Help With Finding Medical Providers

If you do not seek medical specialists early in your case, you are limiting the amount of money you can recover. Often, injured people do not have time to research specialists or know what kind of medical provider will “hold the bill” while the case proceeds. Unfortunately, if you delay or avoid medical treatment for any reason, it can significantly harm your case. The “gap” in treatment will be used by insurance company representing the at-fault party to assert that the victim is not truly injured.

Do Personal Injury Attorneys Get Larger Settlements Than People Who Represent Themselves?

In 2014, the Insurance Research Council released a report entitled, Attorney Involvement in Auto Injury Claims. It confirmed that, on average, injury victims who were represented by a personal injury attorney received settlements more than 3.5 times larger than those who settled on their own (without an attorney). Experienced Personal Injury attorneys make the difference because they know how to hold the insurance companies accountable.

Insurance Company Profit vs. Your Fair Settlement

Insurance companies are for profit companies. In the first three months of 2024, the property/casualty industry recorded over 9 BILLION in underwriting profit. Yes, that was BILLION…in one quarter. Their own reports show that hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer will impact the insurance companies’ ability to keep all of that profit.

Furthermore, this enormous profit occurred while drivers across this country saw their auto insurance premiums increase an average of 26% from the previous year. The insurance companies are able to report these impressive profits by: 1) revenue from insurance premiums, 2) investing those premiums in the stock market for even more profit, and 3) avoiding paying out claims/losses. Simply put, paying a fair settlement for your injuries is not the priority—profits are.

Duty To Mitigate Injuries

The second part can be confusing to injury victims but it stems from the Doctrine of Avoidable Consequences. Basically, if your injuries or damages are worse because you did not seek medical care, you cannot claim money for the “extra” injuries that are a result of your delay or avoidance. For example, if an untreated fracture heals improperly and leads to a painful gait, the injured party cannot claim the pain and suffering that results from their altered gait if the person refused to have the fracture treated with reasonable medical care.

Find Trusted Care Providers

In most cases, it is this “duty to treat” that provides the best financial outcome for injury victims. Additionally, for the best settlement outcome, the injured victim must discuss all injuries and following up on any recommended care. The trick is to find doctors who are experienced and fair with accident victims. Often, injury victims are too embarrassed to discuss the mental toll, depression, intimacy issues, or even incontinence issues that may appear after a car crash or other accident. For this reason, it is best to find a doctor who makes you feel safe to share all aspects of your healing journey. Your lawyer can often suggest treatment providers in your area who understand the complexity of accident cases.

Insurance Companies Are Profitable Businesses With Trained Experts!

Auto insurance companies are highly profitable businesses and they are skilled at avoiding paying claims. By avoiding paying injury claims, the company can keep more of the profit paid in monthly premiums. The insurance adjusters are trained to be very pleasant in the first few phone calls and encourage you to share “your story” (recorded, of course, to use against you later). However, once you realize that your injuries are more serious and you need medical care, they will quickly minimize your complaints and explain that the impact could not possibly have caused those injuries—as if they are medical experts and accident reconstructionists.

Do Not Waste Time

Once an insurance adjuster is asking for recorded statements, giving pushback on property damage, or trying to rush you into a settlement, you need to seek professional legal counsel right away! It is very risky to sign any documents without consulting a lawyer. Unfortunately, injury victims can be confused or get tricked into signing releases that close their case and prevent any settlement. Sadly, this has left some injury victims stuck with the bills—owing money for an accident they did not cause!