How Can I Maximize the Compensation for My Case?
After your accident, you may feel your life is out of control. You have pain and limitations you’ve never had before.
You spend much more time with doctors and physical therapists, so your regular schedule no longer exists. Despite this whirlwind, you have some control over your life, and what you do and avoid doing can impact how much compensation you’ll get for your insurance claim or lawsuit.
To maximize your compensation, you should:
- Be honest and consistent about your injuries
- Follow medical advice and treatment plans
- Avoid actions that can hurt your credibility
Read on for a more in-depth explanation.
5 Tips to Maximize Your Injury Compensation
We have represented thousands of accident victims over the years and learned what helps and hurts our clients’ cases. We want them to get the most compensation possible and advise them on how to accomplish this. Our guidance may not only result in a higher settlement, but your case may conclude faster because there are fewer complications and issues to slow it down.
Here are some suggestions based on our experience of what to do and avoid to help maximize your settlement amount.
1. Be Honest
Your credibility is one of the most valuable things you have when it comes to an insurance claim or lawsuit. Protect it as best you can.
You may think appearing to be more injured will get you more money. You can only be properly treated and recover as fast as possible by being honest with your healthcare providers. If you lie to them, you’ll not get the necessary treatment and rehabilitation.
Insurance companies thoroughly investigate claims, including going through your medical records. Being honest with your doctor but exaggerating your injuries when making statements or in a deposition will be a great big waving red flag to an insurance company. They may also hire a private detective to follow you and video what you’re doing in public, which may be far more than what you say.
Insurance companies settle cases. If they think you’re lying, they won’t offer much. They may be more willing to try the case and expose what they believe is your dishonest efforts to get more money from them.
2. Make Reasonable Treatment and Rehabilitation Decisions
You must make reasonable choices for your injury’s treatment and rehabilitation. If you’re uncomfortable with what one doctor proposes, you can get a second opinion and decide which approach is better.
Sometimes, the reasonable thing is to do nothing. You may need time to heal. But often, it is not. If you ignore medical advice without a good reason and your condition worsens, you could significantly reduce the settlement value of your case. The worsening and length of your condition will be considered the result of your decision not to be treated, not due to the accident.
3. Be Careful What You Say
The less you say about your accident and injuries the better, because your words may come back to haunt you.
Investigators and attorneys working for insurance carriers love social media, and not just to publish photos of their bar league softball games. It’s a primary tool they use when investigating someone making a claim against a policy. They’re looking for contradictions that can be used to question the person’s credibility.
If you’re claiming to be depressed, they’d love to find photos of you fixing your car, having fun with friends, or a great time at the beach. They’re also looking for images, videos, or posts contradicting your claims of physical injuries.
Investigators may also talk to neighbors to get some dirt on you. They’ll want to know what you’re doing and saying about your situation to others. The more you put out there about your condition, the greater the risk it’ll be interpreted in a way that harms your credibility.
4. Stay Organized
Your damages, or the harm you suffer measured in dollars, must be proven. That means establishing your income before and after the accident, the bills you’ve paid since the accident, and the time you’ve missed from work.
You should also organize and keep track of any documents given to you by your treatment and rehabilitation team. This may include:
- Medical bills and treatment records
- Pay stubs and proof of lost income
- Receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
- Notes about your symptoms, pain levels, and recovery progress
- Any correspondence with insurance companies
5. Be Realistic About Settlement Expectations
Most cases settle. Your case will too, but only if you agree to what the insurance company offers. We will give our opinion of whether it’s a fair offer worth taking or that you may be better served continuing your case.
Demanding an unrealistic settlement from an insurance company won’t help your case. They may feel you’re not taking this seriously and have little to lose by not settling and going to trial. You may win or lose your case depending on the facts and law. Even if you win, the jury award may be less than you expect, perhaps even less than what the insurance carrier offered.
We have obtained substantial settlements and jury verdicts for our clients. But to justify that amount, they are severely injured people or family members of someone who’s been killed. By not being realistic with your settlement demand, you risk getting less compensation or perhaps none at all.
Talk To a Satterley & Kelley Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you’re injured in an accident caused by another driver, Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers can protect your interests and legal rights to compensation for the harm you suffer.
Call our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 or toll-free at 855-385-9532 to schedule a free initial consultation so we can talk about your accident, injuries, and legal options. If it’s more convenient, you can complete our contact form.