Five Ways to Increase Your Miami Personal Injury Settlement

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries due to an accident in Miami, FL, it’s only natural to pursue a personal injury claim and wonder what you can do to increase your settlement.

Although nothing can guarantee a better outcome, various factors affect the final damage awards in a personal injury settlement. It is more than just the strength of the available evidence. What you do during and after an accident can reverberate throughout your case either positively or not.

In many instances, for example, when you consult with a proper Miami personal injury lawyer who takes care of cases similar to yours, you are more likely to secure a better settlement. Here are five ways to potentially increase your Miami personal injury settlement:

Seek Medical Attention

Your medical records will play a huge role in the final settlement amount in personal injury cases. Sometimes, a personal injury victim receives a lesser amount in a settlement because they only pursue certain and not all damages.

However, if you prioritize your health and discover the true extent of your injuries by accepting prompt and thorough medical care, you will have the grounds to seek a higher settlement amount.

It is essential to keep all medical records, bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and documentation of your treatments to be able to argue for compensation for these costs. Generally, a victim will receive a higher settlement amount when injuries are severe and the recuperation time is longer.

If the accident was particularly traumatic, you can seek non-economic damages for pain and suffering, PTSD, or other disorders. You can prove such damages better when you also have the medical records that can back up your claim.

Gather Comprehensive Evidence

The strength of your evidence is also influenced by how much evidence you have. You do not have to resort only to certain things that clearly showcase fault and leave it at that. The more evidence you have, even if it may seem unnecessary, the higher the chances you might increase your personal injury settlement amount.

Collect as much evidence as you can, starting from photos, videos, witness statements, medical records, and police reports. When you take photos of the accident scene, highlight your injuries and those of others involved, as well as your vehicle damage and that of the other vehicles if your accident was on the road.

Take photos of road conditions, and signs, and highlight hazardous conditions if present. Speak with witnesses and try to find out if they might have captured your accident with their dashcam or phones.

Look around for CCTV cameras which might have recorded the incident. Lastly, write down everything that happened while it is still fresh in your memory and keep a journal. In this journal, you should document how the injuries affect your daily life.

Try to focus on the emotional and financial aspects, not just the physical. This will provide you with compelling evidence to seek compensation for pain and suffering.

Be Cautious With Insurance Adjusters

Even though an accident that resulted in injuries is tough to deal with and anyone would want to settle the case quickly, you should always be wary of early settlement offers. This is one of the most common reasons injured victims receive less than what they should for their injuries and other losses.

They accept an initial early offer from the insurance adjusters, just to discover later that it does not represent their true losses. This can sometimes happen since victims do not clearly understand the impact of their injuries and their consequences.

It is not just about not being able to work for a longer period of time than expected. It can also be an issue related to your overall health. What if there are some unexpected complications to your health? What if your pre-existing conditions are aggravated?

You will have more financial burdens when restoring your health, but if you already accepted an early offer, you might not recover further damages from your claim. Generally, this is why you should only provide basic information and avoid giving detailed statements or admitting fault. Everything you say or do can be used against you later, which can decrease your personal injury settlement. This is why you should first consult with a personal injury lawyer who can help you examine the true worth of your claim.

Demonstrate the Impact of Your Injuries

When you want to increase your personal injury settlement, you must always clearly articulate both economic and non-economic damages such as past, present, and future medical bills, lost wages, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses,  emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and others.

All these damages and losses can be demonstrated through comprehensive evidence, especially statements. However, you should not limit statements only to yourself, witnesses, family, and friends.

Expert testimony is sometimes necessary to support your claims, especially if they are scrutinized. Expert testimonies are provided by field professionals, such as medical experts, vocational experts, or even accident reconstruction professionals.

Work With a Dedicated Lawyer

A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can increase your personal injury settlement. However, you must ensure that they are the right fit for your case. For example, if your injuries were caused by a car accident, you should work with a car accident attorney.

Work with a lawyer who takes on cases similar to yours as they will have a greater understanding of the applicable laws and challenges. A personal injury lawyer will also help you gather evidence and speak with insurance companies on your behalf to negotiate a better settlement amount.

Apart from this, lawyers have networks and can work alongside other professionals to provide expert testimony which can increase your settlement. Your lawyer will be able to identify all potential damages that you should seek compensation for, especially if they are dedicated to their craft, and use the necessary legal strategies to better your chances of receiving maximum compensation.

Lastly, if there are allegations against you that can increase your degree of fault and therefore lower your compensation amount, a lawyer will help you defend yourself. If negotiations fail and a settlement cannot be reached outside the courtrooms, your lawyer will represent you in court and fight for your rights.