As you struggle to focus on reclaiming your physical and mental health following a car accident, you’ll also be left wondering what you can do to recover compensation for the harm that’s befallen you. A personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible for your accident is your best course of action, but there’s no guarantee as to the amount of compensation you’ll recover, or that you’ll recover any compensation at all.
That might leave you on edge, but don’t worry. There are steps that you can take to increase your chances of recovering the compensation that you need and deserve.
How to maximize compensation in your personal injury case
You don’t want to just recover compensation from your personal injury case. You want to recover as much compensation as you can. With that in mind, here are some steps that you should take to position yourself for the best outcome possible in your case:
- Know what your claim is worth: Given that a lot of personal injury claims resolve through settlement, you need to go into your case knowing the full extent of your damages. This means calculating your incurred and anticipated medical expenses and rehabilitation costs, as well as your lost wages and lost earnings capacity. But don’t forget to assess the noneconomic damages that have been thrust upon you, which may include disfigurement, mental anguish, pain and suffering, and lost enjoyment of life. Also, be sure to be forward looking here.
- Follow your doctor’s recommendations: To demonstrate your damages, you need to create a record. One way to do this is to follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations. This will make it easier to show what kind of care you’ll need even after your lawsuit resolves, and it might open the door to expert testimony regarding how your condition will affect your normal life moving forward.
- Preserve evidence: As you maneuver through your recovery, you’ll want to make sure you keep any and all evidence that speaks to your damages. This includes receipts and invoices, but it can also include specific incidences that paint a picture of how your injuries have negatively impacted you. This is why keeping a journal is a great way to preserve evidence of your noneconomic damages.
- Avoid social media: Social media can provide an outlet for your emotions and your desire to connect with others, but it can also threaten your personal injury claim. This is because many people only post about the best moments of their lives, which in your case may be used against you to minimize your injuries and your damages. You don’t want your posts taken out of context, which is why it’s best to avoid them altogether until you resolve your case.
- Be patient: Most car accident victims are offered a settlement at some point in their case. While the allure of such an offer can be tempting, you should refrain from jumping on that first offer. After all, this offer is probably going to be low, and it may be far less than what you can recover by taking your case to trial. So, before acting on any settlement offer, be sure to fully analyze the facts of your case and discuss your situation with your attorney.
Know how to protect your right to compensation in your personal injury case
The outcome of your personal injury case can have a tremendous impact on your future. With that in mind, you owe it to yourself to build the most robust case possible, focusing on proving both liability and the extent of your damages. If you’d like to learn more about how to do that, then we encourage you to continue to read our website and educate yourself on this area of the law.