this case, they are settling with you anyway, in an effort of good faith. In that case, they are in effect saying that they believe you and your credible evidence of the loss, but that they cannot justify paying more and will settle with you for the lowered amount of the claim.

Settlement Offers Are Like A Sale At a Store

In this case, it is sort of like going to a penny sale. The retailer who wants to sell something to you for one cent is interested in the good faith effort of having a sale, but not as interested in selling all that much of that particular merchandise. For that business retailer, it is more important to be seen having a sale, whereby the quantity is more important than the quality of the merchandise up for grabs. With the insurer who wants to just close the case, oftentimes there will be a nominal amount offered, or slightly more than that, just to get the case signed off on and closed for good. You are under no obligation to accept this offer, and are within your rights to reject it for the reason that you don’t feel it is a fair representation of the responsibilities of the other party to reimburse you for your losses.

The Offer Is an Insult

It can be the case that an insurance company investigates a claim, and offers a settlement that is way lower than your expectations to settle the claim. It is possible that your expectations for settling the claim are too high, and that you have had an unrealistic idea of how the claim will be eventually settled. Let’s look at some examples of how expectations can be lowered by a low settlement offer.

If you have been hit by another car that has caused an accident, then you may have the expectation that you can fully recover from your losses whatever they may turn out to be. This is and isn’t the case, as some of your losses may be not covered as far as the insurance company is concerned. They have their own protocols and practices to follow to investigate claims at the insurance company. They are actually unable to just give you money because you want it. There has to be a legitimate reason for everything that they do in regard to settling the claim or case with you. They are happy to settle the case with you, but not at the point where they will pay one penny more than they have determined on their end that you should have in compensation. It is best to seek help from a car accident attorney or truck accident attorney to help you.

Settling Is Difficult To Do

When you are making the decision to settle an offer, you are actually engaging in a few behaviors at once. First, you have the power to negotiate a settlement, then, after an offer is made, you next have the power to accept the offer in a settlement, or not. If you choose to accept the offer, you are on your way to the settlement of your case. Congratulations are going to be in order very soon after that, because once the insurance company agrees formally to make the settlement to you, 10 times out of 10 times you will receive it.

No Magic and No Tricks Up Their Sleeves

Insurance companies do not share how they are going to negotiate with you, how they plan to engage you to discuss settlements, nor do they give you advanced warning of the negotiation skills they possess to convince you to settle the case with them today if they call. Remember, insurance companies are large operations with a plethora of resources. They have whole departments to distribute workflow to and can get lots of help on managing a case or claim in their office before settlement.

They are not performing magic, and don’t have any tricks up their sleeves. They are regulated by strict laws, and are not trying to “cheat” you out of anything. They are just prudent business owners who are looking out for their own self-interest at all times. And if that means that they can settle a case with you for less than they thought they had to offer – they will do it so find a good car accident attorney or truck accident attorney to help you out.

You Have Right to Reject A Settlement

You are fully within your right to reject a settlement. It would be the better situation though, if you were able to negotiate well at the negotiation or mediation table, to be given the best offer of settlement scenario possible. Don’t wait until the insurance company is down to the last settlement or final offer before you get experienced help in this regard. You need to be with a trusted car accident attorney or truck accident attorney who can help you at every step of the way.

If you feel that you have been cheated out of a settlement or are in the process of negotiating a settlement, you need to give us a call immediately. Our car accident attorney or truck accident attorney will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the losses and damages that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.

What Is a Cash Settlement for Insurance?

A cash settlement for insurance is when an insurance company settles a claim against the company, on behalf of an insured who was a wrongdoer in a lawsuit. For example, if there had been a car accident or truck accident and people were injured in the loss, these individuals can make a claim for damages against the insurance company of the person most responsible for the loss.

After the liability for the loss is established, the responsibility of all parties has been agreed on by the insurance company and the people making claims against the company, then it is time to negotiate a settlement. Insurance companies are very thorough with the investigation of their claims. They do not like to make mistakes, and will look up all of the information necessary to make the best decision for the case. They want to be fair, and are regulated by laws and rules to ensure that their results with you are being fair in all cases.

For this reason, sometimes it will take longer than expected to get a final answer from an insurance company regarding the settlement offer. Take heart, just be patient, they have not forgotten about your claim, and are hard-working at deciding what they are going to offer for resolving the claim or case with you.

Negotiation of Settlements is Easy and Hard

On the one hand, insurance companies are happy to negotiate cash settlements with you, in the event that you are making a rightful claim against someone that they insure. Insurance companies are ready to close cases as soon as they finish their investigations. They rarely “drag their feet,” and want to close cases sometimes as soon as possible.

This is not great news for you. This is the reason that negotiating a claim for a car accident or truck accident with an insurance company can be quite hard. You see, the insurance company is happy to settle out a claim with you – but only on their terms! They will want to “low ball” the figures, tell you that your request for compensation is too high, or not take into consideration all of the factors you mentioned when it comes time to determine the worth of your claim.

