Head Injuries And Personal Injury Claims

1 September 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog

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If you have suffered a head injury because of another driver's carelessness, you may be entitled to compensation for your vehicle damage, lost wages, and your medical expenses. Head injuries can range from minor to extremely serious, and in some cases they may even be permanent. The amount of your compensation depends on the extent of your injury, so read on to learn more about head injuries and how to get compensated for them.

A Head Injury Could Be Complicated

The final result of a head injury often takes time to become apparent, so compensation requests should not be rushed. Even injuries that seem relatively minor can turn out to be serious, given time. Any damage to the brain is serious, and most head injuries carry some risk of permanent injury. Memory, cognition, concentration, and emotional disorders can all result from injuries that were, at first, thought to be minor. Make sure that your injury has had time to resolve before you ask for damages, or you could be underestimating the amount of your compensation.

To adequately prove your damages for a head injury, precise record-keeping must be used. Begin a journal, which can just be a recording if writing is too difficult, as soon as you can, and include all medical treatments, medications, therapies and more. The main purpose of the journal is not just to have an accurate accounting of your medical injuries, but to record your emotional damages and issues that affect your day-to-day life, as well as that of your family. Your journal could create a direct connection to the dollar amount of your pain and suffering, so don't neglect this step.

Calculating Damages

It may surprise some people, but the insurance companies actually employ a mathematical formula for calculating how much to offer claimants for their injuries. The formula is not an exact science, but basically the dollar amount of your medical expenses are multiplied by a number that connects to the severity of your injury. The severity of your injury is determined by how it has affected you, your family, your ability to work at your job, and more. It's important to keep in mind that the figure that the insurance company offers you will often be lower that what you deserve, and is simply considered a starting point for negotiations.

Don't leave these important settlement negotiations up to just anyone, and don't attempt to negotiate with the insurance companies on your own. Make sure that you have a personal injury attorney standing by to ensure that you get the full amount that you are entitled to receive.