What Does it Mean to “Maximize Your Compensation” After a Car Accident?
Compensation refers to financial reimbursement for medical expenses, pain, and suffering you have experienced after a car accident or other personal injury. Compensation can be obtained from your insurance company or the at-fault party. When someone discusses “maximizing compensation,” they refer to obtaining the highest possible award available under the law.
Is It Wrong to Try to Get the Highest Possible Payout After a Car Accident?
Some accident victims do not want to “cause a problem” for the insurance company or other parties when seeking compensation. While everyone must make their own decisions, here are some points to consider when reviewing your accident claim:
- You are not addressing an individual when filing a car accident claim. In nearly all cases, the defendant will not pay you out of pocket; an insurance company will make any payment.
- Insurance is a profit-driven industry. The business strategy of any insurance company is to take in more money than it pays out in claims. Your claim is a burden on its profit margin. As a matter of business, the company will seek to reduce your claim when possible.
- The insurance company is fighting for its bottom line; you are fighting for your life. While your case is a file among hundreds to the insurance company, for you, your mental, physical, or financial situation could be life-changing or life-threatening. If you don’t advocate for your best interests, no one will.
7 Insider Tips and Tactics to Maximize Your Car Accident Compensation in Connecticut
If you are interested in getting the most out of your claim to achieve the fullest recovery possible here are 7 tips and tactics to help you get ahead. We’ll take up each one in detail below.
- Seek medical care.
- Document everything.
- Include pain and suffering.
- Don’t forget future damages.
- Stay off social media.
- Don’t accept the first offer.
- Don’t be afraid to take your claim to court.
Seek Medical Care
While it might seem obvious to seek medical care after an accident, not everyone does. Even if you feel okay, get yourself checked out by a medical professional immediately. Unseen injuries, such as spinal cord damage or internal organ trauma, can be slow to surface but may cause untold suffering later. If you delay a visit to the doctor, it may be difficult to prove the relationship of your injuries to the crash.
Document Everything
You’ve probably heard you should document the usual things: make sure you get the other driver’s information at the scene of the crash and keep all your medical bills. But take a wider look and record anything that can be used to prove personal losses. Financial losses are easily calculated, and loss of life enjoyment is less so. Consider these examples:
- A man injures his back in a car accident and is unable to swing a golf club without experiencing pain. Formerly, he would golf with friends three times a week, but now he must stop entirely.
- A woman is an avid gym-goer. She spends an hour in the gym every morning. After an accident, she cannot participate in her favorite gym classes and decides to cancel her membership.
- A person regularly enjoys visiting with friends and attending social events. After the person is injured, they are embarrassed by the resulting scarring and disfigurement. They no longer feel comfortable around others and avoid going out.
All of these cases show a loss of life enjoyment that can be documented. Witness statements, gym class attendance records, or golf club memorandums can all help record this information.
Include pain and suffering
Pain and suffering are hard to quantify. One way of documenting this is asking medical providers to record the level of pain you are experiencing on a pain index in each of their consecutive reports. Also, consider and record the answers to these questions with your lawyer:
- How long did the pain and suffering last?
- What was the severity level over this period?
- What consequences did the pain and suffering have in your life?
This can help put together a credible demand letter to be submitted to the insurance company.
Don’t Forget Future Damages
If you don’t consider future damages, insurance adjusters will not remind you to do so. If your injuries have reduced your earning capacity or require continuous medical treatment, you may be faced with financial consequences for years to come. Work out how much you are predicted to be losing in the years ahead and include this in your claim.
Stay Off Social Media
Videos and pictures are fun to share, but while you are undergoing the claims process for personal injuries, they can and will be used against you. Social media posts can also be used in court to cast doubt on your claims.
Don’t Accept the First Offer
Achieving a favorable settlement is often a long process. Come to terms with the fact that it may take months or even years. If you buckle down for the long haul, you have a better chance of getting more for your claim. Don’t let your eagerness force you to take the first offer; it is most often a lowball figure.
Don’t Be Afraid to Take Your Claim to Court
Insurance companies often get away with paying the bare minimum. When they are confronted by experienced Connecticut car accident lawyers who are not afraid to go to trial, they tend to sit up and pay attention. Insider info: Colossus, the proprietary computer system used by many insurance companies to calculate what damages should be awarded, even considers the successful trial record of your attorney when calculating what compensation you should be paid.
When You Need Experience and Results, Call Ventura Law
At Ventura Law, we are not shy about standing up for your rights at the negotiation table or in court. Not only have our experienced attorneys won many high-dollar settlements for our clients, but we have also achieved many high-value jury verdicts. Let us fight for you to get the results you deserve. Call us at (866) 354-2488 to schedule a free consultation today.