How Claims Adjusters Really Work

Depending on the size of the insurance company, most claims adjusters are overworked. They have piles of claims on their desks, and they would love to settle them all out as soon as possible. Of course, each claim is different. Each claim at an insurance company has a different set of facts, different people involved, even different allegations from people involved in the same loss.

Insurance adjusters do not want to take the process slowly. They want to follow their protocols to investigate the loss, then they want to close it up as soon as they can. They will be given a certain amount of leeway to settle in cash the claim with you, but they don’t want to overpay. To an insurance adjuster, every day is a “sale.” They want to settle as cheaply as possible, that is just how they work, it is nothing personal to the people they are settling claims with at the time.

Can You Get Around the Claims Adjuster for More Money?

This is actually the best question by far, and the answer to this question is a firm “NO”! You actually don’t want to get around, outwit, outplay or go above the claims adjuster. There is actually no way that you will win that way. The best way to get the money that you deserve from a claims adjuster at an insurance company is to make your case as good as possible, and present it as clearly as you can to be understood.

Claims Adjusters are Human Too!

Claims adjusters are not monsters, they are human too. They are people who generally want to reimburse you for the money and compensation that you are owed. They sometimes need to ask very personal questions in relation to a claim. This is only because they are tasked with investigating claims of a car accident or truck accident, and need all of the information related to the claim possible, to make the best decision for you. The claims adjuster is not your friend, per se, but the person is also not your worst enemy either.

Most claims adjusters will make an offer to you when all of the claims has been reviewed. This is the stage of negotiations. If you agree to the offer that is presented, the insurance company will offer you a settlement. At this time, you could be offered a cash settlement. This settlement will be given to you as a lump sum, all at the same time.

Lump-Sum Cash Settlements

It is not a rare occurrence that an insurance company can settle out a claim with you for a lump sum in cash. Often that is the route that they can give to you, especially if you prefer this result. If you do not take a cash settlement, the insurance company will discuss other compensation options with you at that time.

Lump-sum cash settlements can be for any amount. They can be for as low as a few thousand dollars, to as high as tens of thousands of dollars or higher. What a person does with the cash settlement is up to that individual. If someone receives a cash settlement and wants to put it all in a bank, that can be arranged by the individual receiving the money. If the person receiving the cash settlement wants to use the money to pay off bills or buy a loved one a home, that can be arranged as well, by the individual getting the money.

Receiving Your Cash Settlement Award

Once the person receives the cash settlement from the insurance company, there will be a release to sign. This release usually says that it is the final distribution of money on this case or claim, and that there is no other liability of the insurance company to the individual after the cash settlement is distributed. The release also will prevent the person receiving the money from coming back later in several years, to start the claim or case all over again to get more money from the insurance company.

Negotiations Are Critical for Successful Results

By now you can probably see that the negotiation of your settlement with an insurance company, is the most important part of getting to your final cash settlement. This is not difficult to figure out. If you are able to negotiate well, prove your case, convince the insurance company of your validity for your claim, then you have a higher likelihood to get the money that you are requesting from the insurance company. Of course, it is going to be up to the insurance company as to how the investigation is arranged, what additional information they may ask for, and how long this process will take.

For example, many insurance companies are reducing staff because of the pandemic, and some claims may take longer to process for this reason. Before the pandemic, a claim would take a certain amount of time, but now, claims may take extra time to process for reduced staffing reasons alone. It is best to keep this in mind when making a claim with an insurance company where you do expect to negotiate a cash settlement at the end of the case.

If you feel that you need help reviewing a cash settlement for a car accident or truck accident from an insurance company, you need to give us a call immediately. Our car accident lawyer or truck accident lawyer will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the cash settlement that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses. Call us at 762-323-1460 today to discuss your insurance cash settlement issues with an expert car accident attorney and truck accident attorney on our team.

What Kind of Damages are Compensated for Emotional Distress?

It is true that emotional distress affects people differently. And nowhere is this more important to understand, than when you are looking to recover on a loss for damages related to emotional distress. Emotional distress can be triggered immediately after a car accident or truck accident. That is why it is critical that you consider the emotional distress element of your case on the first day. Your mental health is important to your physical health, and if you are suffering from emotional distress, you might be more inclined to develop chronic diseases as a result of this stress to your mental health overall.

What Is Emotional Distress?

In a general sense, emotional distress is tied firmly to the belief that you have experienced a loss or damage, and are now still thinking about it. If you are traumatized by a truck or car accident, and have residual feelings of doom regarding getting into a car – this could be an example of emotional distress related to a car crash.

What Is My Emotional Distress Really Worth?

This is the million-dollar question, literally. The only person who can determine what your emotional distress is “worth” in compensation to you, will be you! You will start with deciding what is triggering you to have an issue after the loss or car accident. Are you suffering emotional distress? Of course, it can be the case that you have other personal problems, and that is the real cause of your emotional distress. The insurance company investigating your insurance claim may ask you to submit any medical bills that are related to your emotional distress. Do not be surprised if this request is made.

