After you get into an accident that someone else is responsible for, what’s next? If you have been injured at all, like bruising, minor whiplash, or any other types of injuries, you will need to get those addressed by a medical professional as soon as possible. The treatments may be insignificant and could lead to an afternoon of missed work or perhaps a few days that you need to stay home. These types of accidents can be irritating aid disruptive but are not as significant as a major accident that causes permanent injuries, disabilities, and life-changing impacts on your wellbeing.
Many people think that after getting into a minor car accident, there is no need for an attorney, no need for negotiations, and no need to think about getting any additional compensation from the insurance company when they make a settlement offer. While it is true that the settlement amount is significantly less for a minor accident, it is also true that you deserve to get EVERY dollar you deserve, and an attorney like Lawyer Kenneth King can help you get there.
The following information should give you a decent idea of what to expect after you are involved in a minor car accident, but the best thing to do is to get in touch with an attorney as soon as possible to see how they can help you. Minor accidents result in smaller settlements than instances where there are major injuries, but that does not make them any less important.
What Are The Pieces Of a Minor Car Accident Settlement?
One of the things that people don’t recognize after a minor car accident is that they are still eligible for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Of course, the insurance company that you are working with is never going to volunteer this information to you, since their goal is to pay you as little as possible. They will make you an initial settlement offer—which you can be certain will be less than what you deserve—and from there, you will be able to start negotiations with them about what you believe you truly deserve.
When you start to talk about non-economic damages during negotiations with an insurance company, they will respond as if they think that compensation for pain and suffering in such a minor accident is non-standard or non-typical, and that they don’t really think that they are appropriate in this situation. This is just one way that they will try to leverage your own inexperience with personal injury settlements to keep from paying you what you deserve.
Hire an Attorney
Realistically, the best way to get the money that you need and deserve from an insurance company during a settlement negotiation is by hiring an attorney to manage this process. Yes, your case will not end with a $1 million settlement either way, but you deserve every dollar that you are entitled to after you have suffered injuries in an accident that someone else caused.
Insurance companies try to downplay the importance of your injuries if they are insignificant and temporary, such as bruising or minor whiplash, but do not be fooled. This is a tactic that they have honed for decades, and it is in an insurance company’s best interest to limit as many payments as possible to protect their own financial interests over anything else.