If you’ve suffered from a personal injury that was caused by the negligence or deliberate wrongdoing of another party, you need to file an insurance claim or lawsuit to recover compensation.
Unfortunately, many victims don’t recover the full damages they deserve. They may accept an insurance company’s low-ball offer or fail to present compelling evidence proving their case. In this blog, you’ll learn how to increase your personal injury settlement by providing evidence and assessing the full scope of your damages.
Collect Evidence Showing the Negligent Party Was At Fault
Supplying strong evidence is an integral part of proving your personal injury claim and maximizing your settlement amount. The more evidence you have against the negligent party, the better your negotiation position. Without sufficient evidence, the negligent party’s insurance company will likely claim that their client wasn’t strictly at fault for your injuries, and you’ll struggle to prove liability and recover substantial damages.
If you’ve suffered from an accident, you can collect these valuable forms of evidence to prove the negligent party was at fault:
- Eyewitness Testimonies: If anyone saw the accident occur, write down their statements and contact information. Eyewitnesses may be able to corroborate that the other party was at fault for the accident.
- Photographic Evidence: Photos of the scene of the accident may indicate that the negligent party was at fault. For example, if you slipped at a grocery store and there was no signage warning you of the potential danger, photos may indicate that management didn’t do their due diligence in warning the public about the hazard.
- Video Evidence: Surveillance and dashcam footage can provide you with invaluable evidence indicating that the negligent party was liable. If you suffered from a vehicular collision, for example, a nearby surveillance camera could have recorded the events leading up to the crash, such as the at-fault driver running a stop sign.
- Police Accident Report: If you or another party reported the accident to the police, you can use their accident report as evidence. Additionally, if the at-fault party faced any criminal charges, such as drinking and driving or reckless endangerment, you can use that as evidence against them when filing your claim or lawsuit.
- Expert Testimony: Finally, you can use expert testimony to further corroborate that the at-fault party is liable. For example, an accident reconstruction expert can recreate a collision with animations and 3D imagining to illustrate that the other driver was at fault.
Increase Your Personal Injury Claim Settlement with Proof of Economic Damages
You’ll need to do more than just prove that the negligent party was at fault for your accident — you also need to show how you sustained financial damages as a direct result. Depending on the unique circumstances of your case, you may have suffered financial losses, including:
- Property damage: The accident in question may have damaged your home, car, or personal belongings.
- Past and future medical bills: You can seek damages compensating you for your medical bills and ongoing treatment, including prescriptions, doctor visits, surgeries, physical therapy, and any other medical expenses directly caused by the accident.
- Lost wages: If you were forced to take time away from work because of your injuries, you may be able to recover damages compensating you for the money you would have earned.
- Loss of future earnings: In the event that your injuries permanently disable you and impact your ability to work, you may be able to recover damages for your reduced earning potential.
Some forms of evidence you can supply indicating that you suffered economic losses include:
- Medical records: Medical records such as receipts, prescriptions, doctor’s notes, and additional proof of treatment indicate that the accident caused you to sustain bodily injuries.
- Employment records: Your company’s employment records can prove that you took time away from work due to your injuries.
- Expert medical testimony: Medical experts can help establish a direct link between the accident in question and your resulting injuries. These experts can also indicate if your injuries will impact your earning potential.
Increase Your Settlement Value Through Noneconomic Damages
While economic damages are meant to reimburse you for your financial losses, noneconomic damages compensate you for losses that are not easily measured monetarily. These include:
- Pain and suffering: The physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish that you experienced as a result of the injury.
- Emotional distress: This may include anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues caused by the injury or the circumstances surrounding it.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: The impact that the injury has had on your ability to engage in hobbies, recreational activities, or other enjoyable pursuits.
- Loss of consortium: Refers to how the accident and resulting injuries damaged your relationship with your spouse or family members.
Noneconomic damages can be challenging to calculate since they are not based on tangible financial losses like medical bills or lost wages, but they can greatly increase the value of your settlement. Consider working with a personal injury attorney to further explore this option.
Maximize Your Personal Injury Claim Settlement Amount By Contacting a Personal Injury Lawyer
To ensure that you get the most out of your personal injury case, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you gather evidence and present your case in the most effective way possible.
Here at McCoy & Sparks Attorneys at Law, we help Kentucky residents get the most money possible for their injuries, and we can help you if you suffered from a car accident, slip and fall, dog attack, or another personal injury.
Ready to maximize your claim? Schedule your free case consultation today online or by calling 844-459-9467.