Will My Emotional Distress Ever Go Away?

This question will be very difficult to answer, and it can only be answered by you. If you have an issue that triggers an emotional distress response whenever you think about a car accident or a truck accident, then you may need to seek professional help for this problem. How or when your emotional distressing thoughts, images, feelings, or perceptions will go away will depend on a number of personal factors. These factors might include:

  • What other stressors do you have in your life right now?
  • Can you overcome your other life stressors to focus on recovering from your accident-related emotional distress?
  • Have you had issues with mental health issues in the past?
  • Has the trauma of the car accident triggered other emotional distress problems that you have had in the past?

Is Emotional Distress a Broad or Specific Term?

Emotional distress is a broad term to apply to any emotional issues that might be triggered when reliving your vehicular accident. The courts and insurance companies will want to know about proof that you have emotional distress related to the car accident or any automobile accident, if you are interested in recovering compensation for it. In specific terms, if a person is interested in recovering compensation for emotional distress, it behooves the person saying he is suffering from emotional distress to offer proof of the same.

If you state that you have emotional distress as the result of a car accident, then you will need to be able to offer some type of proof that the car accident was the cause of your current feelings of distress. You would need to offer objective evidence of your emotional suffering for the court or insurance company where you are making this claim. You will want to be able to offer too indirect evidence which provides backup for this type of testimony.

Back to the Same Question, What is Your Emotional Distress Worth?

Let’s circle back to the original question: What is your emotional distress worth to you? You will have to accept that you will need some proof of your emotional distress and how it is related to the car accident. You may need other people to vouch for you to prove that you did not feel in this state of mind before the loss. Once you decide on what you are going to ask for a damages award, you need to be able to justify it to the court or to the insurance company.

For example, if Person A and Person B are in a car accident, let’s review how they could handle a request for damages award for emotional distress. Person A and Person B were both passengers in the backseat of a rideshare when it had a severe accident and collided with another vehicle. Both Person A and Person B have the exact same injuries and are the same age and gender. These injuries were: slight headache, trouble concentrating, strain on one arm which occurred while bracing for impact during the crash, and emotional distress over the accident.

Person A’s Claim for Emotional Distress

Starting with Person A, we could find that Person A has claimed emotional distress, after having nightmares every night after the car accident or truck accident. Person A has not been able to go back to work, and has been thinking about formally retiring from the job early as a result of the emotional distress being suffered. Before the truck or car accident, Person A was having difficulties on the job and was considering retiring anyway, but was not willing to go that route quite yet. Person A is asking for $900,000 compensatory damages for emotional distress. Person A plans to use the money to consider extending visits to seeing a second psychiatrist. It is noted that Person A already sees a psychiatrist for other unrelated mental health issues in life, and the accident has triggered many other emotional issues in Person A’s life at this time.

Person B’s Claim for Emotional Distress

On to Person B and this individual’s account of emotional distress. All things being equal, Person B has had emotional distress after the accident as well. Person B has had trouble sleeping, issues remembering and concentrating at work, and has had nightmares the same as Person A. But before the accident, Person B had never seen a psychiatrist, has not had any issues at work, and planned to continue working another decade at a job that was well-loved and challenging. Person B has made a claim for emotional distress for $600,000 to cover seeing a psychiatrist work out any issues, with money to be left over for future visits if necessary.

These are the facts of the hypothetical case. If you were the judge or insurance company adjuster tasked with deciding who to give the compensatory award to, which would you decide to favor? Would you give the money award to both Person A and Person B? Or, would you decide to give an award of emotional distress to one of either Person A or Person B, and not the other? Would you give a compensatory award to both of them, but for a reduced or increased amount than that which they requested?

If you need some time to think about it, then you are on the way to understanding that a claim of emotional distress is a complex claim to make in regards to recovering compensation for that claim.

If you feel that you have been the victim of a car accident or truck accident and have emotional distress, you need to give us a call immediately. Our car accident attorney or truck accident attorney able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the emotional distress that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses. 

How Much Should I Settle for Getting Hit by a Car or a Truck?

Any time that a person is hit by a car or a truck and incurs physical damage to the vehicle or the person, there will be the issue of settling the case to reimburse for the losses. If there are injuries as the result of a car accident or a truck accident, these need to be managed and taken into consideration when determining how much the settlement should be for this loss.

Injuries to Your Body

In the event that you experience personal injuries as a result of your car accident or truck accident, you will want to recover enough in compensation from the settlement package to reimburse you for your injuries. The idea that you will have injuries today and tomorrow, as well as into the future sometimes does not occur to people as they settle out their claims for car accidents. There are many questions that you need to ask yourself to determine if your injuries are going to be resolved soon, will need help in the future, or will be needing to be referred to other doctors to help you get back to your former self, after an accident.

Here are some questions that might be helpful to consider, before settling for your car accident being hit by a car, with the wrongdoer or the wrongdoer’s insurance company.

