Baxley Maniscalco Attorneys At Law
How to Get Top Value for Your Personal Injury Claim
This information is for the DIYers among you. Some people prefer to try to negotiate their injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company before talking with or hiring a personal injury lawyer to represent them. We hope this information will serve as a helpful starting point as you navigate presenting your claim to the insurance company.
Gather all the supporting documentation
Leaving out necessary documents is the surest way to leave money on the table in a personal injury claim negotiation with an insurance adjuster. When you submit an incomplete packet of documents, the insurance adjuster can use that as an excuse to delay making an offer at all (and work towards running out the clock on your claim) or as justification for making a lowball offer.
Here are the documents that you absolutely must include if you’re negotiating your own injury settlement:
- ALL of your medical records and bills. You will need a complete copy of all the medical records and medical bills from each treatment provider you saw following your injury. This will include the initial emergency room or urgent care visit, any follow-up treatment with your primary care doctor, and any rehabilitation or physical therapy with any pain management specialists, chiropractors, physical therapists, orthopedists, etc. Presenting anything less than a full copy of your records and bills to the insurance adjuster almost guarantees that you won’t receive a fair settlement offer for your injuries.
- A copy of the Accident Report and any witness statements you have. You can order this online or directly from the agency that made the report (i.e. Birmingham Police Department).
- Photos. You should include any photos that you have of your injuries, the scene of the incident, and any property damage. For instance, if you were injured in a car wreck, you will include photos of your vehicle and the other cars that were in the wreck.
- Lost Wages Documentation. Don’t forget to ask for reimbursement of lost wages. You’ll want to include a letter from your employer verifying your rate of pay and the hours of work you missed after the incident. Be sure to include time off work for scheduled doctors’ appointments and follow-up treatment.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Keep a list of your out-of-pocket expenses and submit receipts for reimbursement. The incidentals add up. You may have broken your glasses in the incident, paid to have prescriptions filled at the pharmacy, bought bandages and braces, or rented a vehicle while yours was being repaired. These expenses can add up to a hefty total and should not be forgotten when submitting your claim to the at-fault party’s insurance.
Don’t Let the Insurance Adjuster Stall Too Long
Submit your demand packet with all of the information listed above and state clearly and unequivocally that you will accept a policy limits tender within thirty days. List the date thirty days from the date you are sending your demand as the deadline for a response. If the insurance adjuster blows the deadline, talk with a personal injury attorney immediately after that date.
If the insurance adjuster Does make an offer, how do you know whether it is fair?
If the insurance adjuster does respond with an offer within thirty days, evaluate it carefully to determine whether it is fair. You won’t have a great deal of reference information about similar settlements and verdicts on your own, but typically you should not consider an offer of settlement that does not fully cover your medical bills and leaves you with substantial funds in your pocket to cover your pain and suffering.
What is pain and suffering and how can you put a value on that?
It is very difficult to fairly value what a person has suffered, but what you need to know is that you are entitled to an amount of money for your suffering from the injury, separate and additional to the total medical billing in your case. A good rule of thumb for evaluating a settlement offer is that it should be at least double your total medical billing. A personal injury lawyer will typically aim for a higher multiple of your medical billing.
You should also understand that the more severe your injuries, the higher the pain and suffering number should be. If your injuries have had a severe impact on your daily life, and continue to do so, the pain and suffering value of your case is higher.
Questions you should ask yourself as you evaluate a settlement offer
Will you fully recover or will there be some level of permanent impairment?
Will you need ongoing medical treatment to cope with your injuries? This will generate additional medical bills and expenses that are not yet included in your calculations.
Have you been unable to do your usual activities of caring for your home? There is a value placed on your in-home services, including cleaning your house, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, and other tasks that most people do every week in their households.
There’s nothing wrong with DIY, but why not work with an attorney?
We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t encourage you to hire an experienced personal injury attorney to negotiate top dollar for your injuries on your behalf. Statistically speaking, being represented by a lawyer when you make your personal injury claim results in much higher payouts. On average, being represented by a personal injury lawyer results in an average settlement or award that is $60,000 higher than that of an unrepresented claimant. The average value of a claim when an individual is represented by a personal injury attorney is $77,600, while the average claimant without a lawyer receives around $17,600. Even after deducting legal fees charged by the attorneys, the average person walks away with about three times as much money when they have a lawyer on their side.
A Lot of people don’t realize that it doesn’t cost a dime out of pocket to hire a personal injury lawyer.
Personal injury lawyers work on contingency. This means that you don’t owe your lawyer a thing unless they win your case for you. You can call and hire a personal injury lawyer today without paying a dime upfront. When your case settles or is resolved by a jury verdict in your favor, your attorney will get paid a percentage of the total amount they helped you recover. Generally, hiring a lawyer in a personal injury case is a win/win.
We hope this information has been helpful and there is absolutely no shame in trying to handle your claim on your own. If you do make a demand and do not receive a fair offer in response, reach out to us via call or text, we’re happy to step in at that point to make sure the insurance company understands you are serious about being paid fairly for the harm that was done to you.
We hope you have a speedy and full recovery!