STONE MOUNTAIN TRUSTED PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

The personal injury claims process begins with filing a claim for compensation with the at-fault party or their insurance company. This typically comes after your personal injury attorney has listened to your story, advised you on the chances of success and conducted an investigation into the circumstances of the accident. The claims process will involve the following:

• Send a demand letter: Your attorney will send a demand letter to the insurance company. This letter details your claim, as well as the facts and evidence backing it up. The letter will also include how much compensation you expect to receive from the insurance company.
• Response from insurer: After receiving your letter, the insurance company will determine whether to engage with your claim or reject it outright. What an insurance company will consider in making this determination is often unclear, even to the most experienced personal injury attorney. However, someone who has worked in the process before, such as our former insurance loss adjuster, understands what the company will be looking at.
• Assessment by claims adjuster: If the insurance company decides to engage with the claim, they will assign claims adjusters to investigate the claim and assess the company’s exposure. Typically, the adjuster will speak to you, interview any available witnesses and take any other steps to allow them assess your claim. This stage is often very tricky for most claimants as claims adjusters are trained to spot inconsistencies in your story, or find those factors that can reduce, limit or even enable the insurance company to deny your claim outright.
• Offer and negotiation: Where you have a valid claim, the adjuster will value your claim and then offer you a settlement amount. This can lead to a long period of negotiation as your attorney tries to bring the settlement offer up to an amount that is acceptable to you. Again, only a former loss adjuster can accurately tell how high an insurance company will be willing to go and exactly what factors will cause an insurance company to go so high.
• Filing a lawsuit: Finally, if your attorney and the insurance company fail to reach a settlement, you will have an option to approach the court for a determination. From the time of your personal injury accident, you will usually have roughly two years to approach the court. This is why experienced attorneys encourage claimants to seek legal help immediately after the accident.