As much as many do not want to think about personal injury, a high percentage of the population will witness a personal injury at some point in life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that about 97 million Americans visited physicians to seek treatment for general injuries in 2019 alone.
If your injury is due to someone’s negligence or recklessness, you can institute a lawsuit against them to recover financial compensation. If your injury was merely an accident on your own, it cannot result in financial compensation.
The “tort law” explains instances where you can hold an involved party liable for your personal injury. In these instances, the guilty person or entity is “liable for damages sustained,” according to the American Bar Association (ABA). In this context, liability refers to a situation where an individual or entity involved in your injury had a responsibility “to take some level of care” to ensure they did not injure you.
Many circumstances can prompt such a scenario. The possibilities include the wrongful action or inaction of the government, reckless or negligent driving, or failure to repair hazardous conditions on personal property. The differences in nuances of personal injury law across the country also worsen the matter.
For example, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida are “no-fault” states when discussing automobile crashes. It means compensation does not depend on who caused the accident. However, states like California, Illinois, and Texas are “at-fault” states, where insurance payment depends on the degree of each party’s fault.
You need a personal injury attorney to deal with these legal complexities. Although each state has its unique personal injury law, you can take these steps to increase your chance of a positive outcome for your case.
Collect Contact and Insurance Details of the Parties Involved
After an accident, it is wrong to hastily admit fault to concerned parties, law enforcement agents, or insurance firms. A lawyer is in the best position to determine fault based on the specifications of your case and relevant state laws.
Collecting the relevant contact and insurance details of all concerned parties is essential. Your legal representative needs this baseline information to handle your case well.
Take Photos of the Incident Site and Harm
Understandably, you may be unstable immediately after the accident due to the shock and the severity of the injuries. Hence, getting your bearings straight and strategic after an impact may be challenging. Psychologists identify impaired thinking, disconnected feelings, and unregulated emotion as some of the side effects of shock.
Despite the intensity of these responses, they will fizzle off with time. Develop strategies to collect information to help your compensation claim when you become stable. Specifically, take photos of the accident scene, nearby signage, surrounding damage, and weather conditions to help provide the proper context for expert assessment.
Pictures are also a good way of retaining your memory of the event. You can store them and refer to them when necessary.
Save Copies of Every Medical Documentation
Fundamentally, you need to prove that a personal injury happened, identify the cause, and explain the severity of your harm for your case to be successful. Hence, tracking and giving comprehensive medical effects of the injury is essential. It is the best way to portray the before-and-after status of your health.
You must demonstrate the health impact of the accident to stop insurers from undervaluing your claim. Ensure you share your medical history with your attorney to help them prove that you had no long-term complications before the mishap.
Inform Your Insurer of the Accident
It is essential to notify your insurance firm about the accident within 72 hours, especially if it has the likelihood of leading to filing a claim. Some insurance policies specifically have a notification deadline.
Furthermore, depending on the occurrence of the injury, a statute of limitations may also affect your claim.
The essence of contacting your insurer is to keep them abreast of happenings; it is not an admission of fault. It simply narrates the event and your involvement in it.
Demand Police Report If They Came to the Scene
Official documentation is essential to establishing your claim. Your case will stand out if you can get prepared reports from trained professionals with institutional expertise. Such documents include private investigation findings, police reports, OSHA reports, and accident reconstruction reports.
You can request these reports physically or electronically via your local police unit in most states.
Keep Copies of Bills and Expenses Directly Relating to the Harm
“The guilty parties insurance should cover most of your bills in a successful case. The policies may cover your medical expenses, anticipated medical bills, repair invoices, and payments for assistive devices like walkers and wheelchairs,” says attorney Ronald F. Wittmeyer, Jr. of the Law Offices of Rf Wittmeyer.
They may also cater to less intuitive spending, like fares for transporting back and forth between physician visits or demands for medical records. Thus, keeping detailed records will likely ensure maximum compensation.