If you have found yourself in the unfortunate position of being injured in an accident that was not caused by you and your injuries are significant, you may be entitled to file a personal injury claim against the person who caused the accident.
If you go ahead with this action, you will be faced with having to file two separate claims. One is a claim for medical damages caused by your injury, while the other is for property damage. These claims may be settled at different times, but you must sign a “Release for Property Damages Only” first and not what’s called a “General Release,” which releases all the claims at the same time.
Before you go ahead with these claims you should contact a personal injury attorney who will help to ensure the best decision is made for your situation.
The Process for Filing a Property Claim
If you have decided to pursue your property damage claim first, there are a few things you need to do. If it’s an auto accident you should already have the details about the at-fault driver and his or her insurer. You should contact the insurer directly. Don’t depend on the other driver to do that.
The insurer will record the necessary details and you will be allotted an adjuster who will be in charge of your case. This person will inspect the property damage and decide what level of claim is permissible.
Assuming the property is a vehicle, the adjuster will decide if it can be repaired, or if is a total loss, and will decide on what the payment will be. You can get a quote from your usual repair shop and compare with the adjuster’s amount.
If there is a serious difference the repair shop becomes involved in reaching an agreement with the insurer. If your auto is a “total loss,” you should be compensated for its full value.
The Process for Filing for Medical Damages
Once you have sorted out your property claim, you can concentrate on filing a claim for your injuries. The insurer responsible for the property damage claim will also be negotiating the amount that will be paid to cover the cost of physical injuries.
There are several parts to this, which are the value of your loss in income, the full cost of medical treatment and an amount calculated for the pain and suffering you have to endure because of your injury. These are calculated up to the day you have recovered and are able to go back to work.
You have to ensure you have a comprehensive medical report stating how long the injury is likely to last.
In some situations you may be awarded punitive damages, which are available in personal injury cases where the defendant has acted in a particularly negligent way to cause the accident.
Do I Need to Hire an Attorney to File A Claim?
Whether you decide to make a separate claim for any property damage and then file a personal injury claim there is a good reason to hire an attorney. This is mainly because the insurer responsible for financing your claim may try to offer you less than the true value of your financial hardship.
This could leave you out of pocket. An attorney is used to the way insurers work and will argue persuasively to ensure both your property damage and compensation for your injuries will be more than adequate to match any financial hardship. This can help ensure when you're offered a settlement or asked to sign a release form, you're well prepared and informed.
