A woman who was getting treatment for a soft tissue injury recently received a note from her insurance company saying something along these lines: “Typically, when you have suffered a soft tissue injury of this nature, it takes about six weeks to heal. We are no longer willing to pay any more costs for your medical treatment.”
How does the insurance company determine what they will and will not pay for? And how do they take individual recovery times into account — or not? They essentially have developed formulas based on large amounts of data and numbers crunched. They then decide that they are willing to allow a person only so much treatment for such and such an injury, or that they are willing to pay out in a settlement claim only a certain amount of money.
This is where it is helpful to have an attorney who understands the way that insurers negotiate and who can stand in your stead to protect your rights.
Insurance companies are required to pay for the cost of any medical treatment related to the accident that caused your injury. They are required to pay any accident-related damages of pain and suffering, emotional harm, lost wages and discomfort. They are required to pay for future medical expenses related to your injury.
However, it can be difficult to put a value on pain and suffering if your quality of life has suffered greatly and you can no longer enjoy your family the way you did in the past. It can seem impossible to put a value on the loss of the ability to actively parent your son or daughter. Nonetheless, a personal injury legal claim will put a value on such things.
It is also difficult to put a value on future medical expenses and treatments that haven’t yet been developed, but that might be developed in the future and that could help you if you have suffered a permanent disabling injury. Nonetheless, this is part of what insurance companies might pay out in a claim.
If you had some fault in the accident, meaning that your actions contributed in some way to the crash, then your settlement will be reduced by the percentage that you were at fault.
Dealing with Insurance after an Accident? Contact the Weber & Nierenberg Law Firm
The personal injury attorneys at the Weber & Nierenberg law firm are experienced in protecting the rights of people injured in car, bike, bus, pedestrian and other types of motor vehicle accidents. Our law firm represents clients throughout the Northern California and San Francisco Bay Area. We will work hard and competently to obtain complete compensation for your injuries and losses. Call 866-288-6010 today.
We represent clients in personal injury cases on a contingency basis; you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
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