No matter the size or scope, a car accident sets a complicated and frustrating insurance claims process into motion. Two or more auto insurance providers might each assign two or more adjusters to your case. Juggling requests from property damage, bodily injury, and liability adjusters often overwhelms injured claimants trying to recover needed compensation. Unfortunately, adjusters from liable insurance companies may attempt to manipulate a car accident victim into giving an inaccurate sworn statement or even accepting a small settlement and waiving their injury claims.
Receiving the most compensation after a devastating car crash typically involves four major components:
- Recognizing insurance tricks and threshold injury barriers
- Understanding the different types of compensation available from negligent drivers
- Keeping diligent records of your direct and indirect losses
- Retaining an experienced car accident attorney
Consider scheduling a free consultation with a local personal injury lawyer for detailed information about your state’s car accident compensation laws.
Understanding the Car Insurance Claims Process
Nearly every state requires vehicle owners to maintain a minimum amount of motor vehicle insurance. Some states (and most insurance contracts) require anyone injured in a car crash to file a claim with their personal car insurer. Your insurer can take the information gathered after an accident and submit a corresponding claim to the liable driver’s insurance provider.
During this process, adjusters typically ask claimants to give sworn statements about the accident and provide any related evidence, such as pictures, medical records, police reports, videos, and medical bills, related to the claim.
Insurance companies operate on a mathematical risk/benefit analysis approach. In part, this approach involves saving money on claims by attributing injuries to pre-existing conditions, shifting blame for the accident onto the injured party, or invoking the fine print in insurance contracts. Liability adjusters may also imply that a claimant does not have a viable personal injury case before offering them a small “good faith” settlement. However, to receive this settlement, the adjusters may require the injured party to waive all personal injury claims.
Many victims injured in car accidents agree to accept these minor settlements to cover their lost wages and rehabilitation expenses. It is important to remember, however, that insurance adjusters are not lawyers. They may not make blanket statements about your legal rights, nor are their liability determinations binding in court.
Getting the most from your car accident case often starts with recognizing the tactics used by for-profit insurers looking out for their bottom line. Claimants benefit from retaining a local car accident lawyer and informing insurance companies of the representation. An attorney-client contract triggers laws that require insurers to communicate with you through your lawyer. Personal injury counsel could help you apply for benefits, make sure car insurance companies receive accurate evidence, and protect you from unintentionally waiving your claims.
Even if you didn’t understand the waiver’s nature, liable insurers might use these contracts to block personal injury litigation against their clients.
Avoiding Legal Traps That Prevent or Limit Personal Injury Recoveries
Several states have adopted no-fault insurance and threshold injury laws. These limiting statutes may prevent injured claimants from recovering compensation for minor injuries otherwise covered by personal injury insurance. The threshold statutes list the categories of serious injuries or losses a plaintiff must sustain before filing car accident litigation. Ask a local personal injury lawyer whether your state is among the 20 percent of states with threshold laws.
Without intending to, injured individuals may submit evidence during the claims process that calls into question the existence of a severe injury. For example, some injuries—such as neck pain—may seem temporary when the claimant provides an insurance statement. A few days after the accident, an injured passenger may testify that they are only suffering from whiplash.
Defendants may use this testimony to block personal injury litigation under relevant threshold laws if doctors discover a fractured vertebrae months later. Latent severe injuries and illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and fibromyalgia, might develop after a car accident. It’s essential to speak with an attorney about protecting your right to supplement your injury claims if you continue to suffer from debilitating pain or develop late-onset injuries linked to the car accident.
Types of Damages Generally Available after a Serious Car Crash
Before demanding financial compensation for your injuries or accepting a settlement, consider whether you’ve requested money for all compensable losses. Sometimes, claimants do not realize they might recover money for their pain, mental suffering, and even lost career opportunities. Most states permit victims injured by negligent drivers to recover for the following categories of losses.
Direct Economic Damages
Economic losses include any calculable, out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred due to the crash.
They commonly include the following:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- The calculable value of lost fringe benefits, such as insurance premiums or retirement contributions
- The calculable value of missed job opportunities, like the difference in current and expected salary
- Necessary rehabilitation expenses, including acupuncture and massage
- Mileage and transportation costs to and from medical visits
- Damage to the vehicle and any personal property
- Medical equipment, such as crutches, arm braces, and special pillows
- Necessary home modifications
- Hired help for cooking, cleaning, and shopping
- Home nursing care and therapeutic companionship
- General pharmacy expenses, such as basic pain medication and ice packs
- Food delivery services
Claimants suffering from debilitating back or neck pain after a car accident often struggle with daily living activities, including walking, standing, reaching, sitting, and sleeping. They may claim compensation for at-home help or even reasonable meal delivery services. Many injured claimants suffer because they mistakenly assume they cannot recover compensation for these necessary services.
Victims injured by negligent drivers should ask the “but for” question in these situations. “But for the injuries sustained in the accident, would I have needed this medical pillow or put 200 extra miles on my car?” Provided the expenses were reasonable, necessary, and incurred directly due to the car accident, you may demand reimbursement.
Non-Economic Damages
Claimants frequently complain about non-economic (pain and suffering) damages more than direct economic losses. As the name suggests, pain and suffering damages refer to the incalculable losses associated with a car crash.
