Factors Make a Strong Personal Injury Claim
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| personal injury claim |
Steps to Make a Strong Personal Injury Claim
If your car sustained major property damage in the crash, your case has the perception of a winner. Jurors simply believe that people were injured when the pictures of the vehicles involved in the crash show major property damage.
Now, note that there really is no medical correlation between the amount of damage done to a car and the potential for injury to the human. This is a perception thing. If your case involves major property damage you probably have a strong personal injury case.
If your case involved clear or undisputed liability such as a rear-end collision, you have a strong or potentially strong personal-injury case. Other factors that make the case stronger are if you were ambulanced away from the scene of the crash. It simply looks more legitimate if you took an ambulance ride. It's also safer because you have access to medical equipment and knowledge.
It's a stronger injury case if you are seen in the emergency room the day of the crash. It is also common sense. It is in the interest of your own health and safety as well as your case. If you have objectively verifiable injuries such as injuries that show up on an x-ray or an MRI or a CT scan, you have a stronger injury case. Many people have legitimate injuries to their neck or back that do not show up on an x-ray or an MRI. However, jurors are more likely to believe that you have a bona fide injury if your injury is objectively demonstrated on diagnostics.
It's a stronger injury case if you are seen in the emergency room the day of the crash. It is also common sense. It is in the interest of your own health and safety as well as your case. If you have objectively verifiable injuries such as injuries that show up on an x-ray or an MRI or a CT scan, you have a stronger injury case. Many people have legitimate injuries to their neck or back that do not show up on an x-ray or an MRI. However, jurors are more likely to believe that you have a bona fide injury if your injury is objectively demonstrated on diagnostics.
Your injury case would be stronger if you do not have unexplained gaps in your treatment timeline. It's important to promptly seek medical treatment and to commit to a course of treatment that is both consistent and timely. For instance, if your chiropractor recommends treatment three times a week, do it. It's better for your health and it's better for your case.
The injury cases that have the best potential for large economic recoveries are the injury cases that involve high insurance coverage limits. This is something that you cannot control after the crash, but if you are fortunate or smart enough to have high coverage limits (especially uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage) you have a case with a lot better potential for a meaningful economic recovery.
Cases where the claimant lacks pre-existing conditions are also usually stronger. This is something that is also out of your control. Either you have pre-existing medical conditions or you don't, but if you were pretty much symptom and injury free until the car crash and now you have injuries and symptoms, your case has an aura of believability.
However, some pre-existing conditions can actually make for a stronger personal-injury case. For example, arthritis, fibromyalgia, a prior neck surgery or similar conditions can be exacerbated in a trauma caused by a car crash. If you have diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, or prior surgeries and then you get involved in a car crash, the odds are that your injuries will be more severe than somebody without those pre-existing conditions. So some pre-existing conditions can actually make a case stronger.
It helps if you have relatively few or no prior insurance claims on your record before your crash. Some people are relentless claimants and make numerous workers compensation or bodily-injury claims throughout their lifetimes. Those prior claims always result in lower credibility, so if you are somebody without those kinds of prior insurance claims or very few such prior insurance claims, your case will be stronger. It's always good to show dedication to your treatment, so consistent regular medical treatment after a car crash always makes for a stronger case.
It helps if you're a likable plaintiff, so don't be argumentative on the phone with the insurance adjuster. Be humble, be truthful, don't be somebody who exaggerates about their injuries, and don't be somebody who butts heads with the insurance adjuster on the phone.
It's very important to understand that insurance adjusters are simply people, and if they are on the phone with you and they like you, your case stands a better chance of success than if they don't like you. This is just human nature. Display gratitude. Gratitude for not having injuries that were worse, and gratitude that you were not killed in the crash.
Gratitude is one of the most positive human expressions. People who display gratitude on the phone with insurance adjusters are often rewarded by larger settlements. Don't be greedy, defensive, arrogant, argumentative, vengeful, or sarcastic. Those are traits that turn most people off. In every encounter with the defense lawyer or the insurance adjuster, be polite, truthful, grateful, pleasant, and cooperative. It's the right way to be, and it will pay off in the end.