A personal injury claim occurs when you’ve suffered physical or mental harm due to the negligence of the defendant. In order to win the case, you need to prove that the negligent party is at fault or responsible for what happened and that what happened to you was caused by their carelessness. In order to do this, you need to hire attorneys, such as those at Brunt & Hood, LLC, that specialize in these types of cases. Once you’ve hired someone to help you, they can work with you to gather the evidence, prepare a settlement, and negotiate or take it to trial.
Gather Evidence
It won’t be enough to offer your personal account. You need as much information as possible to support the events. Start by interviewing witnesses and police officers who you filed the police report with. You can also get copies of your medical records, bills, and property damage information. Keep a detailed account of all of the time that you’ve missed away from work and other receipts and bills that are a direct result of the accident.
Prepare Settlement
Using this information, your attorney can prepare a package for the defendant and their insurance company. The package will include a description of the accident, a liability claim against the insured, the evidence, and the settlement demand. The amount will be based on your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future needs. It can take weeks to months to prepare the package and get it sent to the defendant.
Negotiate and Trial
It can take time to wait for the company to send back a counteroffer. Once you have it, you can sit down with your attorney and discuss whether you want to accept it. Most people may go back and forth a few times before reaching a settlement that they feel comfortable accepting. If you don’t feel like you’re getting the amount you deserve, then you can go to litigation. This is a more expensive route, but it can be the answer to get the monetary support you need to cover your bills, expenses, and wages.
Personal injury claims are tough to prove and can take a long time before anybody sees any money. When choosing a lawyer to hire, choose someone who will work hard to get you the money that you deserve. A firm like Brunt & Hood, LLC should elicit confidence from you in their ability to get you the settlement that you need to cover your losses.