When you’re involved in an accident, you may be entitled to some form of compensation. The objective is to get money to cover your treatment and other expenses. The problem is that you’ve no idea about the process for recovering damages.
Some people close to you may recommend you involve a personal injury attorney, while others are against this idea. The confusion will cause you to take long before you can act, which lowers your odds of getting fair compensation. The liable party will take advantage of your delay to deny your claim.
To help you out, here is a layman’s guide to recovering damages.
Understanding Damages
Most auto accident victims are only aware of the economic damages such as medical bills and car repair expenses. These people don’t realize that they’re entitled to general/non-economic damages such as pain and suffering compensation. Consult the best auto accident attorney near you to learn about different types of damages in law.
Calculating the Value of Your Claim and Filing the Claim Paperwork
The next phase is determining how much money you should receive for the damages you suffered. The problem you’ll encounter is determining the compensation you should get for non-economic damages. For instance, how much money should you get for the emotional distress you suffered?
To recover damages, you must consider the future issues that may arise due to the current injuries. The reason is that with time your injuries may get worse, and you become permanently disabled. To estimate the value of your claim, seek the help of the top personal injury attorney.
The lawyer will help you understand how to calculate various damages. Also, he’ll guide you on the claim paperwork to submit. The idea is to provide all necessary legal documents to support your claim.
Pre-Trial Settlement Talks
After serving the liable party with the claim, the next phase is to appear in court. Here your attorney will provide evidence that you’re entitled to receive compensation. The defendant will also have a lawyer who disputes your claim.
The court will decide if you have a case or not and give you a chance to resolve the matter outside the court. You’ll meet with the liable party and see if you can agree on a settlement. If settlement talks are futile, the next action is to go to trial.
Trial
Going to trial is tricky as you place your fate in the hands of a judge and the jury. To increase the odds of winning, hire a personal injury attorney with trial experience. This lawyer will present a strong argument and find key expert witnesses.
The goal is to persuade the jury to award you a high compensation amount covering all the damages you suffered.
Simplify Recovering Damages by Hiring a Competent Attorney
The process of recovering damages is complex and time-consuming when you lack the essential legal expertise. That’s why you should choose to involve a qualified personal injury attorney. The lawyer will help you understand various damages and guide you on how to expedite the settlement process.
For more legal advice, please check out our other articles.
