No one (sane) wants to be in a car accident. From a mere inconvenience, to a life-shattering years of treatment and recovery, the negligence of another driver can leave a lasting blemish on an innocent person.
We at Correll Law Firm, PC want to make sure that you know how to “jump start” your personal injury case to get the financial compensation that you may be entitled to through either settlement or trial.
Car accidents can be very traumatic experiences. The injuries you may sustain in the accident for the rest of your life.
In addition to the physical harm, you may be at-risk for untold financial harm as well. One heavily-cited Harvard Medical Study found that 62 percent of bankruptcies are due to medical bills. In the majority of those cases the individuals even had health insurance!
That’s why knowing the ins and outs of a personal injury client’s insurance is crucial as there may be coverages that a person may not be aware of.
There are many ways to make sure that you are covered in the event someone hits you in a car accident in Northern Virginia. However, in order to maximize recovery, it’s crucial that you “document, document, document” the circumstances of your injury.
We’ll give you some tips on thoroughly documenting your injuries and making sure you support an award for adequate compensation from a car insurance company.
Many times we ask client’s to help “jump-start” our representation by providing several key items of evidence. That said, it is the practice of our firm to seek most of the below items for you.
- A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words. You won’t believe how important this is to both our understanding and that of the insurance company. We’ll want pictures of your car’s damage, both from afar and close-up, and road conditions. As to your damage – your personal injury – we’ll need both before and after photos that are a true and accurate depiction of the harm that was caused by the other driver. If you are now limited in activities that you could have done before, we want to see that as well.
- Day To Day Limitations. We frequently ask clients to document their daily trials and tribulations, which are frequently forgotten months after the accident. Being accurate is critical. We ask because forgetting bad things that happen is not only part of the coping process; it’s human nature.
- Accident Location. We frequently use mapping tools to visually-depict what happened on the day of the collision.
- Lost Wages. Aside from medical expenses, this is one of the most critical items to keep track of following a car accident. We have had cases be great or not so great based on the ability to document lost wages.
- Medical Records. We’ll need releases so we can get into the science and mechanism of your injury. It’s not enough to say you were injured. We need to make the case of how it happened even if it may seem obvious to you. You have to assume the insurance company of the other driver will try to poke holes in your case if medical documentation is not as complete as practical.
- Medical Billing. If you are not able to obtain these records when you come to us for a consultation, don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of it for you. In addition to treatment records, we’ll want to document your pharmacy records, travel expenses for medical appointments, physical therapy equipment, and insurance treatment deductibles or co-payments.
Call us at 540.535.2005 to schedule a free case evaluation
Correll Law Firm, PC, serving Northern Virginia, has a solid familiarity of both the auto claims process, the factors to maximize success, and the law related to personal injury claims. It is important to us that our clients be happy with our representation. Whether you have the documentation when you come to see us, or we obtain it to advance your case (which is most scenarios), we look forward to meeting you.