Last Update: 10/13/19

Seeking compensation after a car accident or slip and fall in Florida can be stressful. Not only are you trying to emotionally and physically heal, but you also have the added burden of trying to negotiate your claim with a hard to reach adjuster.

During this process, you will likely find yourself asking your injury lawyer, or yourself: “how can I get maximum compensation for my injuries from the insurance company in my case?” Stated another way: “How can I avoid being re-victimized by an insurance company?

The unfortunate part here is that making this determination is not an exact science (although insurance companies use software to decide what your claim is worth.) So, how can you maximize the dollar amount you receive to return you to the condition you were in (both financially and physically) prior to your injuries?

Fortunately, there are ways to reasonably maximize that number.

5 Issues To Consider When Trying To Maximize Compensation In A Personal Injury Case

The insurance company may tell you that it’s easy to settle your case: just put together the medical bills (past and future); throw in the lost wages (past wages, future earning capacity estimate) and add in an amount for pain and suffering, and you’re done.

In reality, the insurance company will use this information to do everything they can to deny your claim or make you a low ball offer.

Below are 5 issues to consider when trying to determine how to receive the maximum amount of compensation from the insurance company:

1. The Injury

Long-term injuries (like brain or spinal injuries, including herniated disks from a slip and fall) and broken bones, like an ankle, are evaluated differently than minor injuries, “soft-tissue” injuries, like sprains, whiplash, or bruising that are short-term in nature. You will need medical doctors to provide documents to show the extent to which you were injured, and any future medical treatment (surgery, therapy, medication, etc.) that may be necessary for your recovery.

2. The Injury Victim

The individual circumstances of someone involved in the accident can affect an injury claim. For example, someone who has a history of carelessness on their record will be treated differently in a car crash claim than someone with a spotless 20 year driving record. Criminal histories and other issues also come into play.

Additionally, age can be an issue because elders, for example, have a shorter life expectancy which impacts issues related to earning capacity and loss of enjoyment of life.

Read: Can A Pre-Existing Condition Hurt Your Accident Claim?

3. The At-Fault Party

The person who caused the accident (the negligent party) can affect the value of injury settlement. For example, whether or not the at-fault driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident; where they were more at fault for the car accident than the victim, are they insured, how much insurance do they carry, are all factors in evaluating a claim.

Read: Contributory Negligence In Florida

4. The Losses (Damages)

Proper documentation, like receipts and invoices, is needed to support certain damage claims.  Damages like medical expenses, EMS, drug prescriptions, hospital bills, medical supplies and therapy costs.

For car accidents, pain and suffering will need to be estimated based on certain threshold requirements.

Read: Florida Car Accident Compensation Law

For non-medical (economic) damages, such as lost salary and wages, therapy costs, home care, etc., documentation should be provided to the insurance company to support your claims. There are formulas that insurance companies use for things like lost wages or lost commissions that need to be compared against documentation from employers, for example. Lost wages and future earning capacity are big areas where insurance companies try to low ball their settlement offer (if any) to the injury victims.

Read: Personal Injury Damages

Property damages can include more than just damage to the vehicle after a car accident. It may include any of the victim’s belongings in the car that was damaged or lost, such as:

• Cell Phones;
• Laptops
• Glasses;
• Electronics;
• Groceries; etc.

Be sure to review your insurance policy carefully to ensure that all your personal belongings can be recovered in the event of a car accident.

See:

• Car Accident Settlements and Cases Won By Alan Sackrin
• Publix Settlements and Cases Won By Alan Sackrin

5. The Insurance Adjuster

Injury victims can negotiate and settle their claims without a personal injury lawyer.  The insurance adjuster isn’t their friend.  It is their job at the insurance company to pay-out as little as possible.

Read: Abusive Insurance Adjusters – Leveling The Playing Field

For small claims, injury victims may find this works for them. However, for a claim involving surgery, permanent injury, long term health care needs, etc., it’s probably not a good idea to go at it alone.  Some argue, in these cases, the parties are of unequal bargaining power.

Why? Because so much information is used to negotiate a claim, and each case is unique.  Experts may be needed for accident reconstruction purposes in order to evaluate who was at-fault for the car accident or the level of fault (calculated in percentages) of each of the parties. Additionally, an expert may be needed to estimate or project things like lost earning capacity or loss of future earnings, as well as reading the co-efficient of friction of a grocery store aisle or some other flooring surface in a business establishment.

Quick Tip: Be honest with your doctor when discussing your injury and the circumstances around the accident. This includes disclosing any pre-existing injuries. You don’t want to give the insurance company a reason for doubting your truthfulness. If you lie to them, you can expect they won’t make you a fair settlement offer.

What Should You Do Now?

A good piece of advice if you have been harmed by a negligent act and would like to know how to maximize your compensation, is to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer who has dealt with countless insurance companies. Most personal injury lawyers, like Alan Sackrin, will offer a free initial consultation (over the phone or in-person) to answer your questions.

Related:

• Top 10 Reasons Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Car Accident Claims
• How Much Money Can You Expect From Your Florida Car Accident? Try Our Guide

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Do you have questions or comments? Then please feel free to send Alan an email or call him now at (954) 458-8655.

 
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