How to Get a Larger Settlement After a Car Crash

There are steps you can take to get a larger settlement after you’ve been in a wreck. Getting a larger settlement is not about being greedy, as some may suggest; it’s about making sure your current and future needs are met.

A Serious Car Accident Can Change Your Life in a Flash

You’re sitting at a red light. It changes to green and you start to go. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pick-up truck comes down the highway and T-bones your car. Your airbags deploy and the world begins to spin.

Soon the police and the paramedics show up and cart you off to the hospital. Your main job now is to get better and back on your feet. That may involve one or more operations, extended rehabilitation, and time off work. Your getting better can lead to medical bills piling up and wages going down or drying up altogether.

It now becomes clear you need a good attorney who has enough experience to get a just and fair settlement; a settlement large enough to cover your needs.

Robinson & Henry, P.C. | Personal Injury Attorneys

At Robinson & Henry, we have a department of experienced attorneys who can help you through the often complicated process of getting a settlement that is fair and large enough to cover your needs now and in the future.

Our experienced attorneys can help you at a cost that is less than what other law firms charge.

Steps to Get a Larger Settlement

Consider All Your Damages

First, in addition to your hospital bills, you want to think about all the damages the accident may have caused you, as well as the costs associated with them now and in the future. Medical bills are one thing, but the law looks at other damages separately. So think beyond your medical bills.

Types of Damages

• Medical Bills
• Pain and Suffering
• Lost Wages

There is another area to consider. That’s disfigurement and impairment. Disfigurement might include long-lasting scars from the crash or operations. Impairment might include frequent migraines, ringing in your ears, or loss of strength in your arms or legs.

Get All The Treatment You Need

Remember, all the steps you take now will ensure you get a larger settlement down the road.

Do not ignore your treatment schedule or miss scheduled visits to the doctor. Even if you think you’re back to normal, give yourself another month or so to make sure you really are healed and do not have additional damage from a crash-related injury.

Tell your doctors about any lingering pain.

In order to receive settlement money for your injuries, you need to have proof. A doctor will add your medical concerns to your records, giving you the proof you need to receive the best settlement possible.

Future Medical Treatment Can Require You to Get a Larger Settlement 

Therapy

A doctor may treat you for a broken leg you sustained in the wreck. The cast might come off in eight weeks, but what if the doctor recommends 6 more months of rehabilitation therapy?

That additional treatment should be taken into account when the insurance adjuster or the court considers the amount of money you need to pay for your continued treatment.

Surgery

Perhaps you will need plastic surgery down the line to repair injuries to your face in the crash. Those potential costs need to be taken into consideration to determine your settlement.

Medication & Aids

There are also the costs of long-term prescription drugs or medical devices or equipment that can wear out over time.

An experienced attorney at Robinson & Henry knows how to negotiate with the insurance adjusters to get a larger settlement for you. It will give you the peace of mind to know your needs are met now and in the future.

What Injured Passengers Can Do

So far, we’ve looked mainly at the case of a driver being the victim of a car accident. There may be other considerations when a passenger is involved.

As a passenger, you might be eligible for liability insurance from the at-fault party. There may also be other insurance involved like Medical Payments or Underinsured Motorist (UMI) coverage. The passenger may have relevant coverage of their own policy or that of a partner or spouse.

An experienced personal injury attorney can help you with questions about these topics or others that might come up.

A personal injury attorney can also help injured clients the get settlement they deserve through negotiations and possible court motions.

Why Settling on Your Own is Not the Best Idea

You’ve survived a serious car accident. Your medical condition has been assessed and treated, and the damage to your car has been assessed.

Can’t you just trust the insurance company to give what you’re due? Won’t the insurance adjuster be fair and cut you a square deal?

The short answer is no.

Insurance companies like collecting premiums a lot more than they like paying claims. They’ll try to talk you out of getting an attorney involved.
They’ll tell you, your case can be settled without an attorney.

The insurance adjuster will try to give you the smallest settlement possible.

While you’re not out to gouge anybody, you want your medical costs to be fully covered now and in the future.

Attorney Involvement Can Result In A Larger Settlement

An Insurance Research Council study shows that people who hire a personal injury attorney to help them with their case can increase their settlement by about three-and-a-half times.

That could result in thousands of dollars more for you.

Think of it this way: If you settle your own case with the insurance company for $10,000, you may have walked away with $35,000, maybe more, if you had hired an attorney. That’s huge!

Experienced attorneys also know that 85% of what insurance companies spend to settle personal injury cases goes to people who hired an attorney.

How an Attorney Can Help You Get a Larger Settlement

Experienced attorneys understand the games insurance companies play. Insurance adjusters are known for trying to convince people, injured people like you, that their case is not worth as much as they think it is.

Insurance adjusters know you may have bills piling up and that you could be desperate for money to pay the bills. Sadly, the insurance company counts on the pressure you have to pay your bills from the accident to take less than what you deserve.

The Other Benefits of Hiring An Attorney

The attorneys on our Personal Injury Team are experienced at settling these kinds of cases. They know how to put a price tag on your injuries and how to look at the future value of your injuries.

They have trusted medical experts who can provide treatment, even provide testimony if that becomes necessary.

Show the Insurance Company You Mean Business

When you come to the table with an attorney, the insurance company knows that you’re willing to take your case to court to get them to pay the full value of your case.

How You Can Afford a Personal Injury Attorney

Having an attorney on your side sounds good. Getting a larger settlement sounds even better.

The looming question is how do you pay for an attorney when you’re facing mounting medical bills? 

In the legal world, most attorneys consider your type of case to be a contingency case. That’s good news. A contingency case means you do not pay any legal fees upfront.  

Experience is Power

Get experienced legal counsel from personal injury attorneys with a proven track record.

We know how much damage a serious car accident can cause. It can mean weeks in the hospital and months of rehabilitation therapy. It can cause you to have to change jobs due to restrictions on your movements. It could cause a drop in wages and stress on family relationships.

When you’re in a car wreck, the impact of your injuries does not always go away after the bills are paid.

Need Help with a Personal Injury Case?

You deserve to get the largest settlement possible in order to reduce the effects of any or all of these possibilities. Your settlement should be large enough to cover your expenses, make up for lost income, and give you peace of mind for the future.

There is a limited time to file a personal injury suit. If you’ve been injured in a car wreck or another incident due to someone else’s negligence, consider talking to a personal injury attorney right away. We always offer a initial assessment. Call 303-688-0944 to schedule it, or click here.