Maximizing Compensation from a Tennessee Car Accident Injury Claim

After a car accident, you may find out that you need around-the-clock medical care. This can cause you to be out of work and lose the necessary income to help you and your family stay afloat. As a result, your bills from emergency room visits, surgeries, physical therapy, and prescriptions may start to accumulate quickly. It is normal to feel stressed, frustrated, and overwhelmed as your bank accounts begin to grow smaller.

However, before you run completely out of funds, you should speak to a car accident lawyer to learn how you can increase the value of your car accident claim and maximize the compensation you receive to cover your medical bills, lost income, auto repair costs, and other daily out-of-pocket expenses.

Nine tips to help you maximize your car accident injury claim in Chattanooga

It is important to act early on in the claims process to ensure that you protect your legal rights and obtain the highest amount of compensation possible. To help you secure the most money, you should strongly consider following these nine tips.

Make sure you seek medical attention right away: If you want to maximize your car accident injury claim, the first step is to seek medical attention right away. This means that you should visit the closest emergency room, urgent care, or doctor’s office as soon as you leave the accident scene. If you put this off, the defendant’s insurance company or legal team will question whether you were truly hurt in the accident. A licensed medical provider will perform a physical examination and order imaging and blood tests to determine what types of injuries you suffered and what type of treatment plan you should follow. You must continue to follow the doctor’s orders and attend all follow-up appointments going forward.

Document everything: If you can, it is also a good idea to document everything about your car accident. This usually involves taking photos and recording videos of the accident scene, your injuries, and vehicle damage. You should also report your accident to law enforcement to ensure that a police report is available on your crash. You may even want to write in a journal about any small or big details regarding your accident and how it has impacted your everyday life and routine since.

Be fully aware of your damages: Before filing a car accident injury claim, it is recommended that you sit down and make sure that you are fully aware of your damages. This means that you need to take the time to identify every loss you have experienced due to your accident and injuries. This can be medical bills, auto repair fees, vehicle replacement costs, lost wages, transportation and travel expenses, home renovations, home care services, and more.

Remember your non-economic damages: Tennessee allows accident victims to pursue non-economic damages as long as they can prove that another person is responsible for their accident and injuries. Therefore, you should consider claiming non-economic damages if you have this proof. Non-economic damages can be a little more challenging to identify than economic damages as they are intangible losses that do not have a specific monetary value. However, if you are able to identify non-economic damages, you can potentially increase the value of your car accident claim by a lot. Some examples of non-economic damages are physical pain and discomfort, emotional distress, mental anguish, diminished quality of life, loss of enjoyment of activities, scarring and disfigurement, permanent disability, embarrassment or humiliation, and more.

Do not forget about the future: When identifying your damages, it is crucial that you do not forget about the future. Even minor injuries from a car accident can affect you for the rest of your life. Therefore, you must think about the future and how your injuries may result in long-term medical bills, psychological effects, rehabilitation costs, future earning capacity, and more.

Hire a Chattanooga car accident attorney: Hiring a Chattanooga car accident attorney can tremendously help you maximize your car accident claim. This is because the insurance company will see that you are serious about your claim and that you have a legal professional by your side to help you build a strong case against their client. An attorney can help you investigate, communicate with the insurance companies and legal teams, determine liability, calculate your losses, and fully understand your rights and the laws pertaining to your case.

Be patient and take your time when negotiating: While you may be anxious to hurry and settle your claim, you must remain patient and take your time when negotiating. The insurance company knows that you need the money as soon as possible, so they will use tactics to get you to take the low-ball offers they provide. However, it is critical that you ask for your lawyer’s advice and wait patiently for a fairer settlement offer.

Gather strong evidence to support and build your case: The next step to maximize your car accident injury claim is to gather strong evidence to support and build your case. This means that you need evidence that shows a direct connection between the crash and your injuries and backs up your side of the story. A few pieces of evidence that you should gather for your case include medical records, medical bills, doctor’s notes, photos, videos, surveillance footage, dash cam footage, employment information, pay stubs, tax information, eyewitness statements, auto mechanic receipts, expert witness testimonies, and more.

Prepare to file a lawsuit and go to trial: Although many people find court hearings to be nerve-racking and intimidating, filing a lawsuit and going to trial can increase your compensation. Sometimes, filing a lawsuit is simply enough to obtain the maximum compensation you need. The insurance companies want to avoid going to trial, which means they may offer a higher settlement once they see that you have filed a lawsuit and are serious about obtaining the requested compensation. If the insurance company balks at upping its settlement offer, an attorney will likely recommend filing a lawsuit. If your case goes to trial, you should ensure you are fully prepared and ready to make a good impression. The judge or jury will listen to your and the other party’s arguments and decide who is at fault and how much compensation should be awarded.

At Wagner Workers Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers, our team knows the ins and outs of car accident cases. We will guide you through every step, answer any of your questions and concerns, and ensure that you receive the payout you need and deserve to recover your losses and rebuild your life again. Please call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation in Chattanooga today. We also serve clients in Cleveland and North Georgia.