4 Ways a Personal Injury Attorney Can Maximize Your Personal Injury Settlement
Many reasons exist for hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer after you have been involved in an accident that may have left you with injuries. One of the benefits of hiring an attorney is that they can help you to maximize any settlement you may be entitled to. Here are four different ways that an attorney can maximize your personal injury settlement.
1. Proving Fault
With personal injury cases, showing who was at-fault for the accident is vital. Minneapolis is a contributory negligence state. This means that, in order to win a personal injury claim, you must be able to show that the other party had 50 percent or more fault in the accident. The courts will account for your percentage of fault in the accident and reduce your settlement by that amount.
For example, if your medical bills total $100,000 and you were 40 percent at fault for the accident and the other party was 60 percent at-fault, they will be responsible for $60,000 in medical expenses and you will be responsible for $40,000.
A great personal injury lawyer will use photographs, police reports, witness statements, and accident recreation to try to reduce any fault you may have in the accident, thus maximizing your settlement amount.
2. Ensuring You Seek Out Appropriate Medical Treatment
Most people know that they need to seek out medical treatment after they have been injured in an accident. But did you know that, in order to maximize any settlement amount, you need to seek out the right medical treatment?
A personal injury lawyer can help advise you on how frequently you need to treat with your doctor, when you can stop treatments, and what type of medical professionals you need to seek treatment with based on your injuries.
An attorney will also ensure that the reports the doctor is providing fully detail the scope of your injuries, the treatment plan, your recovery progress and any future care you may need, all of which can affect your settlement amount.
3. Protecting You Against Mistakes You May Make
During the course of a personal injury claim, you may make many mistakes that can ultimately harm your case. This includes making incorrect statements to the insurance company because you do not understand the questions being asked, posting pictures to social media accounts that can later come back to haunt you, or not disclosing past injuries.
A personal injury attorney will work with you to protect you against common mistakes that may ultimately decrease the amount of any settlement you may be entitled to in the future.
4. Fully Valuing Your Claim
The final way that a personal injury attorney can maximize your personal injury settlement is by fully valuing your claim.
Many elements come into play when valuing how much a personal injury claim is worth. This includes the cost of past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, pain and suffering, and disfigurement.
Some areas are clear cut, such as the cost of past medical expenses. Other areas are not as clear cut, such as estimating the cost of future medical expenses. An experienced personal injury lawyer works with experts and professionals to come up with the highest values possible for areas that may not be so clear cut, helping to maximize a settlement amount.
Have you been involved in a personal injury accident in the greater St. Cloud, Minneapolis, area? If so, Walz Law Office can work with you to help maximize any personal injury settlement you may be eligible for. Contact us today to schedule a free personal injury case evaluation with one of our attorneys.