The first thing we need is evidence that an accident or an injury was caused by someone else’s negligence. Then we need to establish that the injury that was suffered was actually caused by the accident as opposed to being a preexisting condition. The stronger the evidence for those things the easier and quicker it will be to settle. Finally, from a very practical dollars and cents perspective, the injury has to be significant enough and the responsible party has to have enough insurance or other assets to make it reasonably likely that the value of the case will exceed what it costs to pursue it so that at the end of the day, the client can actually put a satisfactory amount of money in their pocket.
The Role Of Evidence And Witnesses In A Personal Injury Claim
Evidence is critical, and objective and unbiased evidence is extremely helpful. For example, an eyewitness to a fall or a motor vehicle accident who has no stake in the outcome of the case would be considered very credible when they talk about which car had the red light and which car had the green light, or what it was that caused a person to fall. The increasing presence of security and surveillance video cameras, whether on buses, trollies, at intersections or even on the outside of stores and along sidewalks, provide an objective view of the accident that no one can really dispute.
Now that most people have cameras built into their smartphones, taking photographs at the scene of the accident, when it happened can help prevent that evidence from being lost if that condition of that scene changes over time. Without that sort of objective evidence, we can still pursue the case but it often then becomes a so-called he-said she-said situation and those are a little more difficult to get a quicker or fairer recovery because it comes down to a credibility test between the two sides.
Can Medical Bills Be Negotiated Down By A Personal Injury Attorney?
Absolutely! It very much depends on who is responsible for paying those bills. If the bills were paid by Medicare or Medicaid, those entities have a legal right to get back what money they paid, out of the client’s verdict or a settlement. The same applies to medical bills paid by workers compensation for a workplace injury. If the bills are paid by private insurance, they may or may not have a right to be repaid out of a settlement or a verdict. If there is no insurance, then the doctor or hospital could of course put the unpaid bills into collection. But in any of those circumstances, we certainly negotiate with whoever is seeking recovery of the bills to try to negotiate them down as low as possible so that they will accept the lowest possible amount to satisfy their outstanding bills.
The Importance Of Seeking Timely Medical Attention In A Personal Injury Claim
Anyone who is injured in an accident has to be guided by how they are feeling. And I always tell clients certainly keep us informed to their treatment but do not make medical decisions based on how they think it will affect their case. With that being said, there are certainly some people who think they can tough it out initially and wait, and then they only seek medical attention when they realize that pain which they may have started feeling right away is not going away. That certainly leaves you vulnerable to the insurance company arguing that because you did not complain about those symptoms, the symptoms were not there.
If a person is feeling any pain or discomfort, it is important to make sure that it is at least documented somewhere at the time it is happening. There are certainly some conditions that do not manifest with pain for a few days or possibly even a few weeks after an accident. But if there is something going on initially, it should certainly be documented even if it does not result in treatment. As long as it is noted somewhere that there is pain, that could be very important. The longer the time gap between the accident and the onset of treatment, the easier it is for the insurance company to argue that the pain was either not that significant or not there at all.
For more information on Viability Of A Personal Injury Claim, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (215) 569-1212 today.