  1. Have you been referred to a specialist for your injury?
  2. Have your doctors referred you for physical therapy for future assistance to reduce pain from your injury?
  3. Are you still in pain after the injury, the same as it was on the day of the loss?
  4. Have you found it difficult to resume your daily duties?
  5. Are you in constant pain, even after rehabilitation and therapy sessions are coming to an end?
  6. Are you becoming depressed and now need therapy to manage everyday living because of your life changes and the car accident?
  7. Is your life totally different now that you have had the car accident, and you can’t seem to get back on track to a place of balance?
  8. Do you need to see more specialists discuss future surgeries and medications for your car accident injuries?
  9. Have you already had several surgeries to repair damage to your body after the car accident, and are now told that you will need even more surgeries as time goes on?
  10. Can you honestly say that you are back in a position to put the accident behind you, with a way to see how you will function normally after the car crash?

Injuries to Your Car

Cars protect the people driving in them while on the road. For this reason, when there is a car accident, your vehicle will sustain many damages as it protects you from the majority of the loss and damages. It is important to understand how car loss settlements work, to be able to get back what you deserve in this type of situation.

What Was Your Car Worth Yesterday?

Many people who have been hit by a car or a truck, want to settle out the value of their car first. This makes sense, as they drive their car every day, and should be able to determine the value of the vehicle quite easily. But this is not always the case. Your car’s value is determined by a guide, such as the Kelly Blue Book or the National Association of Automobile Dealer’s NADA guides.

Your car is worth what it has in it, how it looks on the outside and what it has accumulated for the total miles driving on the vehicle. That is about it. Your car may have thousands of dollars- worth of sentimental value to you, but that does not wash when it is being determined for value after a loss.

The Value of a “Total Loss”

If your vehicle was a top-of-the-line car, with every luxury feature installed, with a pristine paint covering, and was well maintained with a tip-top service record – then you can expect that your settlement of the car will be high. If your car was a total loss or “totaled” as a result of the accident, the settlement will be for the value of the car.

If the car is not a total loss and can be repaired, then you will be instructed to take the damaged car to a repair shop for an estimate. Once the insurance company (yours or the wrongdoer’s) approves the estimate, the car can be fixed. The check for the repairs typically comes from the insurance company in the name of the insured or party to be settled, and the name of the repair shop. When the repairs are final, the outcome should be that the victim of the car crash should be put back to rights, and be able to continue on with his or her life after that with a repaired vehicle to drive around in.

The Realities of Reimbursement for Your Vehicle

Once again, your vehicle has a definite value, not linked to how much you loved your car. If you have a brand new car, and paid a pretty penny for it, it still will have depreciated some the day you drove it shiny and new off of the car dealer’s lot. You are free to go onto the resources on the Internet, to review your exact vehicle, the miles, the options etc., to help get a ballpark idea of what your car reimbursement settlement will be worth.

Take note that some information in those resources do not take into consideration that you overhauled an engine, put in all new speakers, replaced all-new custom tires, or had a custom paint application for the vehicle. These new items added to the car might be added in if it added value, but not if it was routine maintenance for the vehicle. For example, the addition of new brakes and struts is part of the routine maintenance for the car, and will not be added in to the settlement because you should have done that to keep your car running in tip-top condition anyway.

Injuries to Your Mental State of Mind

The injuries to your state of mind are called pain and suffering or emotional distress injuries. In this case, you have had to trigger from the car accident or truck accident, and whenever you think about it you are reminded of the trauma over and over again. The value of your pain and suffering will be identified by talking to a professional, to determine how much pain and suffering you have based on this loss as incurred. There is no one way to determine what will suffice to reimburse you for your pain and suffering claim.

Many people experience different amounts of pain and suffering after a car accident or truck accident. This cannot be measured by looking at one case, and cookie-cutter applying the results of one case to all other cases. That analogy does not work. Each person is different, and will experience pain and suffering differently. Some common symptoms include possibly feeling:

  • Insomnia
  • Muscle spasms
  • Medical expenses
  • Hysteria
  • Death thoughts
  • Loss of consortium
  • Irritability
  • Weight loss
  • Stomach pain or ulcers
  • Restlessness

Of course, anyone experiencing these symptoms can also experience them in life based on other problems, not just because of having experienced a car accident. If the person experiencing pain and suffering does feel that those feelings are triggered from having been in a car accident, then those damages and losses should be considered for reimbursement. If the individual feels that he or she is changed now in regards to his or her mental state because of the car crash, then the pain and suffering recovery compensation figures should be factored into the final settlement package for the loss.

If you have been hit by a car or truck, you need to give us a call immediately. Our car accident attorney or truck accident attorney will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the car accident or truck that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.

How Can I Prove My Pain and Suffering?

Many people experience pain and suffering after a car accident, truck accident, or after any other type of physical loss resulting in an injury. The pain and suffering aspect of a loss will include feelings of pain or suffering over the past loss, even after the event has occurred. Pain and suffering can happen days, weeks, and months after a loss. Some people even experience pain and suffering related issues years after a loss such as a car accident and truck accident.

