The costs that come with an accident can be overwhelming. They include medical expenses, the cost of lost or damaged property, caregiver costs, rehabilitation and therapy costs, and so many more. Fortunately, you can receive compensation for part of those costs or the overall costs if someone was responsible for the accident. A personal injury attorney can help you file a compensation claim with the civil court and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Sometimes, the compensation the court awards is insufficient for the damages you incur in an accident. A skilled personal injury attorney can help you find and utilize ways to maximize that compensation. They will help you determine what you deserve for what you suffered in the accident. They will also present a solid argument in court to ensure the judge awards maximum compensation for your damages.
Here are some of the ways you can maximize your compensation in a personal injury case:
Understand Your Right to Compensation
When an accident occurs, it leaves a trail of destruction behind. People sustain severe injuries, while others experience property loss or damage. Depending on the cause of the accident, you deserve compensation for the resulting damages. This compensation enables you to seek treatment, pay for rehabilitation and other medical expenses, pay for caregiver services before you can fully take care of yourself, and other costs that the accident necessitates. However, this is only possible if someone or a company is responsible for your injuries. You must prove this in court to receive the compensation you deserve.
Proving negligence is an integral part of a personal injury case. Simply stating that someone else was responsible for your injuries is insufficient for you to receive compensation; you must demonstrate how that person caused the accident in which you suffered an injury. You must also explain how your injuries resulted in the damages for which you seek compensation.
Personal injury laws grant you the right to seek compensation when you sustain an injury due to someone else’s negligence. You can exercise that right by filing a claim through the court, demanding that the responsible person pay for the damages you incurred in the accident. But before that, you must gather evidence and prepare a valid claim within the required timelines according to the statute of limitations. Once the court receives your claim, you will attend a hearing whereby you will present evidence and statements to enable the court to understand why you deserve compensation. The alleged responsible party will also present evidence and arguments to fight your claim.
The judge makes the final decision based on the strength of the evidence and statements presented. Thus, you must prepare a solid case and gather as much evidence as possible to file a winning claim in court. In some cases, judges rule in favor of the plaintiff. In other cases, they rule in favor of the defendant. Sometimes, judges do not award all damages in a personal injury claim. This leaves the plaintiff counting more losses. You must know what to include in your claim and what else to do to maximize your compensation.
Some personal injury cases do not end up in civil courts. You could settle the case out of court with the help of a skilled personal injury attorney. However, you must be careful when negotiating with an insurance company to avoid accepting a lower deal than you deserve. An aggressive attorney will negotiate a favorable settlement covering all your damages. They will also advise you against self-incrimination because the insurance provider can use it to avoid paying you total compensation.
Additionally, an attorney will help you understand comparative negligence laws and how they could affect your case. This is necessary if you are partly responsible for the accident that caused your injuries. The court will consider your involvement in the accident to decide how much compensation you will receive from the other responsible party. Your attorney will ensure that the court grants the proper percentage compensation to cover more of your damages.
Include All Medical Costs
Most accidents result in physical injuries that require medical treatment. Medical expenses account for most of the damages incurred in a personal injury case. You must carefully determine the compensation you deserve for all medical costs and those you expect to incur. If someone else was responsible for your injuries, they must ensure you have all your medical costs covered until you fully recover from your injuries. You must consider all your medical expenses to receive sufficient compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you make a correct estimate to maximize your compensation.
First, your attorney will help you determine how you have incurred various medical expenses. For example, what you paid for emergency medical care, transportation costs incurred, medications you bought over the counter, hospital admissions, consultation fees, and costs for specialized care. Your physician can detail the treatment you need after the accident and what you need in the future to recover fully from the accident. These reports help in strengthening your case and proving your claim’s validity.
Additionally, you must collect all medical-related documents to ensure you do not miss out on medical costs when filing your claim. The documents are also the support documents you must include in your claim. Any document you received while seeking or receiving treatment will help, including a notice of when and how you received medical care.
Once you have the necessary documents, your skilled personal injury attorney will help you estimate the medical costs. Remember that the court will consider your claim when granting your petition. Thus, you must provide an estimated figure that includes all your previous, current, and future medical costs. If you sustained a specific injury, like brain damage or spinal cord injury, a specialist can estimate how much it will cost to recover or become better. An experienced attorney will guide you in this process to ensure you do not underestimate your medical costs, which could leave you with less compensation.
Consider Your Suffering and Pain
Personal injury laws allow you to file for compensation for three categories of damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive. The first category includes all damages you can put a dollar value on. They include medical costs, lost or damaged property, caregiver costs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. You can estimate how much you have lost in these categories and provide documents to support your claim. However, the second category, where suffering and pain fall, is a little tricky to prove. Although everyone knows that an accident results in so much suffering and pain, it could be challenging to prove how much you suffered and the pain you endured after the accident.
Remember that a civil court judge relies on evidence and statements to award damages in a personal injury case. This means that you must argue your case well, with the help of an aggressive attorney, to receive adequate compensation for your suffering and pain.
Typically, you cannot quantify suffering and pain. However, a skilled attorney will consider several factors, including the physical pain you endured and how your family suffered after your accident, to determine the compensation you deserve. When all factors are considered in your case, you can recover maximum compensation for your damages.
When awarding your damages, the judge will consider your mental anguish, physical discomfort, loss of life enjoyment, reduced quality of life, humiliation, emotional distress, and lost consortium. You need a skilled attorney to detail how your life was affected by the injury and why you deserve compensation for it. The court will award your damages once you demonstrate how the accident affected your physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.
