Insurance companies want you to think the value of your pain and suffering is small. I know this because I had a behind-the-scenes look at how insurance companies operate. You see, I spent years earlier in my career working on behalf of insurance companies defending personal injury claims in court. The truth is, that the pain and suffering portion of an injury claim can be massive.
Let me tell you the story of my past client, Bruce. Bruce’s case involved a dog bite case, but the lesson I’m about to teach with his story applies to all types of personal injury claims, including car accident injury cases, slip and trip and fall injury cases, and any other type of personal injury claim.
Bruce’s Story
Bruce was a hardworking man. He was a plumber. He was on a routine call for his job when he went to a homeowner’s residence to fix a water leak. While at the job, he was attacked and bitten by the homeowner’s dog on his left hand. He immediately went to the hospital. His medical records indicate he sustained a three-puncture wound from the dog bite, with his left pinky finger taking the worst of it. He was unable to make a full fist with his left hand due to his pain.
At the hospital, he was injected with lidocaine to numb the wound and given a tetanus shot to protect him from infection. An X-ray of his left hand was taken, which revealed a soft tissue injury from the bite. The doctor at the emergency room was also worried about infection. Bruce was scheduled for emergency surgery. The surgery went well with no evidence of tendon damage found, and they were able to remove the damaged soft tissue and irrigate the wound.
Nine days after the accident, Bruce followed up with a hand specialist and reported still having some pain, but he did not require any other medical treatment after that visit.
Claim Process and Settlement
After Bruce became a client of mine, I tracked down the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance. Just a quick side note, most homeowner’s insurance policies protect the owner from liability for damage caused by their dog and will pay out under the liability portion of the policy to someone with a valid injury claim after being injured by their dog.
After tracking down the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance, I submitted a written demand to the insurance company, included with the written demand. The insurance company sent me a copy of Bruce’s dog bite loan, along with Bruce’s medical bills and medical records. This started off the negotiation process. After negotiating back and forth, we were then able to reach a settlement agreement with the insurance company. Bruce was very happy with the settlement I was able to obtain for him.
In addition to getting all his medical expenses reimbursed, we got him a good chunk of money for his pain and suffering. In fact, the pain and suffering portion of his claim was over three times the amount of his medical expenses that he incurred due to the dog bite.
Maximizing Pain and Suffering Claims
The lesson from Bruce’s story is that the pain and suffering portion of an injury claim can be worth more than you think. In the vast majority of the injury cases I handle, I’d say that the pain and suffering portion of the claim is much more valuable than the medical expenses or lost wages portion of the claim.
While the value of the pain and suffering for any type of injury claim can be significant, the pain and suffering for the following types of injuries can be massive:
- Brain or head injuries
- Injuries where surgery is necessary
- Broken bones
- Burn injuries
- Torn ligaments such as a torn knee or shoulder
- Severe wounds, especially ones that leave scarring
- Cases involving amputations and loss of a limb
If you have sustained any of these types of injuries, you have gone through a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, and you could be looking at a case where your pain and suffering is valued in the six, seven, or even eight figures, depending on the circumstances of your case.
Avoiding Mistakes
The thing is, just because you have gone through significant pain and suffering following an accident that was not your fault does not automatically mean the insurance company or large corporate defendant will make you a large settlement offer to on your case. In order to possibly eventually get a big settlement, you must avoid mistakes with the handling of your claim.
You see, anyone new to handling an injury claim is prone to certain mistakes that can kill their injury claim. In this video about to pop up here, I’ll tell you several common mistakes you need to avoid if you want to have a shot at a big payday for your injury claim.
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait, call Tate.
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