What role does the insurance company play in a personal injury lawsuit?

When you are involved in an accident that results in injury to you, whether it be from a car accident or a slip and fall on another person’s property, your first step in making a claim for your injuries always starts with an insurance company.

It is not uncommon for an insurance company to contact you rather quickly following an accident in which you were involved. If you don’t hear from the insurance company right away, you should make contact with the person who caused your injuries, and/or the appropriate insurance company in order to let them know that you are making a claim for your injuries.

An insurance company is initially represented by a claims adjuster, or a person who is responsible for processing and handling your claim.

Remember these points:

• A claims adjuster does not represent your interests
• A claims adjuster represents the insurance company
• Keeping costs low is the adjusters real goal
• You are looking for the best settlement possible

You’ll also want to remember that you should not give detailed information to the claims adjuster about the accident or your injuries. If you give the claims adjuster these details, you might adversely affect your ability to get resolution of a claim. For instance, if you tell the claims adjuster a detail that puts you at fault for the accident, the insurance company then may not be willing to settle your claim at all.

With that said, there is no reason not to speak with a claims adjuster, particularly if you have suffered only minor injuries and/or damages. The claims adjuster typically will want copies of any medical bills related to your injuries, as well as estimates to repair any damages, such as damages to your vehicle in the case of a car accident.

At some point, the claims adjuster may offer you a settlement. Once you accept a settlement offer in writing, you must also sign a legal document that releases the person who caused your injuries, as well as his or her insurance company, from all further claims related to your accident. This means that once you have settled your claim, you can’t go back later and claim more medical expenses or damages arising from the accident. Therefore, if you think you will have future medical expenses as a result of the accident, then you should probably wait before settling your claim.  

You should carefully consider any settlement offer. Take into account :

• All injuries you have suffered
• All your medical bills
• Lost wages for lost work time
• Property damage
• Your pain & suffering

Also, keep in mind that if your own health insurance company paid all or part of your medical bills, then it may require you to reimburse them for those costs out of any settlement that you receive.

The bottom line is that you need to think of your claim in terms of the total amount of damages that you have suffered, and come up with some sort of figure that you can live with. Hopefully, your figure will be close enough to the settlement offer that you will be able to resolve your claim without filing a lawsuit.
I take a personal approach, listening carefully to the details of your case so that I can tailor your representation to get the results you seek. 

For a Free Consultation call me at 727-475-6854.

I hope you found this information helpful. About every 2 weeks or so I’ll provide additional

meaningful articles regarding personal injury issues and related legalities.

Until then, Be Careful Out There!

All My Best- Bill Schneikart 

Personal Injury Lawyer

When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

When you suffer an injury in an accident, there are so many things to consider and so many details that need your attention. It is easy for a person to quickly become overwhelmed. Of course, the most immediate and the most important concern is to get medical treatment for your injury. Sometimes an injury can be treated quickly. However, more serious injuries may need ongoing treatment and may leave the injured person in a lot of pain. Medical bills can quickly pile up as can loss of wages. Additionally, the accident which caused the personal injury may have also resulted in expensive property damage.

Many people are insured against some, or all, of the above expenses. For example, a person may carry health insurance to cover the medical bills, disability insurance to cover the lost wages and car insurance to cover damage to an automobile. Therefore, some people try to manage these insurance claims on their own and do not hire an attorney until litigation becomes necessary.

The Benefits to Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney Early

There are many benefits to hiring an attorney as soon after your injury occurs as possible. Insurance companies, both yours and the other person’s, are likely to start asking questions immediately. Depending on the nature of the accident, the police may also ask questions. An attorney will often handle those questions for you. This will not only take the pressure off of you and allow you to focus on your recovery and other responsibilities but, it will also ensure that you do not say something to the insurance company or police that could later hurt your chances of recovery or hamper your defense.

Some insurance companies also try to pressure people into settlements as soon as they get the claim. If attorneys are not yet involved in the case then insurance companies can often get the parties to agree to a lesser settlement and they can avoid costly litigation.

If anyone involved in the case was seriously injured or if there is a dispute about who was at fault for the accident then it is important to hire an attorney as soon as possible to safeguard your interests.

When to Wait

You might wish to consult an attorney early for the reasons stated above. However, you might hesitate before hiring the attorney. A reputable personal injury attorney will be honest with you during your initial consultation about whether this is case for which you need an attorney. The attorney might advise you to take an offered settlement or to handle the initial stages of the negotiations yourself. If you are comfortable doing so and the case does not involve a significant injury or monetary loss then it could be to your advantage to avoid the expense of an attorney.

The law does not require you to have an attorney handle your personal injury case. Whether the accident just happened or you are on the eve of trial, the decision about whether to retain counsel is up you. However, if fault is disputed or there were serious injuries or monetary losses then it is usually beneficial to seek the advice of a qualified attorney as soon after the accident as possible.

I hope you found this information helpful. About every 2 weeks or so I’ll provide additional meaningful articles regarding personal injury issues and related legalities.

Until then, Be Careful Out There!

All My Best-

Bill Schneikart

Personal Injury Lawyer