These are complex issues that are going to be uniquely experienced by each person. No two people will experience pain and suffering the same, even if they are in the same vehicle at the time of a car accident. Their pain and suffering experience will be different and must be handled differently in a pain and suffering claim.

Proving your pain and suffering will take time, as your damages and losses need to be verified after a loss. In the case of pain and suffering, you will have differing degrees of pain and suffering, depending on if the loss just happened, or has happened a while ago. As the loss is fresh in your mind, you should be writing down all of the important details related to the loss.

Physical Symptoms Associated with Pain and Suffering

There are people who have associated physical symptoms that go along with their pain and suffering. These individuals have pain based on their injury, and have mental anguish or mental based pain and suffering that is also affiliated with their losses as well. Pain and suffering are difficult to prove, because there are many stereotypes around what it really is based on with a claim for damages.

There may not be a perfect way to measure a person’s pain and suffering after a car accident, or the person’s mental anguish after having been involved in a traumatic event. A court would have to consider many factors when deciding about reimbursing a person for pain and suffering. There may need to be a doctor’s examination involved in the proof of a person’s pain and suffering claim, to determine or identify a diagnosis for a recoverable interest for this type of loss reimbursement.

Spreading the Loss Dollars Around to the Victim

A person who has experienced a loss or damages that could have triggered a pain and suffering claim, may assume that these types of damages will be reimbursed by a court of law. There is no automatic rule that after every loss, a person can also just tack on the claim for pain and suffering related to the loss. If a person has pain and suffering triggered by the loss, that will need to be reviewed to determine the correct amount of money to reimburse the individual suffering from this type of loss. It may be true that decades ago, pain and suffering was a type of unintentional injury that was often used to punish wrongdoers, and reward victims of losses.

For example, pain and suffering that is given to a victim for a violent road rage incident that led to a fatality car crash, seems justified in those cases. The problem is that people who suffer losses automatically assume that on top of their loss, damages, and other reimbursements for an accident that the added figures for pain and suffering will usually be thrown into the mix. That may not always be the case, as we have noted, if pain and suffering are related to the loss, it still needs to be proven.

Pain and Suffering Reimbursement Is Not “Revenge” to Wrongdoers

Nowhere has it been written that pain and suffering reimbursement is an automatic remedy at law, for people recovering compensation for the wrongdoings of others. For this reason, pain and suffering reimbursement is not meant to further punish the person who committed the offense against you. Yes, there can be bad actors, and yes there are people who are responsible for their actions, owing reimbursement for the losses and damages suffered by other people. But in no way is pain and suffering put into the package to settle a claim for losses or damages, as an automatic final dig to the wrongdoer.

Do Pain and Suffering Damages Remove the “Pain” of a Loss?

Without working on a philosophical theory, there are pros and cons as to whether the award for pain and suffering does remove a person’s painful feelings after a loss. In some ways, the award of pain and suffering compensation can make a person feel better, find closure, and be able to move on after a loss or damages. This is the case where the person is triggered to feel emotionally a certain way when being forced to relive the events related to the loss.

An example is a person who has been involved in a horrific car accident, has experienced severe injuries, and is still haunted by the crash every day. That person may be able to recover from the intense feelings of pain and suffering, with an award of money that will assist the person to recover from this issue (possibly with professional help). But in other cases, there is technically no amount of money that will allow the person wronged to feel whole again, and recovering compensation for the loss is acceptable, but not 100% satisfactory.

What Is Extreme Pain and Suffering?

The case of extreme pain and suffering can occur when there is extreme or totally outrageous conduct by a wrongdoer in a case. Many courts will look to determine whether a person will recover compensation in this type of case, by reviewing whether the emotional distress was reasonably foreseen as a consequence of the wrongdoer’s conduct. This will go towards deciding and determining if the wrongdoer’s actions were a legal cause of the victim’s damage. In other words, in this type of case, there is a strong likelihood of being able to recover compensation for emotional distress.

What Are Typical Symptoms of Pain and Suffering?

It is important to keep reiterating that every person will experience pain and suffering after a loss differently, and there are many other life factors in play when a person has this problem. That being said, some of the common symptoms of pain and suffering after a loss can include the following:

  • Hypertension or high blood pressure
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Hysteria
  • Marital strife
  • Nausea
  • Nervousness
  • Crying
  • Sexual loss
  • Overeating
  • Undereating and loss of appetite
  • Job loss
  • Loss of self-esteem

It is true that any of these conditions listed above can happen to a person, regardless of whether the individual has been in a car accident or suffered a personal injury or not. Anyone can experience loss of self-esteem or a job loss. Just as anyone can feel nervous, feel like crying, or have a feeling of being anxious all the time. When these feelings are triggered after having experienced a loss or damages, then there is a greater chance that there is pain and suffering going on with the individual.

If you have been hit by a car or a truck and you have pain and suffering, you need to give us a call immediately. Our truck accident attorney or car accident attorney will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the pain and suffering that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.

