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When you are recovering after a personal injury accident and are wondering what the settlement negotiation process is like, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer Frederick, MD residents trust. At Peeples Law Group, we know that you have probably discussed things with your insurance company before: maybe you’ve had a leak at your home and needed to talk with home insurance or maybe you have needed to get something on your car fixed and talked with an agent from your car insurance. However, when you were injured by someone else in an accident and are filing a claim against someone else’s insurance, you want to know what steps you should be taking. This is where your attorney can come in.
Why should you have an attorney negotiate with insurance agents?
You may be wondering why you need an attorney for something like this. After all, you know what happened during the accident and are happy to let them know that you are the victim, not the at-fault party. However, the insurance agent will not want to give in to that point of view. Even if it is very clear that you were not to blame for the accident that happened, the insurance agent will not want to give you a fair settlement.
They may be sympathetic over the phone and give you some kind of settlement offer, but this is likely not the amount you deserve. A Frederick, Maryland personal injury lawyer can help you with this. Your attorney understands the rules of negotiation and knows that the process will look like this:
This can be a long process, and typically the insurance agent will want to determine what the lowest possible amount is you are willing to accept. This is why it is so important to have your attorney helping you with the negotiation process. They will know what a fair offer is and when to accept or go to court.
Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim
After a personal injury accident has left you with severe injuries that require medical attention, you may begin to realize that this is not something that will go away soon. Unfortunately, injuries after an accident can take months or years to heal if they ever fully heal at all which is why it is important to try to recover compensation after you have been injured. Especially when you believe that someone was at fault for the accident, working with an attorney who specializes in personal injury cases can help you when you need to file a claim or a lawsuit. If you want to schedule a consultation with an attorney from our firm, give us a call at your earliest convenience.
How do damages get calculated when someone else is at fault?
This is one of the top questions we get. Most people want to know what the chances are that they will get any damages and how damages are calculated. Otherwise, if you think there is a low possibility of getting damages, why file a claim? When it comes to determining damages, think of it broken up into different categories:
When you get into an accident, it is important to remember that injuries can happen in any of the above forms. You may have physical and emotional pain and suffering after an accident that comes in the form of broken bones, scars, or emotional trauma. You may have high medical bills if you visit the hospital, have to have surgery, or need certain medications. Finally, you may need to miss out on work for a few weeks or months. Even worse, you may not be able to go back to your regular job. These are all things taken into consideration when determining your damages.
Is it possible for you to predict how much my personal injury claim will get?
While we wish we could easily give our clients a number when it comes to their case, there will be too many factors that could change the amount, including whether we settle out of court or go to trial. We may be able to give you a rough idea of what to expect but cannot make a guarantee regarding a certain price. As always, it is important to give us as much detail as possible about the accident and what happened. This is the best way to get fair compensation.
What if I was injured at work?
If you suffered injuries while engaging in work-related activity, you may have one or more opportunities for recourse available to you at this time. Your worker classification will play a significant role in whether you can successfully file more than one type of claim. Essentially, if you’ve suffered work-related harm and you’re eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you should be able to collect these benefits – regardless of causation and fault – provided that you weren’t intoxicated, starting a fight, or trying to get hurt at the time you suffered harm. This is because workers’ compensation is a no-fault system and benefits are paid out for work-related harm to those covered by this unique form of insurance without regard to what caused the work-related injuries in the first place. It is highly likely that you’re eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if you’re classified as a full-time or part-time employee and highly unlikely that you’re eligible for these benefits if you’re classified as an independent contractor.
Whether or not you’re eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, an experienced Frederick, MD personal injury lawyer can help you file civil action against those responsible for the harm you’ve caused, provided that your situation meets some specific criteria. Essentially, you can only file a successful personal injury lawsuit if the defendant named in your case owed you a specific “duty of care” under the law and breached that duty by engaging in negligent, intentionally dangerous, or reckless conduct. Finally, this conduct must have directly contributed to the cause(s) of your physical injuries.
Note that if you’re ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you can sue any third party that meets these criteria. However, if you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you’ll only be able to sue third parties other than your employer. Employers enjoy limited legal liability in re: work-related harm sustained by employees eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
What if my loved one passed away due to their injuries?
The experienced legal team at Peeples Law Group not only represents the interests of injured workers. We also represent the interests of surviving loved ones of injured workers whose injuries proved fatal. Like workers non-fatally injured on the job, surviving loved ones may have one or more opportunities to pursue compensation, depending upon the deceased’s eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits at the time of their death. If the work-related harm that caused your loved one’s death resulted from the negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous conduct of a third party, you may hold that party accountable via the personal injury claims process – provided that the party you’re suing is not the deceased’s employer IF your loved one was eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. If your loved one was not eligible for these benefits, there are no limits on the individuals or legal entities that may be held accountable if you have grounds to file a successful personal injury case.
Additionally, if your loved one was eligible for workers’ comp, you may qualify to receive workers’ compensation death benefits. Connect with our team today if that may be the case, as filing for these benefits is a particularly time-sensitive process.
Legal assistance is available
To see what our Frederick, Maryland personal injury lawyer team can do for you, call Peeples Law Group now. We look forward to assisting you with your legal needs at this time.
“I hired Peeples Law for my car accident. From the moment I talked to Ms. Peeples, I felt like she actually cared about me and the outcome. She also explained the legal process to me because I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, we never had to file a lawsuit because she was able to get a great settlement for my injuries. From beginning to end, she was fair, easy to talk to, and I felt like she always had my best interests at heart. I highly recommend.”
Alexandra G.
