Accidents cost victims a lot of money. Not only will you need expensive medical care to treat injuries, but many victims also damage property, like their car, in a collision. Suffering from painful injuries, too many people are forced to stay home, which means they lose out on income or wages from a job. This is a stressful time—and your pocketbook will definitely feel the pinch.
At Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C., our Iowa personal injury attorneys will fight to win compensation to cover your economic losses. Unfortunately, settlement isn’t an overnight process. Months might pass before your case settles—all the while medical bills continue to arrive daily to your mailbox.
Is there anything you can do to speed up the settlement process? Possibly. Some defendants dig in and try to avoid paying any compensation. As experienced lawyers, we recommend following the tips below to improve your chances of obtaining a fair settlement. Remember to call our firm to schedule a consultation. With offices in Waterloo and Iowa City, we can travel to meet if circumstances warrant.
Understand Why Settlements Are Delayed
Most of our personal injury cases settle. We typically can convince the defendant or their insurer to accept responsibility for the accident, called fault. However, there might be some snags along the way which slows everything down:
- Disagreements about fault. Not every accident is clear-cult. Sometimes, it’s not obvious whether the defendant is solely to blame for the accident or whether you, the victim, bear some responsibility. Fault matters enormously in a personal injury case. Under Iowa Code § 668.3, a victim can seek compensation so long as their fault is not greater than all defendants combined. In effect, you can be up to 50% at fault but not over. If you are 51%, then you are denied compensation.
- Lack of evidence. We might need to roll up our sleeves and really dig for evidence to use in a case. For example, there might not be any witnesses in a wrongful death case, so we need to find other proof of what happened. This investigation can slow down settlement negotiations.
- Questions about the severity of your injuries. Our clients receive compensation for medical bills, other economic losses, and pain and suffering. The defendant might claim you aren’t hurt or are exaggerating your pain. For this reason, they only offer a small settlement. We’ll have to convince them to take your pain seriously.
These are the common reasons your settlement could be delayed. Please call us if you have questions. We are available to our clients 24/7.
Tips for Speeding Up Your Settlement
Our Iowa personal injury lawyers realize that you need money—and fast. We strive to obtain a fair settlement for your injuries in a timely fashion. Really, you get one shot to obtain as much money as possible for your case, so we are very thorough in our approach to settlement negotiations.
Here are some things you can do to speed up your settlement:
1. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible. Avoid trying to negotiate on your own. Some people spend months without a lawyer, only to get frustrated and call us. That’s great—but it’s always better to start working with a lawyer early.
2. Save all medical bills and receipts. Your lawyer will need to prove how much your accident has cost you. That means we need evidence.
3. Continue to receive medical treatment. The sooner you get better, the easier it is to negotiate a settlement. Once you reach maximum improvement, we can calculate your lost income and medical bills. We can also assess your future economic damages. For example, someone with a permanent disability might need ongoing medical care and could need to find a new job.
4. Get information or documents to your lawyer as soon as possible. Personal injury cases rely on extensive documentation. Some of this documentation will be in your possession, so share it with your legal team as soon as possible. Your attorney can request other documents, like copies of medical records. But they need to know the name of your provider. Any delay on your part only slows down your case.
5. Don’t answer questions in a recorded statement. This is a good way to slip up accidentally and say something you don’t mean. For example, you might say you weren’t paying attention the day of your accident. The defendant uses this evidence to claim you are partially at fault. We can try to clean up misstatements, but it’s best not to make them in the first place.
6. Avoid social media posts about the accident. These are a good way of also sharing information accidentally with the other side.
7. Stay in communication with your legal team. Ultimately, a client decides how much they are willing to settle for. Your attorney cannot agree to a settlement without your permission, so always remain available.
How We Speed Up Settlement
At Ball, Kirk& Holm, P.C., we are deliberate in how we approach a personal injury case. First, we try to learn all the facts about what happened. That gives us an advantage in negotiations. When the other side tries to pin some of the blame on you, we can quickly correct them. We also want to know how an accident has affected you.
We can also handle all communications with the defendant and their insurer. This ensures you don’t inadvertently give them information to use as ammunition against you.
We also have deep experience in personal injury law. We know how much an insurance company can pay for injuries like yours. This experience helps us cut to the chase when it comes to settlement talks.
Schedule a Consultation with a Member of Our Firm
Reach out to an Iowa personal injury lawyer at Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C. to discuss your accident. We can respond to any questions or concerns and, if hired, start to work right away on your case. Our consultations are free, and you won’t owe us a penny unless we win your case!