Can You Sue For Emotional Pain and Suffering?

Emotional pain and suffering, also known as emotional distress, is a recoverable and actionable factor in a lawsuit. This is used when a person is bringing an action against someone else for mental suffering, or the mental painful emotions that one person incites in another person. Emotional distress is not to be taken lightly. Many people suffer emotional distress and it can be a debilitating problem for the rest of the person’s life. There are many different degrees for identifying emotional distress, and every case is unique.

Some people are greatly affected by having experienced a loss, and can have emotional distress as well because of that loss. In the case of a car accident, oftentimes the trauma of being in an accident can trigger emotional distress in a person. Each emotional pain and suffering case is different. There is no one type of case that will apply to everyone, each case is unique. Let’s look more closely at the elements and circumstances where emotional distress may apply in a lawsuit.

Is Emotional Pain and Suffering a Tort?

This definition might get tricky here, but emotional pain and suffering is a mental or personal type of injury that is separate from a tort law pain and suffering. In general, emotional pain and suffering will try to stay on the side of emotional hurt, as opposed to physical injuries. The emotional pain and suffering can come from experiencing or suffering a physical injury, but it is a separate injury in most cases.

There can be emotional distress with a physical injury or without. In the case of emotional pain and suffering, the distress part of it can cause a physical hurt that the person experiences deep within. For example, if a person feels emotional distress after an accident, those feeling of being emotionally hurt or unbalanced can result or manifest in an injury, such as stress, anxiety, an upset stomach, or other physical symptoms. People feel emotional distress in degrees, all at once, slowly building up, the possibilities are endless to how it starts. Most experts would agree though, that feelings of emotional pain and suffering are real, and can be debilitating to the people who experience it after a loss.

Can Emotional Distress Show Physical Symptoms?

Again, we are going into tricky territory here, but emotional pain and suffering can have physical symptoms. Let’s look at an example. In the case of someone who has suffered a personal injury in a car accident, and then has recurring anxious thoughts about being in a car, or has nightmares of the accident, that is an example of emotional pain and suffering that might be considered related to the accident. In the case of another type of torts, such as assault, or battery, there can be emotional distress tied to this type of action as well.

Does There Need to Be Physical Injury to Have Emotional Distress?

The answer to this question is no, there most often does not need to have a physical injury to have an emotional distress claim or case. There are instances of people who witness horrific events, and who were not touched physically by those events. But the individuals have emotional pain and suffering. In many cases, an individual who sees an event and who has an emotional distress case as a result, the person needs to be nearby to the event for it to apply. For example, if a person sees a car careen over a bridge railing and is a first-hand eyewitness to the loss – that individual may have emotional distress based on witnessing the accident. If a person sitting at home sees the loss on television on the nightly news update, that individual who was not at the scene has less of a claim for emotional pain and suffering in a court of law.

Can Emotional Pain and Suffering be Intentionally Inflicted?

Again, the answer is “Yes.” The idea that someone can intentionally make you upset enough to be emotionally distressed is possible. A person can exhibit extreme conduct, that is highly likely to hurt someone, or can put someone into the mindset that imminent harm will occur, based on that bad actor’s actions. If a person is acting uncivilly, recklessly, or has no regard for human life, the person who is at the end of receiving the actions could experience emotional pain and suffering.

Let’s look at an example of this situation. If a rideshare driver is driving in a reckless way, and the passengers were afraid for their lives, they may have suffered emotional pain and suffering while in the rideshare vehicle. Whether it results in an accident will have mattered, but the emotional distress aspect of a claim for the same will be considered too separately and on its merits alone. Once the passengers leave the scene of an accident (or no accident), the memory of that fateful car ride can still haunt the person(s) for days, weeks, or months to come. Emotional pain and suffering is a problem that can also trigger other issues for an individual. That is why it is actionable as a loss, but needs to be clarified carefully before making a claim for it in a lawsuit.

Emotional Pain and Suffering Is Not An Insult

It’s important to note that emotional pain and suffering are not just the results of an insult thrown at a person. Of course, people used to say that words can’t hurt a person, but most people would disagree. If a person is constantly being badgered, belittled, or bullied, then in some instances those words thrown could be considered emotional distress in some cases. But overall, if an individual is insulted by someone else, it is meant that the person who heard the insult should shake it off, and that it will not in the larger sense count as a factor in emotional pain and suffering.

To have a spoken insult result in emotional pain and suffering, there might be a threat combined in the conversation. That presence of a threat may put the person hearing the threat in the mindset of fear, extreme anxiety or turn into a type of emotional distress. In that case, even if the person was not physically touched, the emotional pain and suffering claim may still be valid.