These frequently fall into one of the following categories, depending on the laws of your state:
- Physical pain
- Suffering and mental anguish
- Lost ability to engage in previously enjoyed activities, such as running, biking, and playing piano
- Inconvenience, such as attending rehabilitation five times a week, hiring and paying household help, or time spent applying for disability benefits
- Disfigurement
- Lost career
- Lost physical companionship with a spouse
No amount of money can truly compensate claimants for the agony associated with never riding their bicycles or holding their children again. Insurance companies generally use the total value of direct damages to estimate losses for pain and suffering. However, plaintiffs may testify about their nightmares, depression, and overall emotional anguish if a proposed pain and suffering settlement seems insufficient A few states cap non-economic damages, but most do not limit the value of your suffering. A local personal injury lawyer might help you prepare evidence of pain and suffering damages with the assistance of mental health experts.
Anticipated Future Losses
Negligent defendants, including drivers, vehicle owners, or their employers (if applicable), must typically compensate injured plaintiffs for all viable losses stemming from a car accident. These losses include past expenses and future anticipated damages. Failing to retain professional assistance in calculating the total of future losses often results in thousands upon thousands of dollars in missed car accident compensation. Ignoring future needs is one of the biggest mistakes that claimants make when deciding whether to accept a settlement offer.
Personal injury attorneys often contract with economic, medical, and occupational experts to calculate the value of their client’s future losses. This process involves analyzing the plaintiff’s disability prognosis throughout their work life. While large settlement offers may seem tempting, do not rush through the car accident settlement process. You may not bring subsequent litigation or demand another settlement check after resolving your car crash claim. Plaintiffs must consider any potential future needs, including upcoming surgeries, lost job benefits, and even a potentially worsening condition, when demanding money after a crash.
Spousal Compensation
Did you know your spouse might obtain compensation if you sustained injuries in a car accident? The majority of jurisdictions recognize a claim for damages called loss of consortium. Lost consortium damages generally include compensating a spouse for losing the other spouse’s affection, services, and companionship due to the crash. It also provides compensation for the uninjured spouse’s additional responsibilities, such as cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, caretaking.
Many personal injury cases have resulted in seven-figure awards to spouses for loss of consortium. Your spouse should consider keeping a journal detailing any additional responsibilities undertaken that day and associated mental or emotional fatigue.
Punitive Damages
Although not typically available in ordinary car accident cases, you might claim punitive damages after a drunk or reckless driving accident. Punitive damages exist to punish a defendant if especially egregious and shocking behavior caused a motor vehicle collision. Insurance companies do not pay punitive damages, but you could speak with a local attorney about requesting a punitive award from the negligent driver during car accident litigation. Racing, intoxication, and intentional conduct might all support a claim for these additional damages.
Gather Admissible Evidence of Your Damages
Car accidents generally involve civil claims for damages called torts. During civil litigation, injured plaintiffs have the burden of demonstrating they sustained losses and proving the actual value of those losses with admissible evidence. Such proof often means obtaining certified, reliable, and independently verifiable documents and statements. Failing to gather proof of loss during treatment is one of the biggest mistakes seriously injured plaintiffs make when demanding damages.
Personal injury practitioners recommend creating folders (both paper and electronic) for each category of damages and placing the following relevant items therein:
- Receipts and bills from cleaning invoices, co-pays, taxis, medicines, pillows, medical equipment, shopping services, and necessary take-out
- Spreadsheets tracking medical mileage
- Copies of any applications for disability benefits or responses to insurance requests that consumed substantial time
- Certified copies of relevant text messages and emails to friends and family discussing your pain, suffering, or lost enjoyments
- Daily journal entries, posts, and blogs chronicling your pain and mental anguish
- Evidence of formerly enjoyed activities, such as gym memberships or photographs of biking trips
- Testimony from friends and family members about your struggles and changes to your personality
Many smartphone applications offer free medical mileage tracking services. You might also take pictures of receipts and send them straight to an attorney or take advantage of electronic journaling and mood tracking apps. When it comes to pain and suffering damages, keeping a treatment journal discussing your daily physical and emotional frustrations may maximize your non-economic claims. A local car crash lawyer may submit this evidence to economic experts to calculate the total amount of your losses and anticipated future expenses.
Trust Viable Car Accident Cases to an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
If you truly want to maximize your car accident case’s value, consider retaining legal counsel. Few, if any, claimants obtain the compensation they truly deserve without professional assistance. Personal injury firms often front all necessary expert witness fees, costs for gathering medical records, and litigation expenses when injured claimants cannot.
This process, typically part of a traditional contingency fee arrangement, often helps claimants prove the value of their losses to insurance adjusters and judges without incurring additional expenses.
Car accident lawyers working on a contingency basis will investigate claims and, if viable, usually take a percentage of the plaintiff’s overall financial recovery as their fee. Some plaintiffs wonder whether retaining an attorney leaves them with a smaller recovery, but most insurance companies won’t offer a reasonable settlement unless pressured by a qualified legal professional. Further, personal injury lawyers do not generally recover any fees unless they recover compensation for their clients, meaning you will get the most money from your car accident case without any upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs.
