Toll-Free: 800-354-6275
Phone: 817-294-1900
On the other hand, an insurance adjuster has not gone through the daily issues that an injured party has and instead must evaluate the claim based on a stack of papers. Despite the obvious difference in perspectives, many claims are able to reach a resolution without a jury having to decide the issue.
There are many parts to the "compensation" issue, but they break down into two general categories:
Property damage refers to getting your car repaired if it can be or replaced if it is "totaled." The availability of rental cars comes into play here. Property damage claims are usually resolved very soon after the accident, well before your bodily injury claim is resolved.
How is the bodily injury part of the claim evaluated?
To determine their offer, the insurance company looks at the severity of impact, the amount of property damage, the types of medical treatment, the results of diagnostic tests, length of treatment, charges made by the medical professionals and the type of lost wage documentation provided to them.
If you are injured, you have suffered pain. This is an important element of your damages. How to quantify this pain is difficult. It is part of you personal injury lawyer's job to explain your pain and the effect the injuries have had on your life.
It is up to the injured party, or their PI attorney, to put the right evidence in front of the adjuster. An experienced injury attorney will have a good feel for what the value of the case should be, taking into account the specifics of the case and how juries are receptive to those types of cases. The adjuster usually doesn't do their own investigation of the injury part of the claim--especially if they do not have a medical authorization.
Usually the injured party or their attorney makes a settlement demand to which the insurance company will respond. The settlement offer by the insurance company is not broken down into separate dollar amounts for the various recoverable damages (bills, wages, pain and suffering, etc.). It is one lump sum amount considering all of the facts. Lots of times, negotiations will follow and a settlement can be reached. Not all cases resolve at this stage. If that happens, a lawsuit will need to be filed.
Once suit is filed, many things happen--one of which is another chance to resolve the case before a trial occurs.
Only a small portion of cases where a lawsuit is filed ever actually get tried, but the attorney must be ready and willing to try the case every single time. If the case is tried before a jury, then the jury will hear all of the evidence presented and they will be the one who make the decision on how much the injured party should be compensated.
Determining the value of a particular case is a very subjective assessment. An experienced Fort Worth injury attorney can make the assessment after a thorough review of all of the facts. If you would like to discuss your injury claim, please call the Anderson Law Firm at 817-294-1900 or Contact Me Online.
Other Articles You Might Be Interested In:
Getting Your Car Repaired After An Accident
Rental Car Issues
Damages You Can Recover In A Personal Injury Claim
Who pays my medical bills and lost wages?
How long do I have to bring a case?
The Anderson Law Firm offers free no obligation consultations to people injured in accidents or who have suffered physical harm as a result of someone else's actions. We do not charge you to initially discuss your situation and establish whether you have a claim to pursue. You can call us and discuss your case over the phone, we can set up an appointment for you to come into our office, or we can visit you in your home anywhere in the metroplex.
If after meeting with us you decide that we are the best personal injury lawyer for you, then we will enter into a contingent fee agreement. This means that we only get paid when we win a settlement or jury verdict in your favor. You don't pay us anything up front. We will cover all expenses spent working on your case. Only when we win for you will you need to pay us. If we don't win, then you owe us nothing.
Contact us online now or call us 24 hours a day toll free on 1-800-354-MARK (1-800-345-6-275). You can also call us locally in Fort Worth on 817-294-1900 or in Dallas on 214-327-8000.