Determining and Identifying Emotional Pain and Suffering

In the case of a lawsuit for emotional pain and suffering, it will be important to clearly identify all aspects of the emotional distress being experienced. There will definitely be questions related to managing this issue of clarifying the emotional pain and suffering, and the relation to the wrongdoer’s conduct towards you. If you have been in the position that someone else has made you experience emotional pain and suffering, then you will want to discuss this situation carefully with an experienced attorney. This is the time to find an attorney who is highly experienced in managing, strategizing, and dealing with cases regarding different types of emotional pain and suffering. Do not leave this type of claim to chance.

You have only one opportunity to recover in a lawsuit, and you need to ensure that if you have a case for emotional pain and suffering, that it is heard in the case to allow full recovery for your losses and damages.

If you have been hit by a car or a truck and you have pain and suffering, you need to give us a call immediately. Our truck accident attorney or car accident attorney will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the pain and suffering that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.

How Do Insurance Companies Determine Settlement Amounts?

Insurance companies determine who will recover compensation for a loss, how much the compensation will be, and what factors will be considered. Insurance companies are regulated heavily in the United States, and they have to work quickly and accurately to handle and settle amounts of compensation for every case presented on the merits. An insurance company has to review the case, come to its conclusion as to the settlement amounts due, and offer the settlement to you after the case has come to a resolution.

The insurance company is looking out for its own interests. This is not to say that they are out to get anyone, or deliberately cheat someone, but it can happen that you get less than you feel that you deserve. It is also often the case that you will be offered a settlement amount that is way less than you feel that you are owed in that case. This is the reason that if you have a personal injury due to a car accident or truck accident, you will want to be thorough to keep scrupulous records on what happened to you. You will want to ask the questions to yourself first, to make sure that you are gathering all of your “evidence” and paperwork to prove your case.

Gathering Information on Your Case

Before anything else happens, you need to start at the beginning. Look to your claim and take notes on what your claim is all about. Did you have a car accident, was there a wrongful death, or were you injured by the negligence of someone else? You will want to ask some basic questions of yourself in regard to your loss. These are some of the same questions that an insurance company will be asking you later as they try to investigate the loss as well.

What Really Happened?

Okay, you’ve had a loss and want to be reimbursed for your troubles. Then, it is time to start writing down exactly what happened for you to incur the loss. Were you injured, did you make a prior injury worse, or did you lose wages because of your injuries to your body? In the alternative, did you have a car accident, was someone else at fault, or do you need a new car because your car is now a total loss? Actually, sit down and write down the questions that an insurance investigator will ask – and answer them! By answering these questions, you are starting to put together a package that will help you to recover compensation for your claim.

Who Was At Fault?

Once you have written down the pertinent questions and answers related to your loss, personal injury, or damages, it is time to think about who was actually at fault. When you take an honest look at your loss or accident, you need to determine were also partially to blame for what happened? If you were, it does not mean that you will never recover. On the contrary, sometimes you can be partially at fault for the loss, and your liability is still under the threshold to allow you to recover for your damages. You will need to look carefully at your responsibility in this case, as you need to know if someone else is responsible for reimbursing you for your loss or not.

Who Is Affected By This Loss?

Next, you will want to consider who is affected by this loss? Is it just you, or is your entire family going to be affected by this loss that you have suffered? In the case that you are the major breadwinner for your family, you might be out of work or unable to work again after a debilitating personal injury. The insurance company will have to take this information into consideration when they are determining how to settle the claim with you, and for what amount.

Insurance Company Settlements

Insurance companies love to settle claims. This sounds counterintuitive for the insurance company, but it is true. Think of it for a second from their side. They have an insured, the insured pays monthly premium. Then, there is a loss. There is coverage for the loss, there are coverage caps or limits, but these types of accidents and losses are covered every day, that is what insurance is for! The insurance company opens a claim and starts to investigate. Once they determine that it is affirmed that there needs to be a settlement paid out to you for this claim, then they are usually happy to do so. The rub is this: they want to pay you to want they want to pay – not what you want to receive.

Insurance Companies Make Final Settlement Amount Payments

You see, once the insurance company pays you the settlement, you sign that it is the final settlement, and as far as the insurance company is concerned, all is well. At that point, once the settlement has been paid, they get to clap their hands together, close the file, mark it “PAID IN FULL” and it is over for them at that point. But is it over for you? This is what you have to ask yourself.

You are now probably seeing why it is critically important for you to get all of the money that you think you will need in the future for this loss. You will not get a second chance to settle a case with an insurance company. Your settlement is going to be final, like a final lawsuit. If you forget to add in something, well, that is going to be too bad. You don’t get a second chance to negotiate a settlement with them.

Why Insurance Companies Are So Intimidating?

This is a great question, and has a great answer to boot. Why are insurance companies so intimidating when you have to deal with them to get compensation for a loss? Well, they are intimidating because of their sheer size. They are huge and have whole departments to manage every aspect of your claim. They have resources, manpower and studies on their side. They have access to claims investigators, legal departments, private investigators, medical experts and more to ensure that they don’t pay out more than they think that they owe someone. Down to the penny, the insurance company will always have a number in mind that they want to offer you. And if they can “low ball” this number, and settle with you for less than you deserve, it is no problem for them. They just got to save some money at your expense.

