The Truth About the Personal Injury Claim Process

The attorneys at Morgan and Morgan represent clients for every type of personal injury case. The following represents the most common type of personal injury cases handled by our team of personal injury lawyers.

Car Accidents

Car accidents are the most common type of personal injury case handled by our team of litigators. Vehicle collisions produce a wide variety of injuries that range from mild bruises to severe head trauma. If you sustained one or more injuries as a result of an auto crash, the personal injury lawyer assigned to your case by Morgan and Morgan determines whether another party should assume legal liability for causing you harm. For example, if another driver ran a red light and the driver’s vehicle hit your car at a high speed on the side of the vehicle, you might have enough evidence to file a personal injury lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. 

Slip and Fall

Businesses are responsible for the safety of both customers and businesses. When a business fails to take steps to prevent slips and falls, then the business might be held legally liable for contributing to a personal injury incident. Slip and fall incidents occur most often at arenas, restaurants, shopping malls, convenience stores, and grocery stores. Injuries range from nothing more than a few small cuts to significant spinal cord damage. A business such as a grocery store must act with a sense of urgency if a slick surface develops because of a spilled liquid. Failing to clean up a slick surface quickly, as well as placing a “wet floor” sign over the click surface, are considered acts of negligence.

Medical Malpractice

Healthcare providers assume a duty of care for every patient that is diagnosed, treated, and rehabilitated for one or more injuries. Unfortunately, some healthcare providers end up causing more harm than good by committing one or more acts of negligence. Acts such as misdiagnosing a terminal illness or improperly treating an injury can lead to the filing of a personal injury lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Healthcare providers also commit mistakes that are not considered negligence. When this happens, the victim of a medical mistake files a personal injury claim with the healthcare provider’s insurance company.

If your personal injury lawyer plans to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, you must file your lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations as established by the state where you live. However, states do not set a deadline for filing a personal injury insurance claim. The insurance policy that covers your personal injury case should contain language that establishes a deadline for filing a claim. For instance, an insurance policy might contain language that grants you up to 30 days to file a claim to cover the costs associated with a vehicle collision. One of the reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan is to file an insurance claim with the proper carrier before the deadline set by the carrier’s policy.

Most insurers require policyholders to notify a law enforcement agency concerning an auto crash within 24 hours of the personal injury incident. Nonetheless, the truth about the personal injury claim process includes the recommendation to contact a law enforcement agency right after a car accident. Some insurance policies contain vague language on when to notify a law enforcement agency regarding a personal injury incident. The personal injury lawyer representing you from Morgan and Morgan understands the importance of filing an insurance claim as soon as possible after a personal injury incident.

One of the many truths about the personal injury claim process is the fact that hiring an experienced attorney increases the likelihood of an insurance company approving your request for compensation. Insurance companies prefer to deal with policyholders that do not retain an attorney to represent them during the claim filing process. If you do not hire a skilled personal injury lawyer, the insurance company reviewing your claim might deny it for one or more invalid reasons or approve the claim for a value that is below what you deserve.

Hiring a personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan delivers several benefits.

Acts as an Intermediary

One of the experienced personal injury attorneys from Morgan and Morgan interacts with the insurance adjuster reviewing your claim. If the insurance adjuster asks for more medical evidence, your personal injury lawyer takes care of the request. Hiring a personal injury lawyer reduces the level of stress experienced by participating in the often frustrating insurance claim process. Instead of spending time fulfilling the requests made by the insurance adjuster reviewing your case, you delegate that responsibility to one of our attorneys.

Gather Evidence

Although a formal report submitted by the appropriate law enforcement agency contains physical evidence, your attorney conducts a separate investigation to gather more physical evidence to strengthen your case. For example, your lawyer files a request to obtain the video footage shot by a traffic camera to uncover more physical evidence concerning a car accident. Some personal injury incidents such as a slip and fall do not require the participation of a law enforcement agency, which means the responsibility for collecting physical evidence falls on the shoulders of your personal injury lawyer.

Calculate a Fair Value for Compensation

One of the keys to getting an insurance claim approved is to submit a reasonable value for compensation. The personal injury lawyer representing you from Morgan and Morgan calculates a fair value for compensation by adding up tangible expenses like medical bills and property damage. For pain and suffering, your attorney calculates a fair value for compensation by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages. If your lawyer decides to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, you might have enough convincing physical evidence to ask for punitive damages.

Negotiate a Settlement

If an insurance company denies your claim or approves an undervalued claim, you have the right to file an appeal. Before it gets to the appeal phase of the personal injury claim process, your lawyer has the opportunity to negotiate a favorable settlement with the insurance company. Negotiations start with the submission of an initial offer, which the insurance company can accept or reject. If the insurance company rejects the initial offer, the company can submit a counteroffer that is reviewed by your personal injury lawyer. A series of counteroffers can ensue until either both parties agree to a settlement or decide to move on to the appeals phase of the claim process.

The most important truth learned about the personal injury claim process is the importance of hiring an experienced attorney. An experienced attorney from Morgan and Morgan possesses a proven record of success getting clients what they deserve. Morgan and Morgan assigns you a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling your type of case. For example, if you sustained one or more injuries as a result of a car accident, the personal injury lawyer assigned to your case by Morgan and Morgan specializes in helping car accident victims file insurance claims.

Another attribute that our personal injury lawyers bring to the table is the willingness to negotiate settlements. Some personal injury attorneys refuse to negotiate settlements because they believe they can generate more compensation by going through the insurance claim appeal process. Negotiating a settlement does not mean you take less money than you deserve. In fact, one of the highly-skilled personal injury lawyers at Morgan and Morgan negotiates a settlement that awards you just compensation for sustaining one or more injuries.

Discover what constitutes the personal injury claim process by scheduling a free case evaluation today with a personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan.