Filing a Pain and Suffering Claim Without Lawyer Assistance
When a person is injured, he or she may be entitled to recover money for the injury that was caused by somebody else. Another person or party must be responsible for the cause of the injury for a person to recover money for an injury claim. Examples of personal injury cases include:
- Car accident claims
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall accidents
- Defective products
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
- Commercial truck crashes
- Dangerous drugs and defective medical devices
Most accident victims contact an injury lawyer to file a claim because they are not sure what the case is worth. Other people do not want to deal with an insurance adjuster while they are trying to recover from their injuries. Another reason for calling an accident lawyer is to file a lawsuit seeking a jury verdict.
Sadly, some accident victims try to settle the claim without a lawyer. Unfortunately, people who represent themselves after an injury usually receive less money for their claim. An injured person may receive less money because he or she does not understand how to value pain and suffering damages.
What is an Injury Case Worth?
Calculating the value of a claim can be a complex task. Examples of damages can include:
- Property damages
- Medical treatment
- Medical bills
- Loss of income
- Future damages
- Pain and suffering
Most people who do not hire a law firm can calculate financial damages without a problem. Financial damages can consist of expenses such as property repairs, lost income, and medical expenses. However, gathering medical records, income statements, and other evidence to submit with a demand letter to the insurance company can be overwhelming. In addition, calculating future damages may be a more complex task than the individual assumed.
Even if the injury victim successfully values the economic damages and gathers evidence to submit to the insurance provider, he or she usually has difficulties when trying to calculate a pain and suffering claim without lawyer assistance.
Typical Pain and Suffering Awards
This type of award is intended to compensate an accident victim for physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional suffering. Calculating pain and suffering values may be difficult because it is hard to place a value on someone’s suffering and pain. The law does not state specifically that a broken leg equals this amount of suffering or that a traumatic brain injury equals this amount for pain. Pain and suffering is different for each person. Therefore, courts nor insurance providers have a set amount to award for these types of injury.
Attorneys who handle injury cases on a routine basis understand how to value a claim, including the amount to claim for suffering and pain. Working with insurance providers and obtaining verdicts from juries gives an attorney the experience and knowledge he or she needs to value a claim for damages.
Without experience dealing with insurance claims and knowledge of the laws governing claims, it is almost impossible to calculate the true value of a claim. The insurance agent will not tell the person what the case is actually worth because the adjuster likely wants to pay as little as possible to settle the claim. Therefore, a person attempting to settle a case without an attorney may receive much less money for the claim compared to a person who hires a lawyer to handle the matter.
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