If you feel that a settlement amount is unfair, you need to give us a call immediately. Our car accident attorney or truck accident attorney will be able to discuss this case.

How Do You Win a Settlement Due to a Car Accident?

There are many ways to win a settlement. The best way to win a settlement is to be prepared, and to know what you expect from the settlement and claim upfront. It will help to know what you expect out of this situation, and know how to be patient and reasonable when it comes to settling a claim with any at-fault party or insurance company. But before you win a settlement, you have to have a loss, a valid claim, and know who you want to win a settlement within the long run.

What Is a Loss?

A loss or damages is what happens when you have been wronged by another party and it creates a loss or damages to you or your property. In these cases, you can experience a loss in the form of a personal injury, or a loss in the form of damages to your vehicle after an accident. Sometimes you can have a personal injury and damages to your car, such as with a car crash.

In the case of a car accident, you will have a loss and you will need to still get back to normal. If you are making a claim with an insurance company, those expenses that you incur to continue living your life normally will be included in your claim. For example, if your automobile is not able to be driven for repairs being performed, you may need a rental car to get around and get to work during that time. The insurance company on your end may pay for this, or the at-fault person’s insurance company may pay for your rental. This will allow you to lead a reasonably normal life while the claim is being investigated. If you incur these types of expenses, the reimbursement for the rental car will be part of your settlement package at the settlement of your claim or case.

When you have an injury to your person, or to your property, then you will want to determine who is responsible for your damages. It is necessary to determine the person’s responsibility, to be able to bring a claim or lawsuit against the individual. People generally have insurance, and your action will be brought eventually against the person’s insurance company.

Insurance Companies Settle Claims All Day Long

Insurance companies are like any other business, they are in business to make money. They insure people against losses and damage happening to their own property. The insurance company also pays out settlements for their insureds, when the insureds injure other people personally or are responsible for damages to other people’s property. The insurance company takes in premium, invests its money as it sees fit, and settles out loss and damage claims. That is basically what the insurance company does all day. Of course, they would rather save money when they can, and will pay out as little as they can to settle a claim, all while being fair about the settlement.

Insurance Companies Want to Settle Claims

Insurance companies are busy entities. They want to settle the valid claims of their insureds. They have to investigate all reported claims. They will investigate a claim, look at the policy limits and determine how much to settle the claim for once that work is completed. Also, if a case goes to trial, then the insurance company may be mandated by the court to make a payment based on the award from the court.

There are rules, laws, regulations, and protocols that all licensed insurance companies must follow before making a settlement for your claim or case. They cannot skip steps, guess what is owed back to you, or wonder about what they need to send you for reimbursement. The insurance company by law must carefully investigate the claim, and once they make their fair determination, send money to you on the claim or case. The insurance company will make an offer to you to settle the case, once all of the data is in, and they understand the value of the claim to be paid.

Your Expectations Do Play A Role in Your Settlement

As noted, the insurance company will make its own determination of what they want to pay you for the settlement. You are within your rights to then negotiate the offer of settlement that the insurance company makes to you. Remember, this settlement will be a full and final settlement in most cases. You will not get another chance to settle a case once you accept the offer of settlement with an insurance company. That is the reason it is critical that you remember to submit all relevant information regarding the claim to the insurance company at the beginning of the process. This way, the insurance company can make the best determination as to how to reimburse you for your losses and damages related to the claim being reviewed.

You may have an idea of what you are going to want to get in settlement from an insurance company. It does pay here to be realistic when making the determination what you will receive from an insurance company. Sometimes, what you want and what they want to give you will be two widely divergent numbers. This is where it is important to have a knowledgeable attorney on your side to help you manage and navigate this trick negotiation process.

Finding an Expert Attorney to Win a Settlement

It goes without saying that you will need an attorney who knows how to manage your claim or case, in order to win a settlement in that situation. Many attorneys do not specialize in anything, and are able to win cases anyway, but this is rare. A better plan is to go to an attorney who specializes in the type of case that you are seeking to win. If you need a specific surgery, wouldn’t you want to go to a surgeon who does that surgery several times a day? You would not feel as comfortable going to a surgeon who does that surgery occasionally.

When you pick a car accident attorney who has a great track record in the exact type of case that you want, you are on the road to winning a settlement. Remember, settlements are won after time has occurred to allow the insurance company to perform their investigation and determine that paying you a settlement is the best idea to close the case. If there is the case that you are also at fault for the loss, you have the wrong parties named in the claim or case, or if there are other issues in the case, this will definitely prolong the settlement or hamper the settlement completely. If you are working with an expert car accident attorney in the field that manages these types of losses and damages, that car accident attorney will know how to continue to move the case and claim along to a successful conclusion.

If you feel that you have been the victim of a loss and you have a valid claim to pursue, you need to give us a call immediately. We will be able to discuss this case with you and determine the exact nature of the losses and damages that you claim, and help you to build this case to find out if you can recover compensation for your losses.