How Do I Maximize my Car Accident Settlement?

People who have gone through a car accident settlement procedure know how hard it is to recover both physically and mentally. The other party would always try to minimize the damages and make them look insignificant, especially when you have suffered minor physical injuries. Insurance companies maintain large legal teams to review each case in depth. That makes them confident of finding any evidence against you and makes you settle for less than deserved.

Being prepared for a settlement for your car accident requires you to follow a strategy. Talking to a car accident attorney could be the right path to follow. Here is a useful guideline of actions you need to take if you want to pursue a settlement. 

Hire an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer

A specialized lawyer in handling car accident claims and settlements would be the ideal advocate for you. These lawyers usually have a team of investigators to help gather sufficient evidence to strengthen your case. 

Settlements need negotiation skills that not everyone has. It's not easy to present your case and negotiate with the liable party's lawyers, who will be there supporting their opinion. Letting your lawyer map out your strategy would be the best way to navigate a  settlement case. 

Keep All Medical Reports Concerning Your Accident

People injured during a serious car accident are most of the time hospitalized and can incur hefty medical bills. It would be useful to have all your medical files from the accident documented and presentable as part of your evidence. Your lawyer will need to have a full report from your doctors about the complete injuries list you have suffered due to the car accident.

Medical bills concerning hospital stay, diagnostic tests, and medications should be accessible to your lawyer. It's the only way to present them to the other party and demand a better settlement.

Receive Police Reports

Police reports usually include statements from both drivers and witnesses who were present at the accident scene. Forwarding it to your lawyer would be the right thing to do if you want to have a competitive advantage when sitting at the negotiation table. 

You may have missed some important information about the car accident that the police report had detailed, like the weather conditions, the road status, and the other vehicles that you may not be able to recall after the accident. Your lawyer can use all this evidence against the liable party and urge them to offer a better settlement.

Pursue Official Negotiations With Insurance Companies

Insurance companies will eventually try to talk to you and record a statement about the accident conditions and your health status. It would be necessary to avoid any informal communications with their lawyers. Any misguided statement would later serve their efforts to reduce your settlement amount.

The best practice would be to let your attorney handle all the communication with insurance companies and reduce the risk of talking to them directly or on the phone. Settlements can take a long time, and your lawyer should be the one responsible for answering all their questions and oppose any false allegations about your damages.

Be Cautious With Posts on Social Media

People tend to post their misfortunes on social media quite often. You need to know that social media is a public space that anyone and everyone can access. Presenting your health condition online may be ill-advised as you do not know how the other party will interpret the social media posts. And even more damaging, they may pick up vital info in the picture’s background and the message under the post as evidence. 

Your lawyer would oppose your overexposure on social media, especially when your settlement case is still pending. Giving the other party the chance to doubt your injuries or car damages could severely impact your possibilities to receive a fair settlement.

Get A Thorough Damage Investigation

Apart from your injuries, which may be a priority for you, you may also need to include your car damage report. Your lawyer can have your car investigated by a team of mechanics and have a full report of the damage to give a comprehensive picture of the extent of the accident and provide additional evidence. 

Every settlement case requires you to have faith in your lawyer and take his advice before making any attempt to communicate with the other party. Taking your settlement procedure seriously may offer you more chances to get a better outcome in the settlement.