Car Accidents, Lawsuits, Personal Injury

Everything you need to know about personal injury insurance claims

If you’ve recently been a victim of personal injury, you might already know how stressful the following events can be. Aside from making sure your health and safety are looked after and prioritized, and some legal aspects, there’s the insurance claim you need to tackle. To make sure that your personal injury accident insurance claim flows smoothly, you need to have an idea of how it works.

A successful claim is one where you get a fair settlement amount.

For you to know what settlement amount you must expect from your insurance provider, you first need to understand how an insurance company decides on the amount. In this article, we’ll explain how a typical insurance company decides on the settlement amount after an insured person suffers a personal injury.

What does an injury insurance adjuster do?

When an accident occurs, and the victim notifies the insurance company about it, the company will send an insurance adjuster to verify the claims for personal injury. The insurance adjuster will check whether the claim is valid by conducting some form of investigation. The claim must be according to the insurance coverages and clauses. The insurance adjuster will verify whether the injury was indeed caused by accident, self-inflicted, or intentionally performed.

They will look at the details, documentation, and reports created by the police, hospital, and other parties involved in the injury. They will also interview those who were involved in the accident. All of these are done to verify the validity of the claim.

It is also important to note that personal injury insurance claims work differently in every state.

So, for instance, car accident personal injury claims in Missouri may have different regulations, rules, or requirements than claims in California.

Can I file a personal injury lawsuit for any sort of injury?

Put simply, a legitimate personal injury lawsuit is filed when a person (or people) are injured, become ill, or die due to an accident and/or negligence.

Some common incidents that result in a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim include:

• Car accidents
• Injured by drunk driver
• Medical malpractice
• Workers compensation lawsuits

There are many other reasons as well.

What types of things does (or should) a personal injury settlement cover?

The insurance adjuster considers the following factors when computing a settlement amount:

• Documented expenses (medical bills and property damage fees, etc.) that have resulted from the accident
• Loss of wages and income because of inability to work due to the accident
• Pain and suffering damages
• Permanent physical disfigurement or disability
• Emotional damages

Indeed, insurance adjusters work for the insurance company. Their job is to determine the value of the claims made to the insurance provider. Since they’re working for the insurance company, they will be looking to keep their settlement payout as small as possible. This is why some people complain that they received so much less than they expected.

However, the insurance adjuster also wants to keep things out of court.

What does this mean?

If the guilt party’s insurance adjuster offers (or tries to force) you into an unfair settlement, you have the right to take the claim to court. Because the insurance adjuster and the provider will likely do as much as possible to keep the case from going to court, they will be open to negotiations.

The problem is that not many people are aware that they can negotiate for a favorable settlement amount.

Meanwhile, those who know that they can rarely do because they don’t know how to negotiate.

Should I hire a personal injury lawyer to help negotiate my settlement claim?

As personal injury attorneys in St. Charles, Missouri, we obviously have a biased answer to this question, but with that being said, most injury attorneys offer a free personal injury consultation, so discussing the case with an expert in the field can only help.

If you have been in a tight situation where you become a victim of a personal injury accident, do not let yourself become victimized further by your insurance company. By working with a personal injury attorney, you can protect your legal rights and get the right settlement amount that you deserve.

A personal injury attorney can help you by gathering all of the evidence that will help to determine a fair settlement value. The attorney will negotiate with the insurance adjuster should it prove that the latter’s assessed value is much lower than what you should rightfully get.

When your insurance adjuster and insurance provider know that you are working with a personal injury attorney, they will see that you are taking this matter seriously, so they won’t take your case lightly.

Do you need compensation or legal advice for your accident? Get in touch with us today! We’re specialists in personal injury law and are always more than happy to help!