Include All Your Lost Earnings and Reduced Earning Capacity
When you are injured in an accident, you will need a break from work to recover. Sometimes, the time you take off work is short; other times, it is long, depending on the accident's severity. Some people take a long break from work to recover from severe injuries. Others need therapy and rehabilitation for catastrophic injuries to be able to start working again. You must consider all these when piecing together your personal injury claim. A competent attorney will help determine how much your injury has affected your income and earning capacity.
When you underestimate your lost earnings, your compensation will be insufficient to cover all your damages. Your attorney will ensure you consider every day you have been away from work and how much you could have made in those days to calculate your lost earnings. When doing this, you must consider how much you make daily from your job or business. If you are yet to resume work, a medical report can show how long you must remain in the hospital or at home to recover fully. You should consider those days when calculating your lost earnings. Compensation for these damages will cover your necessities and anything else you pay from your earnings.
Additionally, you must include your lost earning capacity if the accident affected your ability to work in your current job. If you sustained a catastrophic or life-changing injury, like brain damage or paralysis, you will need compensation for lost earning capacity. Your attorney will consider how much money you need to survive for a particular period based on your current lifestyle. They will also consider whether you need retraining to earn a living in a different career or job.
Hire the Right Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injury lawsuits involve a lot of requirements and processes that could be difficult to understand on your own. The legal processes involved are also very complex. You need help navigating the processes, understanding your rights, gathering all the requirements, and putting together a winning lawsuit. The assistance of a skilled personal injury attorney goes a long way in making the process smooth and improving your chances of receiving the compensation you deserve. The kind of attorney you choose is also essential to maximize your compensation. A competent and aggressive attorney will only allow you to settle for what you deserve.
When choosing an attorney, you must carefully select one to help you fight for compensation. You deserve. They must be knowledgeable in various statutes relating to personal injury litigation. This way, they can guide you through all processes successfully. Your attorney must also understand how civil courts view different personal injury cases they receive based on your evidence and supporting documents. This is important as it helps you predict the likely outcome of your case. If you suspect your case is not solid enough, your attorney will help you strengthen it with additional evidence and supporting documents to improve your chances of winning.
You must also consider working with an attorney who has connections with experts in various areas. This way, you can obtain reports and advise if they are needed. The attorney must also be familiar with the local rules, procedures, and strategies needed when representing plaintiffs and defendants facing civil lawsuits. You can consider their track record of performance to determine the quality of service you will receive when you hire them.
Once you have the right attorney, you can enjoy quality advice, guidance, and legal representation.
Gather Compelling Evidence to Support Your Case
Remember that civil courts rely on evidence to determine civil lawsuits. Thus, you must have compelling evidence against the alleged responsible party to compel the judge to grant your claim. Fortunately, different kinds of evidence are needed to support personal injury cases. Your attorney can help you gather sufficient evidence to demonstrate the cause of your accident, the responsible party, and why you need compensation for the damages in your claim. The following are examples of evidence you need in your case:
Medical Records
Your medical records are necessary to show that you were injured in the accident and deserve compensation. Thus, you must gather medical records from the start of your treatment journey. Obtain documents from the ER you were taken to right after the accident, including all hospital visits you have made since the accident and medical reports for all those visits. Ensure you keep a copy of all the medical reports doctors and specialists made after diagnosing you. All these will help prove the gravity of your injuries and the approximate costs for your treatment.
Police Report
When an accident occurs, and the police are called to the scene, they write a detailed report. From the report, you can deduce the cause of the accident and the possible liable party. You can obtain a copy of the police report from the local station through your attorney.
Pictures and Videos of the Accident and Accident Scene
If someone took pictures or a video of the accident or the accident scene right after the mishap, it can help you determine the cause of the accident and the possible liable party. You can take pictures or ask someone to do it if you are injured. Your attorney will also revisit the scene for additional photos and videos to demonstrate the severity of the accident and its likely cause.
Eyewitness Testimonies
An eyewitness can give a detailed accident report to help you prove its cause and liability. A skilled attorney can look for and interview people at the accident scene when you are injured. They can also bring the eyewitnesses into the courtroom to testify on your behalf.
You need concrete, reliable, and credible evidence to win in a personal injury lawsuit. Remember that the defendant will also table evidence and make a statement to counter your claim. Your evidence must be more compelling for the court to grant your petition.
Consider an Out-of-Court Settlement
Court processes are very lengthy and tedious. Most personal injury cases do not end up in court. Your attorney can propose an out-of-court settlement with the insurance company to save you time and money. However, the insurance company must be willing to pay total compensation for your damages for this to work. Since insurance companies are in business, they try to spend less or not pay at all. You must carefully deal with them to maximize your compensation.
A skilled attorney will advise you to avoid dealing with the insurance provider yourself. You could incriminate yourself and jeopardize your chances of obtaining compensation. Your attorney will also present compelling evidence and only settle with the insurance company if it is willing to pay your total compensation. If that does not work, the attorney will file your claim in court.
Find a Competent Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
Are you filing a personal injury claim in Orange County and would like maximum compensation for your damages?
Winning a personal injury case is usually not guaranteed. You must provide concrete evidence and all supporting documents for the court to grant your damages. You must also do much more to maximize your compensation, like gathering more evidence and working with an experienced attorney.
We have extensive experience with different personal injury cases at Orange County Personal Injury Attorney. We can use our skills and expertise to help you through all court processes and maximize your compensation. We will also defend your rights and support you through all legal processes. Call us at 714-876-1959 to start the legal process with us.
