If you want to increase your personal injury settlement amounts, then you should understand which things make the biggest impact. Here are a few important things that determine the amount of your accident claims:
Recovery TimeTo determine how serious your injuries were, the insurance companies will look at the length of your recovery time. They want to know if your injuries affected your life for a few days or a few months. The reasoning behind this is simple. The insurance companies think that the longer it takes you to recover from an injury, the more serious it must be. The more serious your injuries appear, the higher your personal injury settlement amounts.
The best way to document the length of your injuries is with your doctor's medical reports. A medical report that shows you visited the doctor multiple times after a car accident, can significantly improve your chances of getting a higher settlement.
Lasting InjuriesSome injuries can have a long term and even permanent impact on your life. These types of injuries include scarring, broken bones, permanent disabilities, lost limbs etc. Since these injuries can severely impact your everyday life, they get higher personal injury settlement amounts.
Some injuries are serious but may not be apparent in terms of their long term effect. This is typically true for injuries to the brain, such as concussions, where the symptoms may appear months later.
To check if your injuries have any serious long term consequences, ask your doctor for potential future side effects. If there is a possibility that your injuries could cause you any lasting damage, you should ask your doctor to document this in your medical report.
MedicationsAnother way insurance companies determine the seriousness of your injuries is by checking if you are taking any prescribed medications. Taking medication shows that your injuries have been continuing to cause you pain and discomfort.
You should document all of your medications and note all the symptoms you have been experiencing. This can include severe headaches, chronic pains, inflammation, joint pain etc.
Physical/Emotional PainTo increase your personal injury settlement amounts, you should try to paint a complete picture of how you were impacted by the accident. Simply saying what your injuries are does not show the level of pain and discomfort you are experiencing in your daily life.
That is why it helps if you document both the physical and emotional impact of your injuries. The same injury can have a different impact on different people. For example: - A visible scar can cause a teenager extreme embarrassment.
- Being stuck in a wheel chair may prevent a mother from taking care of her kids.
- A stiff neck can prevent someone from enjoying a good night sleep
All of these things are not obvious consequences of an injury. That is why it's important you keep a diary/journal that details how you were affected by your injuries. You should try to describe the activity you were doing and the physical/emotional discomfort you felt.
The more clearly you describe your injuries, the better the chance you will increase your personal injury settlement amounts.
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