What To Expect If You Are Involved In A Personal Injury Claim
[stm_post_details]Your health is critical to your well-being and your quality of life. If you have suffered a personal injury, the simple tasks of day-to-day living can feel next to impossible. The things you used to take for granted are suddenly very difficult because of injury and pain.
If you’ve been injured, the law holds accountable persons who may be responsible for your injuries. This could include a person, a company, or an organization. After you’ve been hurt, you will probably be contacted by an insurance company. Although they may seem friendly and helpful, they represent the persons responsible for your injuries, so they’re not looking out for your interests. They don’t really care about you, they’re just doing their job. But the truth is, from their very first contact with you, their job is to minimize the amount of recovery available to you. When the person from the insurance company contacts you, he or she is going to try to find out what happened to you, and what your injuries are. They will want to interview you and get you to provide a statement. DO NOT do that until you talk to a lawyer!
If you’ve been permanently disabled or suffered from medical malpractice, a lawsuit may be the only way to protect your rights. A lawsuit is a complicated process. Lawyers will argue about who was responsible for the accident, and doctors will argue about how serious your injuries are. At the end of the day, a judge and a jury will try their best to get to the bottom of what you deserve. If another person is responsible for your injuries, you can bet that their insurance company is going to hire a lawyer. That is why you need a lawyer to represent you; only a lawyer is familiar with the procedural hazards of presenting a lawsuit. These include the rules of evidence, the protocols of the court system, an effective legal strategy, and the calculation and substantiation of damages. Only a lawyer knows how to protect your rights and maximize your recovery.
After you’ve suffered a serious injury, the insurance company knows that you are in pain and that your life has been turned upside down. They will contact you and try to get information from you that will show either that you were partly to blame for the accident, or that your injuries are not serious, or both! They know you don’t have the time or the energy to deal with all the paperwork and appointments they set up for you. They may try to get you to agree to a small settlement because you’re feeling so overwhelmed by it all that you just want it to be over with. Because they know this, the insurance company will try to get you to agree to a settlement as quickly as possible, for as little money as possible. They will make your sign a lease, so once you agree to a settlement, the insurance company is off the hook if it later turns out your injuries are much more serious or your recovery is much slower than you thought. This type of quick settlement won’t protect you for future expenses, or lost wages if you can’t go back to work because of your injuries. When you hire a lawyer, the lawyer deals with the insurance company every step of the way so you can focus on your health and your recovery. The lawyer also makes sure the insurance company is treating you with respect, and taking your claim seriously, and processing it expeditiously.
Although a slip and fall or a motor vehicle accident may seem straightforward, only a lawyer knows the full range of benefits and damages to which you could be entitled. Depending on how serious your injuries are, this could include things like housekeeping, in-home care, out-of-pocket expenses, pain and suffering, lost income if you miss time from work, and more. The insurance company will not volunteer to identify or pay these benefits and damages because they want to minimize your claim. Only a lawyer can force an insurance company to provide all of the benefits to which you’re entitled!
Before you talk to the insurance company or give any statements, talk to a lawyer at Bezaire & Associates. We will help navigate the lawsuit process and make sure that we are in your corner from the very beginning because after you’ve been seriously hurt, it will feel like nobody else is in your corner.
