Personal Injury Claim Value: How It’s Determined by the Other Side
One of the great mysteries for a person who has been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in Florida is how the other side’s insurer comes to its valuation of their claim against that insurer’s client, the person who injured them. This will be a large factor in whether the insurer tries to settle the case early, what position it will take in settlement negotiations or at a mediation, or whether it will take the case all the way to trial. Although to someone who has never been involved in a personal injury lawsuit or claim before, the entire process may seem like a mystery, insurance companies are nothing if not predictable determining personal injury claim value.
You need to know how the insurance companies think in order to properly obtain the maximum compensation possible from the other side’s insurer in connection with your Florida personal injury claim. Understanding this is essential, regardless of the circumstances under which you were injured or the injuries that you suffered. There are several factors that go directly into determining your personal injury claim value by the other side’s insurer. One of the first things that the experienced Florida personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley do to ensure that we are maximizing our client’s compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence is to look at a case or a claim the way an insurance company will. Then we take any and all steps necessary to develop the client’s case so that the insurer will take it as seriously as possible. By doing so, we help ensure that our clients walk away with top dollar for their injuries suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence.
The Circumstances in Which You Were Injured Impact Your Personal Injur Claim Value
One of those factors that insurers will look at in determining what your personal injury claim value is the circumstances in which you were injured. If the motorist that injured you was texting and/or was driving particularly aggressively or recklessly, then his or her insurer is more likely to want to settle the case early than if it appears that the other driver was doing everything by the book. For example, if the motorist that injured you blew through a red light or was drunk, then his or her insurer is likely to want to settle the case very quickly. The failure to settle a claim where the insurer’s client is clearly liable can have adverse consequences for the insurer not only in having to pay more to resolve your claim down the road, but also in exposing it to possible liability to its own insured for failure to promptly settle or resolve a claim where its insured’s liability is clear. Therefore, our experienced Florida personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley will focus our investigation of the motor vehicle accident or other situation in which you were injured to turn up all the evidence and testimony reflecting ways in which the other driver was negligent to maximize your personal injury claim value. We can then present those to the other side’s insurer to increase the value of our client’s claim.
Your Particular Injuries and the Medical Treatment Needed
In evaluating your personal injury claim value against their insured, insurance companies will also look at what kind of injuries you suffered and, in particular, what medical treatment you required as a result of those injuries as well as what medical diagnosis or diagnoses you may have received from a medical professional related to your injuries. This is one reason that it is so important to seek treatment if you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in Florida. Regardless of the circumstances, if the insurer is using the medical treatment that you received as well as any corresponding diagnosis or diagnoses as some sort of proxy for how seriously you were injured then you want them to understand that you were seriously injured. The only want to do that is to seek the medical care and treatment that you need. Having a medical diagnosis from a trained medical professional not only helps to ensure that your claim is taken seriously by the insurance company but also ensures that you recover as best as can be expected from your injuries.
Other Losses
One of the other factors that an insurer might look at is what other losses you may have suffered as a result of its insured motorist’s negligence. For example, if your car is in the repair shop for weeks and you are unable to get around or to make it into work, then the quicker t your claim is resolved, the quicker the insurance company can stop having to pay for losses that may be ongoing, such as if your car needs major repairs and you will be out of work until it is completely repaired. Or, if you suffered injuries that are expected to be permanent, then the other side’s insurance company likely will want to obtain a quick settlement for its insured so that it and its insured are not on the hook for years’ worth of ongoing losses. For example, if you can only work in a much less physically demanding job as a result of your injuries from a motor vehicle accident and you suffer ongoing income losses during that entire period, the insurer and its client would be paying ongoing losses for years.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley
At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, our experienced personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of representing the victims of all sorts of motor vehicle accidents and other personal injury scenarios in Florida. During those decades of experience, we have been dealing with insurers trying to lowball the claims of our clients. We know the wayto assert pressure points on an insurer so that our client’s claim is taken seriously. We also know how to best present our client’s claim, so their personal injury claim value is maximized. Therefore, if you, a family member, or a loved one have been injured by someone else’s negligence in Florida, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A today at 877-694-6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com for a free consultation.