A car accident can be a very traumatizing and shocking experience. If you have been involved in a car accident, you want your settlement process to go as smoothly as possible. For that, it is important first to understand how the settlement process works. Contact a car accident attorney Rockford to know more about your car accident claim.
What is a car accident settlement?
When you decide to settle your case outside of court, you accept an amount of money while giving up your right to a jury trial. After accepting the settlement money, you cannot demand any more from the other party, even if your situation changes.
However, an out-of-court settlement is usually preferable to a trial, as it takes less time to resolve and also costs less.
Factors that affect the settlement value
The amount of settlement money you receive depends on a lot of factors. Some of these factors may be:
- How severe are your injuries?
- How severe the accident was
- Your medical treatments
- Your medical bills
- The available insurance
- The long-term effects of the accident
- Property damage caused by the accident
- Your motorist coverage
- How much of the accident was due to your fault
- How many people were involved in the accident
How does a car accident settlement process work?
The car accident settlement process has several steps, which are:
- Filing a personal injury claim
When the other driver is at fault for the car accident, you can recover damages through a personal injury claim. Some of the damages that you may be able to recover are:
- Medical bills
- Cost of repairing the vehicle
- Lost wages from missing work
- Reduced earning capacity
- Disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional and mental anguish
- Reduced quality of life
- Investigation of the accident
After your claim is filed, the at-fault driver’s insurance providers will investigate the accident. Make sure also to present all the evidence that you may have.
- The claim is either approved or denied.
After investigation, you will either get an agreement or denial notice from the insurance company.
- Settlement negotiations or lawsuit
It is important to have an experienced lawyer on your side, as they can help you know if you are receiving a fair settlement if the claim is approved, or they can help you file a lawsuit if the claim is denied.
Have you been in a car accident recently?
If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a car accident, you may be confused about what you should do next. Reach out to an experienced car accident attorney and figure out what steps to take next.
