When someone gets injured in Georgia because someone else did not act appropriately, the injured person has the right to seek compensation from the responsible party. Often, this means submitting a claim to an insurance company. Insurance companies are legally required to process claims fairly, and they can get in pretty good trouble when they do not. However, that does not mean insurance companies are going to go out of their way to try and settle claims for the maximum amount they may be worth.
The injury lawyers at Joel Thrift Law, LLC, are familiar with how insurance companies operate and know how to prepare a claim to command a higher settlement value. With a clear strategy and solid preparation, Joel Thrift Law, LLC helps clients attain the desired results while avoiding costly, prolonged litigation.
What is a Claims Settlement Value?
The settlement value of a personal injury claim is the amount that an insurance company or other payer can be convinced to offer a claimant as compensation for injuries and property damage. Settlement value is the assessment of worth based on who is at fault for the accident and the extent of the damage.
Settlement value will vary depending on the circumstances of any particular case. Part of a claim’s settlement value is based on showing financial amounts incurred or lost due to the injuries and can be relatively easily determined.
The other portion of a claim’s settlement value is harder to quantify because it is based on the subjective experience of the person injured. Insurance companies want to minimize the value of personal suffering, while the person injured wants to place the highest possible dollar value on their unpleasant experience.
Generally speaking, more significant or severe injuries are believed to cause more suffering – which tends to increase settlement value. Because there are no absolutes, settlement values for personal suffering are influenced by any particular individual’s experience. A higher settlement value can be achieved when legal issues are anticipated and insurance company objections can be overcome.
Factors Affecting the Settlement Value of a Personal Injury Claim
Some of the factors that affect a claim’s settlement value are objective – like the cost of medical treatment. Other factors do not easily lend themselves to a specific dollar amount – like the loss of enjoyment of life. A claim’s settlement value can be enhanced when all applicable factors are addressed, and claims are supported with relevant, credible documentation.
The following factors all influence personal injury settlement value.
Liability
Liability is the term used to indicate legal responsibility for harm caused. Liability will be apportioned among all of the people involved in an accident. The more liability a person is found to have for causing an accident, the less settlement value their compensation claim will have.
Liability is usually determined from a negligence standard. If acting with reasonable care was required in a situation and a person fails to act with the appropriate level of care, they may be found to have some liability for causing an accident.
Type and Severity of Injuries
Certain types of injuries will have a more significant impact on the person injured. For instance, the settlement value for a traumatic brain injury will be higher than the settlement value for a broken leg.
Some injuries can be catalysts for additional injuries. The initial injury may trigger further injury as the body responds, thus increasing the injury’s severity and the potential settlement value.
When claimed injuries aggravate pre-existing injuries, insurance companies often try to reduce a claim’s settlement value with the argument that the recent damage is actually attributed to the previous injuries. It’s critical to obtaining a higher settlement value that medical providers are aware of all previous injuries and medical records clearly separate current injuries from previous injuries.
Permanency of Injuries
The long-term impact of an injury will affect settlement value. Some injuries are known to heal within an average amount of time. Some injuries may have complications requiring future treatment with uncertainty as to the eventual outcome. Some injuries do damage that won’t heal and cannot be undone.
The settlement value of a claim increases the longer an injured person must endure the effects of an injury. It’s important to understand how an injury is likely to affect an injured person over the course of their lifetime and not negotiate a settlement until the nature and extent of injuries are fully known.
Level of Disability
Injuries can leave people with some level of inability to do the things they used to do or to do certain things only with pain and discomfort. Disability may mean a person is no longer able to earn a living. Or it may restrict someone from pursuing opportunities or experiences they once enjoyed or anticipated in the future.
Financial Expense or Loss
Settlement value includes the out-of-pocket expenses an injured person must incur for medical treatment, equipment, and assistance while recovering from an injury. It should also include medical expenses that are expected to be incurred in the future.
