Having an experienced personal injury attorney to handle your personal injury claim is crucial, as they provide a knowledge and understanding not only of the laws that are in place to protect your right to be compensated for your injuries but also the types of expenses and impacts that are commonly associated with car accidents (including PTSD), and the amount of money that is necessary to compensate the claimant for this harm fairly. Some of the services they can provide to help personal injury claimants get the compensation they need are as follows. Finding All Sources of Liability and Associated Insurance Resources Policy limits often result in insufficient coverage provided through the at-fault party’s policy to compensate for all aspects of the claim. Because of this, personal injury attorneys will thoroughly investigate the accident to determine if additional sources of liability have insurance policies. They may access these to pay the claim. Additionally, the at-fault party can also have different types of coverage, such as an umbrella policy that is in place to provide additional protection beyond the standard coverage limit of their auto liability policy. Insurance providers will generally not admit that an umbrella policy is available to a claimant, but an attorney can find this information for them. Properly Valuing Your Claim The goal of the at-fault party’s insurance company is to pay as little on the claims they receive as possible. They often offer to settle the claim out of court but make an initial settlement offer that is below the claim’s value. The claimant’s attorney will then negotiate with them to increase the offer to an amount close enough to the claim’s value to constitute fair compensation. Obtaining a fair settlement for the injuries and expenses incurred in the accident involves ensuring that all expenses and impacts are included in the claim’s value. Once a claim is settled, the claimant releases their right to seek additional compensation from the at-fault party and their insurer in the future. If the claim goes to trial, the judge or jury will consider their compensatory award based on the information provided about the expenses incurred due to the claimant’s injury and how that injury impacted their life. A properly valued claim that includes psychological impacts is significant in ensuring fair compensation for that claim. Obtaining Evidence to Show How You’ve Suffered In most cases, simply stating that a car accident claimant suffered insomnia, flashbacks, and other impacts commonly associated with PTSD is not enough. Documentation and witness testimony is also required to prove these impacts. One of the strongest ways to prove that the claimant suffered PTSD due to an insured at-fault party’s negligence is to show bills from a therapist for PTSD treatment. In some cases, the testimony of the therapist, or documentation provided by the therapist indicating the symptoms that the claimant was suffering from, can be used to show the impacts of the condition on their quality of life. The lawyer can also call expert medical witnesses in some instances to speak to what an individual suffers through PTSD as a result of a car accident. Your attorney will also commonly consider testimony from those close to the sufferer when gathering information to prove the claim, including the sufferer’s family, coworkers, employer, or friends.