The tort laws entitle you to pursue a damages claim if anybody hurts you due to negligence or intentional wrongful actions. You receive your compensation through a lawsuit or consider settling out of court for a specific payment amount.
Regardless of your approach, you must have legal advice from reputable firms like Gruel Mills Attorneys & Counselors. This article focuses on injury compensation claims and how to make a successful claim.
Personal Injury Compensation Explained
The primary objective of a personal injury claim is to be “made whole” for any losses experienced from an accident. In some situations, the offender pays additional compensation beyond the value of the damage.
There are different types of personal injury compensation claims you can receive, and they include:
Economic Damages
You’ll experience financial losses when someone harms you. The economic damages compensation aims to repay you for the financial loss encountered after the accident.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are losses that affect your quality of life and not your financial situation. For example, the injuries might result in physical and mental pain that interferes with daily functioning.
Punitive Damages
Your compensation claim might include punitive damages if the defendant’s intentionally harmful conduct. Punitive damages punish the offender’s actions and does not make you whole.
How to Claim Injury Compensation?
Claiming injury compensation is not the most straightforward process you’ll experience. Finding a legal advisor to help walk you through your unique compensation journey would be wise.
Here is a guide on how to claim personal injury compensation successfully;
Obtain Medical Care
The first thing to do after getting involved in an accident is to seek immediate medical treatment. Visit a health practitioner even if you don’t observe any injuries to help prevent severe complications in the future. The medical records also serve as evidence when filing your claim.
Prepare Documentation
After the medical treatment, the next step involves documenting all receipts proving the accident. It would help to ensure the documents show how the injuries affected your life and provide enough evidence showing the accident’s cause.
Consider Legal Consultation
You can settle small personal injury claims without involving legal representatives in your case. However, it would help to know that these professionals increase your chances of getting large compensation.
Investigate the Accident and Injuries
Your attorney must know everything about the accident. They’ll start by interviewing the claimant, requesting medical records and working to build your case.
The investigation’s primary objective is to establish negligence and prove the claimant got injured in the accident. If the offender is guilty, the lawyer serves the notice of claim to inform them of the intent to file suit.
Settlement Talks
There are two ways to settle a claim. The claimant can initiate negotiations with the defendant’s team before going to court. If both parties cannot resolve, the plaintiff files a personal injury lawsuit in court, and litigation begins.
File a Lawsuit
Once your attorney files a lawsuit in court, the discovery phase starts. Each party investigates the other party’s defenses and claims in this phase. Both parties must respond to all requests truthfully to allow fair proceedings and rulings.
Mediation
After the discovery phase, the court allows the attorneys on both camps to meet and try to settle. It’s known as the mediation phase and involves including a third party. The mediator attempts to resolve the case satisfactorily for both parties. However, the case advances to trial if mediation proves unsuccessful.
Personal injury claims help individuals injured in an accident to focus on their well-being and health by providing the compensation they deserve. It would be best to contact a skilled personal injury attorney to increase your chances of success in the trial.
