If you or a loved one was seriously injured in Florida, you may be eligible for financial restitution from the responsible party. The majority of personal injury claims do not get resolved in court. Rather, parties typically resolve these disputes through private, out-of-court settlements. However, getting a fair offer to properly compensate you for your harms and losses can be challenging.
This is why it makes sense to hire a Florida lawyer who understands how to increase settlement value in a personal injury claim.
How to Maximize Personal Injury Settlement
When assessing how to increase your personal injury settlement or how to maximize your car accident settlement in Florida, there are numerous actions you can take to bolster your chances of securing sufficient financial restitution for your harms and losses. Those actions include the following:
Get Medical Treatment Right Away After an Accident
In terms of how to increase personal injury settlement value, one of the most important steps you can take is getting medical care as soon as possible following the accident. Why is treatment important? Because delaying a trip to the emergency room, or your primary care physician, creates a “gap in treatment.” This gap can raise questions about the severity of the injuries suffered in the accident.
Compile Compelling Evidence
Another important action to take to help increase settlement value in a Florida personal injury claim is to compile evidence that can help establish liability and substantiate your injury claim. In fact, it is fair to say the overall value of your personal injury claim depends largely on the evidence produced during the claims process. Your evidence needs to establish a link between the accident and your injuries. Relevant evidence can include the following:
- Medical records
- Accident reports produced by law enforcement
- Photographs of your bodily injuries and damage to your vehicle
- Statements from witnesses
- Property damage estimates.
Document Your Pain and Suffering
People figuring out how to increase a settlement value routinely find success in documenting their pain and suffering. The documentation can be completed through a journal, a diary, logs, etc. This documentation can help explain how you are feeling on a daily basis, including the struggles impacting your livelihood. For example, you could document the inconvenience of having to miss time with your family or take time away from work to recover from your injuries or to attend multiple doctor’s visits. If your injuries require surgery, you could document and log the challenges associated post-surgery and attempting to return to your pre-accident life.
Properly Analyze and Calculate All Relevant Harms and Losses
Your personal injury claim should seek financial restitution for all of your harms and losses, which are also referred to as damages. These include both economic and non-economic damages. Some common examples of potentially-recoverable economic and non-economic damages you can pursue through a Florida personal injury claim include:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Property damage
- Diminished earning capacity
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment
- Pain and suffering
Properly calculating the total value of your harms and losses can be challenging. This is why it makes sense to retain the services of a skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer in Florida. They can assist in conducting a proper assessment of your harms and losses to develop a viable settlement range for your personal injury claim.
The Insurance Company is Not Your Friend
An all-too-common mistake people make following a serious auto accident or workplace accident is placing their trust in the insurance company. Do not fall into this trap. Remember, insurance companies are focused on maximizing profits and they lose money by paying out on personal injury claims. This is why they try to do everything possible to minimize any personal injury payout.
Never trust that the insurance company will help you get the most out of your claim. Instead, have your Florida personal injury lawyer engage with the insurance company on your behalf.
Avoid Posting on Social Media
Insurance companies routinely deploy a team of investigators, adjusters, and defense attorneys to figure out ways to not pay you. In some instances, insurance adjusters may “monitor” your social media activity to try and identify any inconsistencies, alleged exaggerations, and/or opportunities to raise the prospect that your injuries are not serious and have not adversely impacted your life.
This is why it is strongly recommended that you stay off social media during the pendency of your Florida personal injury claim. Do not discuss the details of your accident or your Injuries on any social media platform. If you simply keep a low profile post-accident, then you can prevent the responsible party from attempting to besmirch your reputation or question the veracity of your injury claim.
Speak to a Florida Personal Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in an auto accident, suffered a workplace injury, or experienced an animal attack and need effective legal representation in the Pembroke Pines area of Florida, then now is the time to contact Garnes Injury Law - Pembroke Pines Office.
We are a Florida personal injury law firm focused exclusively on securing maximum compensation for individuals severely injured due to the negligence of another party.
Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation.