3 Ways to Protect Yourself in a Personal Injury Claim

When someone gets injured because of the negligent actions of another, that is called a personal injury. In these cases negligence means that the person who caused the accident did not intend for anyone to get hurt, but that their negligent actions led to an injury nonetheless. There are not usually any criminal charges in a personal injury case because the act does not rise to that level. Instead, the victim of the accident is entitled to receive compensation for their losses from the insurance company of the responsible party.

In order to get that compensation, they will need to file a personal injury claim, and if they need to file a personal injury claim, then they will need the help of an attorney. An attorney can help them to prepare and file the claims and they will negotiate with the insurance company to make sure that their client gets a fair settlement. If you live in New York and have suffered a personal injury, then contact Long Island personal injury Harrison to get the help that you need as well as advice on how to protect your personal injury claim.

Preparing For a Personal Injury Claim

A personal injury claim is very important because it is possibly the only way for the victim to be compensated for the losses they suffered in the accident. That is why they will need to protect themself as much as possible so that they can avoid any potential setbacks that can hurt their case. The following are some of the actions that they will need to take.

Hire a Lawyer

This is the most important thing that a personal injury victim can do because the attorney will know how to handle the case from start to finish and will know how to maximize their client’s settlement amount so that all of their injury-related expenses are covered. The victim does not have to worry if they cannot afford an attorney because most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. That means they only get paid if the case is successful, in which case they receive a percentage of the settlement amount. So there is no risk and potentially a lot of rewards to hiring a personal injury attorney.

Seek Medical Treatment Immediately

Medical treatment is important for both the accident victim’s health and their personal injury claim. The reason is that some injuries may not manifest immediately and can show up some time after the accident. So getting treated early can allow a medical professional to treat those injuries before they get worse. This is important because if the accident victim waits too long to see a doctor, not only will their injuries worsen, but the insurance company might try to claim that those injuries were not caused by the accident. If they make that claim, then they will reject the compensation for any medical expenses needed to treat them.

Keep a Detailed List of Injury-Related Expenses

This list should include medical bills, prescriptions, any necessary medical equipment and/or accessories, and so on. Any property that got damaged in the accident and needed to be repaired or replaced should be included in the list of expenses as well. It is important to keep track of all out of pocket expenses so that the attorney knows exactly how much compensation to demand from the insurance company.

The accident victim should also let their attorney know about any pain and suffering they are feeling as well as the emotional and psychological impact the accident had on them so that those can be included in the compensation demand as well. They do not have any intrinsic monetary value, but attorneys and insurance companies use a formula to determine how much the emotional and psychological trauma caused by the accident is worth.

Follow These Steps To Protect Your Personal Injury Claim

The insurance company will try every trick in the book to reduce or reject your personal injury claim so you need to do all that you can to protect it and make it hard for them to say no. That is why the first thing you need to do is contact a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney to help you. They can offer advice, help you to make your claim as airtight as possible, and maximize the settlement amount so that all of your expenses are covered. So be sure to find a good personal injury lawyer to help you protect your claim if you were in an accident that was caused by negligence.

This is a guest blog entry.