Injured in a Car Accident? Here’s How a Lawyer Can Maximize Your Compensation
Car accidents can create significant financial hardship. Beyond costly medical bills, victims often miss work due to injuries and may not be able to earn future wages. Getting as much compensation as possible is an essential part of your recovery. Fortunately, an attorney can maximize your compensation by gathering crucial evidence for your claim.
Document Your Expenses
Documenting the costs of your recovery can be difficult, especially over a long-term period. Receipts and invoices can get lost, and a record of your injuries will fade with time. According to an auto accident lawyer in Forth Worth, TX, having detailed documentation that includes all the medical expenses you have incurred will strengthen your compensation claim.
Car accident survivors often have other undocumented costs that impact their recovery, as well. These costs include lost time at work, duties that can no longer be performed at home, and mental stress or pain. Taking multiple pictures of the accident scene, including any skid marks or debris from the crash, can help your attorney prove the facts of the case. Documenting all your phone calls with law enforcement, the other driver, eyewitnesses, and your insurance company is also important.
Get Prompt Medical Care
Car accident victims must be medically evaluated after a crash, even if they feel fine. This is because many injuries are not immediately visible. In addition, adrenaline may be masking pain. Furthermore, some symptoms may not show up until hours after the accident.
Prompt medical care is essential to your health, but it also plays an important role in your legal case. If you delay seeing a doctor, the insurance company might argue that your injury must have occurred due to another incident or a pre-existing condition, preventing you from receiving fair compensation.
Once you see a doctor, be sure to attend all follow-up appointments and adhere to the treatment plan prescribed by your physician. This will ensure that your records accurately reflect your symptoms and that the injuries are treated properly.
Gather Witnesses’ Information
A traumatic accident can make memories hazy, and eyewitness accounts are valuable in establishing what happened. If possible, politely approach anyone who witnessed the crash and ask if they are willing to provide a statement. Witness statements can help support liability claims for damages.
Also, look around for cameras that may have recorded the incident. Red light, street, and security camera footage may help establish facts about the accident.
In addition to witness statements, medical records are critical in proving the extent of your injuries. It is important to keep a detailed record of all your symptoms, including how bad the pain was initially and how it has improved or worsened over time. Also, a journal or psychological evaluation is useful in showing the emotional impact of the injuries on your life. A lawyer can use these and other types of documentation to calculate the full amount of your compensation.
Contact an Attorney
Often, the initial settlement offer from an insurance company or liable party does not reflect the true cost of your losses. A lawyer can help you calculate and document your financial damages, including lost wages, medical expenses, property damage, future medical care, prescription medication, physical therapy, and more. Even if your injuries are not immediately apparent, getting checked out by a doctor at the crash scene or soon after is important. Some injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, can take days or weeks to develop symptoms. Having a full treatment plan with no gaps in care will make your injuries seem more serious to an insurer.
It’s also vital to document all of your non-economic losses, like pain and suffering, as well. No amount of money can erase the pain and suffering you have experienced, but compensation can provide some relief. A lawyer will use all of the evidence you collect to demonstrate your losses so that you can receive maximum compensation.
