Getting Compensated for Your Personal Injury

While maximizing the compensation you receive from your personal injury case really comes down to one big factor—hiring an experienced and capable personal injury lawyer who is driven to get the best results for their clients—there are a number of seemingly small things (that aren’t actually so small) you can do to help your attorney help you.

Today’s post focuses on a few critical milestones within individuals’ personal injury journeys that require attention and consideration to help build a case. If you contact a lawyer early in the process, we can ensure that these are handled properly. After all, keeping track of everything yourself can be extremely challenging if you’re the injured party.

Remember—you don’t have to go it alone, and your compensation will almost certainly be greater if you entrust the process to professionals like us here at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers.

Seek Medical Treatment in a Timely Manner

Personal injury cases come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes based on how an individual got hurt, whether or not they were on the job at the time, and who else may have been involved, among other factors. However, they also share some important characteristics based on the fact that they all revolve about pain, suffering, and sometimes even fatality.

As we discussed in our previous post specifically about auto injury settlements, which result from one of the most common ways people get hurt today—in vehicle accidents—it is absolutely crucial to see a doctor as soon as possible after you’ve been injured in any way. Seeking medical treatment quickly is imperative for a strong personal injury case.

Even if you just have small cuts and bruises following a slip and fall in a public place or you only feel a twinge of neck pain after a fender bender, you need to get medical attention so your injuries are documented. If you wait to visit a doctor, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish injuries resulting from a particular event from other medical problems, for instance, and this can damage your case.

Additionally, in workers’ compensation cases, waiting to seek treatment may result in a higher likelihood that your claim will be denied from the start. This means you could be stuck in a situation where you’re unable to work and receive a paycheck, but you also aren’t receiving any benefits. While contacting a personal injury lawyer to help you with this type of issue may reverse that denial, it will take time to work through the process while your personal bills are piling up.

Bottom line—when you’re in doubt about an injury or illness, see a doctor right away.

Gather and Record All Possible Evidence

Accident scene photos, statements from others who were present when you were hurt, your medical records—all of these things are types of evidence that can and will be used to build your personal injury case. There are many more potential pieces of evidence, as well—too many to list here.

Unfortunately, if you are missing key documentation or information, your case can just as easily become a lost cause. Don’t let this happen to you!

If you or a loved one is swimming in paperwork and receiving forms from insurance companies that you have no idea how to complete—or if you are simply unsure about what types of information you need to keep track of—it’s time to call a personal injury lawyer right away or risk losing out on compensation you deserve.

Don’t Discuss Your Case—or Your Injuries—on Social Media

Even if you have your security and privacy settings locked down on your social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you need to be careful what you post and tell others about your injuries and illnesses. Insurance companies can—and do—research those who make personal injury claims of all types.

Never post photos of yourself going on lavish vacations or mountain climbing, for instance, when you’re supposedly too hurt or sick to enjoy those kinds of activities! It may sound like common sense, but there are many examples of people whose social media posts and photos came back to haunt them in court.

Don’t Be Afraid to Reject Unacceptable Settlement Offers

In many personal injury scenarios, insurance companies (workers’ comp, auto insurance, etc.) will be quick to make you a settlement offer hoping you’ll simply accept a check and allow them to resolve the case quickly.

While you may feel intimidated and like you’re unable to say no to these big companies, you do not have to accept any offer that you’re uncomfortable with. For example, are you sure that offer fully covers future damages you will inevitably suffer as a result of your illness or injury? Does it seem like it may not adequately cover the expenses you’ve incurred so far?

Call a personal injury attorney to help you negotiate. We have the knowledge and skills—as well as the impartiality that comes with not being emotionally wrapped up in you or your loved one’s injuries or illness—to fight back against the insurance companies who are just trying to protect their bottom line.

Don’t Get Impatient

It’s a fact that our clients don’t like to hear, but personal injury cases can sometimes take years to resolve fully. However, this can actually be a good thing, as long as you can be a little patient with the process.

Especially for those cases with a lot of different compensation strategies in play—trials, insurance settlements, Social Security Disability benefits—it will not be as simple as receiving a check after a month or two. But, consider this—the total compensation you may gain from allowing your attorneys to pursue every possible legal opportunity available in your case could be substantial.

Read our recent case study about how our lawyers won over $1 million for a drunk driving accident victim, and you’ll get a sense of what’s possible.

Call a Lawyer at Our Law Firm in Greensburg, PA Early

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s essential to get an experienced personal injury lawyer working for you as soon as you become hurt or ill due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness. Your initial consultation at our law office will typically be free of charge—it certainly is when you work with our law firm—so you have nothing to lose in having a seasoned professional review your case and give you valuable feedback.

And Make Sure Your Lawyer Knows How to Get Great Results

Here at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers, we do whatever it takes to get the best outcomes for our personal injury clients. If you’re a member of our community in the Greensburg, PA area, just give our law office a call to learn more about how our lawyers work harder for you than the big city Pittsburgh firms.

Whether you’ve been hurt at work, as the result of an auto accident, or you’re concerned that you’ve suffered due to medical malpractice or defective medication, our law firm can help. Get in touch now to schedule your complimentary case review.