After an injury, you may want or even need to be compensated in order to cover the costs of how the injury will affect your life. Your life may be affected in various ways, and you don’t have to bear the burden all by yourself. Here are some tips if you need to seek compensation.
Get in Contact
Contact the party that should be held liable for compensating you. You can do this in many ways, including in person, via telephone, or by writing a demand letter. Regardless of how you reach out, get some help from a lawyer to make sure you handle it appropriately and that you include the right information. Hopefully, you can have a good dialogue with the other party and get everything sorted out as smoothly as possible, but if that does not happen, either way, you will have had to reach out to them in some way to get the process started. Make sure you are professional in your conversations — keeping a level head will help reduce your stress and can help them see you’re just wanting to make the situation right.
State the Facts
When you reach out, make sure you have your facts straight: exaggerations and hyperbole will not help your case. Provide as many details as possible about the event that lead to your injury, and provide evidence and witnesses where possible. Make your case so clear that the other party cannot misunderstand you — there is a reason you are holding them responsible for your injury and the costs associated. Let them know how it has affected your life — perhaps it’s affected your physical or emotional health, or maybe it’s affected your employment. If you have been negatively impacted in ways that wouldn’t have shown up in your life otherwise, clearly outline that so the other party knows how their actions or negligence have disrupted your life. You may also want to consider hiring a personal injury attorney, such as Dennis Hernandez, to help you with your case. This will make the entire process easier and more manageable for you and help increase your chances of winning the case.
Consider the Future
Not all negative effects of the incident will manifest themselves immediately, and for the issues that are present immediately after, not all of them will be resolved at once. Your injury may take weeks or even years to fully heal. Unfortunately, it may be true in some instances that the injuries will never properly heal — some incidents can result in permanent disability or even death. Will the consequences of the actions or negligence of the other party impact your ability to provide for yourself in the future? Will this experience affect your cognitive functioning or result in a traumatic disorder that keeps you from doing something you once enjoyed? A lawyer can help you consider how the injury may affect your future.
Seeking compensation after an injury is not as straightforward as simply covering the cost of the immediate accident. It’s important to consider all the ways your life will be affected by your injury before you reach out to the other party. If you can provide the proper information and context, you will increase your chances of being appropriately compensated.