Personal Injury and What You Can Do With It!
By: John Blythe | Posted: 24th March 2010
A physical injury inflicted upon a person either by way of negligence or as a misdeed or a wilfully committed act is termed a personal injury. Personal injury amounts to compensation to the aggrieved party depending upon the severity of the damage. The party liable for injury is eligible to compensatory and/or punitive action as deemed appropriate by the court of law. At times, settlements are done outside the courts. However, failing to meet its requirement, the aggrieved party can move the court of law within a stipulated period of the occurrence of the accident. The decision granted by the court sends a strong warning to similar offenders.
In cases of personal injury, look out for a legal representative - an accident attorney. But before you hire one, look out for his/her credentials or the credentials of the law firm where he/she hails from. Parameters to decide the same include: expertise and experience in handling similar cases, success rate, commitment towards the case, reputation, etc.
The accident attorney makes your work fairly simple. He/she removes you from the legal games by becoming your whole and sole representative. His/her duty consists of carrying out negotiations with the opposite party's insurance company at the earliest so that you derive a just and fair claim amount and recover sufficiently from your financial losses . This isn't as simple as it seems to be. The claims adjustors of the insurance company are adept in offering a claim amount as small as possible. It is the accident attorney who fights for your rights by displaying the relevant evidence.
The claim filing process is a tedious one. First and foremost, get a testimonial from a medical professional, stating that you have received physical injury as a result of the discussed accident. This is the first step to filing a claim. Do keep in mind that your initial claim amount must be higher than the expected amount. While deciding the claim amount, account for all the medical treatment expenses as well as the emotional stress undergone. Gather enough evidence to prove the fault of the opposite party. In addition to the report filed with the police, do keep handy, photographs or written statements of witnesses or any such evidence that would go in your favor. A smart person would do his/her research to know the worth of the injury. This knowledge will enable him/her to negotiate correctly with the insurance company. All this while, do not take a gap in the medical treatment. The insurance company should not remark about a lag in your ongoing treatment. T his would give them an opportunity to report your injured condition as alleviated, consequently leading you to get a reduced compensation. Do check the claims release document before it is signed by both, the representative of the company and you.
In cases of personal injury, a marginal, pre-determined percentage of the compensation amount constitutes the fee of your attorney. Such mode of payment is referred to as contingency type. Herein, the attorney would receive his/her payment only upon winning the case. This would certainly drive the attorney to fight for your rights. By the way, the amount that you receive as compensation is exempted from tax.
Contact Toronto Injury Lawyers if you met an accident recently, they can ensure you get the correct Injury Compensation.This article is free for republishing
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Tags: credentials, negotiations, occurrence, success rate, severity, financial losses, testimonial, insurance company, negligence, personal injury, medical treatment, legal representative, accident attorney