Being involved in a personal injury accident is fun for no one. Dealing with pain and insurance companies, giving up seems like an easier option. You are entitled to compensation for the damages that someone else has inflicted on you or by way of negligence of another party.
The most common types of personal injury are motor vehicle accidents, work accidents, and premises liability. You can go on with medical negligence, industrial diseases, and product liability. The most common by far is the motor vehicle accident. This could include boating, motorcycle, dune buggy, and an 18 wheeler. It’s not just limited to cars or trucks. Premises liability would include slip and falls and dog bites. Premises liability is the liability for certain accidents that occur if one owns the land, they would be responsible.
Being confused by the process of a personal injury claim is quite common. There are many things to do, so where do you start? Hire a personal injury attorney, like a personal injury lawyer Arlington TX relies on. They will be able to answer questions and point you in the right direction. Hiring a personal injury attorney could increase the amount you receive in a settlement. Make sure you go with an attorney that you are comfortable with. Find different attorneys and interview until you are confident that you have found the one that best suits you.
The statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a claim for a personal injury accident. In some states, an individual has 2 years from the date of accident to file a claim. Once this statute has you are no longer able to sue for personal injuries. Always keep an eye on the statute of limitations.
Understanding the process of a personal injury claim will help you get through what feels like may take longer than needed. Feel free to ask questions, make sure you know what the next steps are. Has the attorney sent the letter of representation to the at fault party? Has the party answered? Did you have a lot of treatment? It may take longer to get the bills and records for every treatment facility. If you have treated for a long period of time, there may not be anything happening with the case just yet. Once a letter has been sent to the at fault party or insurance company, generally, you will wait on getting some sort of correspondence in return. After treatment is complete and the bills and records have been received, a demand will be written. A demand letter is a letter written to the at fault party/insurance company requesting they pay compensation for the damages you have incurred. This will include hard damages (medical bills, prescriptions, etc.) as well as mental anguish and such.
Once the demand has been sent and reviewed, most of the time an offer will be given unless they have chosen to deny the claim. Once an offer is received negotiations will start. This is generally the quickest part of the process. Your attorney will be able to advise you if the offer is fair or determine what would be fair comparatively to the damages. If an agreement is not reached, then the case will be put into litigation and moved forward with the court system.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Brandy Austin Law Firm PLLC for their insight into personal injury practice.