Financial losses such as past and future wages or other lost business opportunities should also be included in the settlement value.
Knowledge of Claims Settlement Practices
Most injured persons are going to be at quite a disadvantage when negotiating a settlement unless they are working with an experienced personal injury attorney. Insurance company representatives are definitely not going to help claimants get as much compensation as they might be entitled to.
Insurance companies know that many people don’t know the law or their insurance contract well enough to evaluate appropriate settlement values, and they will often use the lack of information to their advantage.
Personal injury attorneys know the local laws and the claim settlement process. They are experienced in evaluating liability issues and determining settlement values. Attorneys have access to experts who can provide persuasive information that helps increase settlement value.
Preparation and Strategy
Increasing the settlement value of a personal injury claim requires knowing what the issues are and how to address them successfully. It requires an exceptional offense while anticipating a strong defense.
There is no halfway here. To get an insurance company’s attention, it needs to impress them that they are dealing with a formidable opponent.
Negotiation Skills
No two settlement value assessments are going to be the same – even with relatively similar issues involved. Settlement value may come down to how convincingly a claim is presented and defended when challenged.
Negotiation is a skill that must be practiced to be effective. The successful negotiator is prepared, confident, and has polished communication skills.
Minimizing Liability is of Key Importance to Increasing Personal Injury Settlement Value
Having some fault for causing an accident in which you were injured does not automatically mean you can’t recover compensation for your injuries. However, having some liability for your injuries will reduce the amount of compensation that can be received and, thus, a claim’s settlement value.
Liability is apportioned among the people involved in an accident based on the percentage of fault each is found to have. There is no exact science for determining percentages of fault. If liability is an issue, everything possible needs to be done so any percentage of fault assigned to a claimant is minimal and won’t cause settlement value to decrease.
Subsection 51-12-33 of the Code of Georgia says a plaintiff who has some responsibility for their injuries will be assigned a percentage of fault, and any compensation amounts that would otherwise be recovered are to be reduced by the same percentage.
The statute goes on to say that if a plaintiff is found to be 50% or more at fault, then there is no right to recover any damages. If liability is an issue, an attorney should be consulted because the right to compensation and the settlement value of a claim depends on the liability determination.
Failing to Prevent Consequences or Mitigate Damages can Reduce Settlement Value
Georgia has a law referred to as the avoidable consequences doctrine. Subsection 51-11-7 of the state’s code places an affirmative duty on an injured party to have avoided the harm caused by the wrongdoer if it was reasonably possible to do so.
The statute says if the entire injury-causing event could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care by the injured party, there is no right to recover damages. The avoidable consequences doctrine is a defense to liability that can be used to reduce the settlement value of a claim.
Even if an injured person could not have avoided the initial injury by exercising reasonable care, the avoidable consequences doctrine may still apply if reasonable care is not taken after the injury to prevent further harm.
A similar statute (GA Code § 51-12-11) requires a person who is injured by the carelessness of another to use reasonable efforts to mitigate – that is, make less severe – the damage suffered.
An injured person can potentially increase the settlement value of their claim by taking reasonable actions to minimize the damage done by the injury and encourage healing. The following actions demonstrate responsible attempts to mitigate the impact of an injury and help boost settlement value:
- Get medical treatment as soon as possible after an injury
- Follow the recommendations of medical providers and document having done so
- Take proactive steps to promote recovery and healing
- Don’t prolong medical treatment unnecessarily
- Return to work or other activities when able to do so
Good Recordkeeping and Documenting Experience after Injuries Promotes Increased Settlement Value
Claims for damages require proof and the quality of the proof will affect settlement value. Special (economic) and general (non-economic) are the two types of compensatory damages available in a personal injury claim. Special damages are those financial amounts that have been incurred or lost as a result of the injury. General damages compensate for the non-financial damage done to the injured person.
