Five Ways to Maximize Your Settlement Value

After a car accident, expenses add up quickly. Known as “damages” in an accident claim, as a victim, you may find yourself facing the consequences of a car accident, such as medical bills and related expenses, at the same time that you’ve lost paychecks due to your injury. Damages in an injury settlement may also include compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. 

Most personal injury attorneys in Seattle charge injured clients nothing up front, but instead take a percentage of their client’s settlement or court award for damages. The good news is that this gives them an added incentive to maximize the amount of compensation you receive in your settlement. You can also help yourself to recover a greater amount of compensation in an accident settlement by following the five tips below.

1. Use Your Cell Phone to Document Evidence at the Scene

If you are too seriously injured to move safely, then it’s likely you can do little in the aftermath of an accident to help your financial claim later, and your life, health, and that of any loved ones with you are your top priority. However, if you or an uninjured person can use your phone, it becomes an important tool to document evidence that disappears as soon as emergency responders move the vehicles. 

Take photos of the accident scene, the damaged vehicles, and anything relevant to the accident such as an intersection, signs, and traffic signals. Take photos of visible injuries to prove they occurred in the accident. Then add the contact information of eyewitnesses who often otherwise disappear without a trace. It’s also helpful to record a statement about what happened while it’s fresh in your mind since trauma may blur the details later.

Documenting evidence of liability when another driver caused the accident is the best way to get maximum compensation.

2. Go to a Hospital Immediately After the Accident

It’s always a good idea to accept transportation to the hospital with the paramedics or at least to arrange transportation to a hospital as soon as the police clear you to leave the scene. Have a complete evaluation and ask the doctor to write a detailed medical report. Make sure to tell the medical provider about every symptom you feel, no matter how mild it seems at the time. The doctor’s report provides critical proof of your injuries and that they occurred in the car accident.

3. Save All Medical Bills and Receipts for Related Expenses

Be sure to carefully follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations. Fill every prescription and attend all appointments. Save all proof of your injury-related medical expenses, including those for transportation, medical equipment, and household accommodations for your injury.

4. Keep a Pain Journal

It’s much easier to prove tangible financial damages than to show evidence of your pain level after an accident. By keeping a daily journal in the weeks and months after an accident, you can document evidence of your pain level and the impact the injury has on your daily life, your routine, and your ability to work. This documentation makes a tremendous difference in calculating the amount of compensation for pain and suffering in an accident claim.

5. Avoid Posting on Social Media

Nothing derails an injury claim faster than the insurance adjuster pointing out that the injury victim posted that they were “feeling fine” after an accident, or shared a picture of themselves enjoying a child’s soccer game just days after the crash. Even if you were actually smiling through your pain so you could show up for your child’s game, the photo could be used against you later.

The best way to ensure you recover the maximum amount of compensation available after a car accident is to hire an attorney early in the process to advise you on what you should and shouldn’t do to get the most from your claim.