Money is tight for most people following an accident. In addition to paying for extremely expensive medical care, many people also need to have their car or motorcycle fixed. And given the pain they feel, few people can head straight back into work, which means they suffer a loss of income as they recover at home or in the hospital. This is a tough time emotionally—and financially.
For these reasons, some accident victims think hiring a lawyer is an unnecessary expense. But trying to negotiate your own injury settlement is a major mistake. In this article, our Iowa personal injury lawyer looks at four reasons why going it alone is a costly error. Instead, reach out to our firm. With offices in Waterloo and Iowa City, we service the state and can come out to meet you, when circumstances allow.
Do You Know How Much Your Injuries Are Worth?
Accident victims can seek financial compensation after an accident for certain economic losses:
- The cost of your medical care;
- Expected future or ongoing medical care;
- Any lost wages or lost income;
- Lost work-related benefits;
- Loss of future earning capacity;
- Property damage.
These losses are fairly easy to calculate. When it comes to medical care: look at your bills. For lost wages: pull out your wage statement or W-2 form. Our lawyers can add up the numbers.
But a personal injury settlement can also compensate for other losses that are more subjective in nature:
- Bodily pain;
- Mental anguish;
- Depression and emotional distress
- Disfigurement.
Few people know how much to request when it comes to these non-economic losses—and that’s a problem. You might think the pain you feel from a concussion or whiplash is only worth a few thousand dollars. But other accident victims (represented by lawyers) might receive $30,000 for their bodily pain—possibly much more. If you don’t know how much your injuries are worth, you can’t effectively negotiate a fair settlement.
Can You Find Useful Evidence to Use in Your Case?
As the accident victim, you have the burden of proving liability for your accident. If you are totally, 100% to blame for a slip and fall or car crash, then you can’t receive any compensation. You also can’t receive compensation if you are 51% or more to blame. (Iowa Code § 668.5.)
Here’s what you can expect after an accident: the defendant will blame you for getting hurt. If you’re in a car crash, the other driver will claim you ran a red light, traveled too closely, or swerved over the median.
If you were hurt in a slip and fall, the property owner will probably argue, “You didn’t watch where you were going.” They might even claim you were staring at your phone and should have avoided a puddle on the floor or hole in a parking lot.
It’s up to you to find useful evidence to prove fault. This is where a lawyer is a terrific benefit. After an accident, you might be confined to bed or in so much pain you can’t leave the house. Hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to dig and find evidence to support your claim. Our firm can also find evidence you might not even know about, such as electronic data from a big rig.
Can You Negotiate Effectively with an Insurer?
Most personal injury cases settle, but you’ll likely need to negotiate to get something resembling a fair settlement. Insurance adjusters don’t come right out and hand people a generous offer. Instead, they usually start with a number that’s embarrassingly low. Now the burden is on you to reject this low offer and make a counteroffer.
We know how to negotiate. Many non-lawyers will quickly fold because they believe an insurance adjuster is being fair with them. That’s not true.
Because we know how to properly value claims, we know how much to hold out for. That knowledge strengthens our hand in negotiations. If the offer is too low, we reject it and then follow up with a valid counteroffer backed up with evidence.
Our firm also knows how to use mediation as part of the negotiation process. We have selected mediators and can get the most out of the process. We also know that a mediator’s recommendations are non-binding. A non-lawyer might assume the mediator is looking out for them and blindly accept their recommendation.
Do You Know How to File a Lawsuit and Litigate a Claim?
Although most cases settle, not all of them do. And some insurance companies will unfairly deny claims to force injured victims to litigate. That’s your option if you can’t reach a meaningful settlement: you must sue the defendant personally in court and handle all the pre-trial discovery.
Few non-lawyers can learn the law, including the rules of civil procedure and evidence, to litigate a case. It’s just too hard. Lawyers spend three years in law school studying this stuff. It’s unrealistic for an injured victim to learn all this material in a matter of months.
Insurance companies are thrilled to see injured victims represent themselves. They know you might miss the statute of limitations, which is the maximum amount of time you get to file a lawsuit. (Currently, Iowa gives you two years, per Iowa Code § 614.1(2).) If you wait too long, you will receive $0. That’s a terrible result.
Hire an experienced lawyer. The lawyers at Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C. know how to negotiate claims; we are also experienced trial attorneys. Thanks to our reputation, defendants and their insurance companies have an incentive to be fair in negotiations. We aren’t afraid to go to a jury and vindicate your rights.
Call an Iowa Personal Injury Lawyer Today for Your Free Consultation
Were you injured in an accident? Call our firm to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer. Our services are affordable, and we are available to help clients 24/7. Reach out today to learn more about how we can help you seek a fair settlement.