Proof of Special Damages
Special damages include medical expenses, lost earnings, and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury. Proving special damages is typically a matter of presenting documentation of expenditures or employer verification of wages lost. Accurate record-keeping is mostly what is necessary to support the special damages portion of a claim.
When calculating the medical expense portion of special damages, it is important to remember an injured person is entitled to claim the full amount billed by a healthcare provider. It doesn’t matter whether the insurance paid most of the expense or if the provider agreed with the insurance company to accept a lesser amount as satisfaction for the bill.
Insurance companies will occasionally challenge paying medical expenses, saying the bills are for treatment that was not necessary. The Code of Georgia (§ 51-12-7) says that “necessary medical expenses” following an injury are a “legitimate item” when calculating damages. Necessary medical expenses are those that are medically required to treat the injuries. Expert opinion may be needed to clarify whether proscribed treatment was medically required.
Anticipated future medical expenses, as long as the need for treatment and the cost of the treatment can be assessed with “reasonable certainty,” are also legitimate items of special damages.
Proof of General Damages
General damages include amounts that compensate for a person’s pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life. Under Georgia law, general damages are presumed to have occurred, and there is no need to provide proof.
However, if some proof – usually documentation of personal experience by the injured party – is provided, it can help lend credibility to a general damages claim and increase the settlement value. Verbally describing random pain or some vague limitation is not nearly as persuasive as a detailed journal with dates and precise accounts of experiences suffered as a result of an injury.
Agreeing on an amount of general damages is where settlement negotiations can often break down because there is no formula for determining an appropriate amount, and all situations are different.
Working with a personal injury attorney is especially beneficial for determining an appropriate amount of general damages. Attorneys can draw on previous experience with similar claims or from working with a particular insurance company to calculate an amount of general damages that is reasonable under the circumstances.
How Social Media Can Affect Settlement Value
An injured person should be mindful when posting on social media so nothing that appears can be interpreted as conflicting with an injury claim. Information posted on social media accounts can be used by an insurance company to challenge a person’s claimed injuries.
If pain and limitation are part of a personal injury claim, pictures or video of a supposedly injured person engaging in activities inconsistent with claimed injuries can hurt settlement value – sometimes significantly.
It’s also best not to post anything written describing the details of an accident or injuries. To the extent anything posted conflicts with some other account of the information, it might raise issues that could be detrimental to settlement value.
Patience and a Cooperative, Pleasant Attitude Can Enhance Settlement Value
Perhaps you have heard the old adage that one can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. It is understandable that someone who has suffered a personal injury is anxious to be compensated and can become frustrated when dealing with a less-than-generous insurance company.
Unfortunately, getting upset with insurance company representatives is not the way to get them on your side. Although it may be a very emotional experience for the person injured, it is business as usual for the insurance company.
Settlement negotiations can take time – especially if there are liability issues or injuries are severe and require extensive treatment. The more calmly – but firmly – you can present your settlement demand and argue your case, the more likely an insurance company will be inclined to take the claim seriously and make a better settlement offer.
That said, if an insurance company is not responding appropriately, it can be held legally accountable. Georgia law requires insurance companies to handle claims fairly. Insurance companies must settle claims promptly unless there are reasonable grounds for delay.
Why You Should Consult a Lawyer if You Want to Increase Settlement Value
There is only one opportunity and a limited amount of time to make a claim for compensation after a personal injury accident. That claim either ends in a settlement or has to be decided by a court. Settlement is usually preferable because it generally happens more quickly, is less costly, and the outcome is certain. Doing everything possible to increase the settlement value of a claim helps to ensure a higher settlement offer and facilitates resolution without litigation.
At Joel Thrift Law, LLC, we like insurance companies to know we mean business when we begin settlement negotiations. Our personal injury attorney investigates and meticulously prepares each case so insurance companies are persuaded to assess a higher settlement value and the chance for a favorable settlement increases. If you have been injured in an accident in Georgia, Joel Thrift Law, LLC can help increase the settlement value of your claim.