When pursuing compensation for an injury, you need a strategy to maximize the amount you recover. Since you only have two choices – filing a lawsuit or settling directly – it’s crucial to know what you’ll be up against. While there are benefits to both paths, lawsuits tend to produce more favorable outcomes and higher payouts. On the other hand, insurance companies are notorious for lowball offers and making injured parties fight hard just for a few extra bucks. Here’s how to maximize your payout and get what you rightfully deserve.
1. Get a lawyer
Having a skilled personal injury attorney is essential. Whether you pursue a lawsuit or negotiate with insurance directly, if you try to get compensated on your own, the odds won’t be in your favor. Attorneys take a structured, calculated approach to their cases, and know exactly how to negotiate with insurance adjusters to get higher payouts. In fact, one study found that claimants with a lawyer averaged $77,600 in compensation compared to $17,600 for those who chose to represent themselves. Lawsuits also settle for much more than what you can get from an insurance company directly. They need the pressure to make honest offers.
It’s not easy negotiating compensation without experience. You won’t know what your case is truly worth, and the insurance adjusters and their attorneys will take full advantage of your ignorance. They’ll make lowball offers that might seem like a good deal, but may not even cover all of your expenses. Even so, if your situation qualifies for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life, without a lawyer, you’ll miss out on significant compensation.
2. Don’t accept the first offer
Expect to negotiate back and forth a few times, whether you file a lawsuit or talk to an adjuster. The first offer will almost always be extremely undervalued. Insurance companies want to settle fast and early before you realize the extent of your bills or talk to a lawyer to find out what your case is worth. If you’re trying to settle on your own, start by setting a realistic demand using benchmarks for the average settlement in similar cases.
If you’re pursuing a lawsuit, your lawyer will handle all negotiations on your behalf. They’ll tell you what the initial offer is and provide advice for accepting or rejecting it. Trust their advice. If your lawyer is working for a contingency fee, they’ll have every reason to fight for the best compensation possible.
3. Document every dollar and all emotional impact
Economic injuries aren’t the only source of compensation. Settlement calculations consider a variety of factors, like medical expenses, lost income, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and more. It’s crucial to document everything – even if you don’t see how it would be relevant.
Track all medical expenses, including trips to the ER, regular appointments, tests, and prescriptions. At the same time, keep a journal and document your symptoms, pain level, and emotional state. Don’t skip documenting small symptoms. Insurance companies regularly deny ER claims if they believe it wasn’t truly an emergency. If that happens, you’ll need to file a lawsuit and have an expert witness testify that all of your symptoms did constitute an emergency. If you don’t write it all down in the moment, you might forget something.
Well-documented physical and emotional pain is required for recovering non-economic damages. This documentation can include journals, therapy notes, and witness letters. You can’t just tell the judge your injury caused suffering. You’ll need to prove the extent.
4. Explore third-party claims
If your claim exceeds one insurance policy, there might be more coverage out there. For example, if you were hurt by a multi-vehicle crash, a poorly maintained road, or a faulty product, multiple parties may share liability and insurance obligations.
If you were hurt in a car accident and the at-fault driver has a high-value homeowners’ insurance policy, you might be able to tap into that. And don’t forget about your own uninsured/underinsured motorist policy that might offer extra reimbursement.
For product liability claims, there’s a chance you can recover compensation from the retail store or the manufacturer directly. For example, if a part failed or a store failed to keep the premises safe, you might have a claim against them.
Don’t let insurance companies determine your payout
Being injured disrupts your life, increases your bills, and forces you to live with pain you didn’t cause. You deserve to fight back and get compensated fairly. Gather your documentation, hire a lawyer, and be patient. You’ll get the settlement you truly deserve.
Founder Dinis Guarda
IntelligentHQ Your New Business Network.
IntelligentHQ is a Business network and an expert source for finance, capital markets and intelligence for thousands of global business professionals, startups, and companies.
We exist at the point of intersection between technology, social media, finance and innovation.
IntelligentHQ leverages innovation and scale of social digital technology, analytics, news, and distribution to create an unparalleled, full digital medium and social business networks spectrum.
IntelligentHQ is working hard, to become a trusted, and indispensable source of business news and analytics, within financial services and its associated supply chains and ecosystems
