When you hurt yourself in an accident, you have the right to claim for compensation, and this must be at the back of your mind while you keep recovering from injuries. However, to file a claim for compensation, you must take a systematic approach and lose no time in gathering information and evidence about the incident that should help to bolster your claim. Just because you got injured in an accident does not make you eligible for filing a claim for compensation. Unless you can comprehensively prove that the other party was at fault and must take responsibility for the damages that you have undergone, it does not make a case for claiming compensation. It can be a difficult task to prepare for filing claim while you are still under medical treatment but delaying the process can be detrimental to receive compensation.

To ensure that the preparation for filing claim goes on alongside the medical treatment, you must hire a lawyer who is conversant with LA Hershey Injury Law so that you do not miss the deadlines for filing a claim. The lawyer will fight for the compensation you deserve but firstly ensure that compliance with the timelines set for different stages in the process of filing the claim. They know well the first steps to take, and you too will understand it by going through this article.

Expressing your intention of filing claim

There is a prelude to filing claim for personal injury compensation that you or the plaintiff must fulfill to take the first step towards filing the claim. There is a specified timeline from the date of the accident within which you must notify the people who are responsible for your injuries according to you. The only exception is when you are filing a claim against a government employee or government.  You must act fast and notify people within a few days of the accident that would increase the chances of a better and fair resolution of your claim.

Whether you file the claim or not, it is better to follow the procedure because it preserves your right to make a claim even if you decide about it later. It would also prevent others from pointing to your claim as unfair because you took a too long time to inform them about your injuries. Once you have notified the concerned persons about your intention of filing claim for injuries, you can take your own time to process and negotiate the claim with insurance settlers or government agency.

Deadline for filing claim against a government entity

If any government employee or entity is involved even partially in the accident for which you are likely to file a claim, then you must file a claim within a short time. Depending on your state, you might get time ranging from 30 days to one year for filing claim. Failing to file the claim within the specified time or inability to include required information in the claim may deny you the right to claim compensation altogether. Your lawyer should help you to file the complaint on time. You can also gather the information from your city or county attorney’s office.

Try for settlement first

While you might follow the timelines to notify people for filing personal injury claim you need to consider how to deal with the insurance company of the defendant that handles claim settlement in the first place. Here also you need help from a lawyer because insurance settlers engage lawyers to ensure that they reach an amicable settlement with the minimum payout. The lawyer would advise you to follow the process of mediation that involves negotiation with the insurance settlers and other parties involved in the accident to work out an acceptable settlement. The process takes less time and even saves money as compared to filing a lawsuit and is the most preferred option because the majority of claim settlement happens in this fashion. Only when negotiations with an insurance company fail that you have no choice but file a lawsuit in some court.

Time for filing a lawsuit

To recover compensation for personal injury, there is a set time within which you must submit the lawsuit. It means that you must quickly go through the process of negotiating with insurance companies, the outcome of which influences your decision of filing a lawsuit. Every state has its own deadlines, and if you fail to meet it, then you lose your right forever to claim compensation.

First things first

With the goal of protecting your right to compensation there are a few things that you must do within the early few days and weeks of the accident to keep your option open for filing a claim later.

• The first thing is to take note of the accident and injuries in as much detail as possible and even record the loss of wages that resulted from it. You must capture the events to establish how it is likely to affect your future life.
• As you would be talking to some other people who were present at the spot at the time of the accident and involved with it in some way, you must record the conversations correctly.
• Gather and preserve evidence that helps to establish the fact about who caused the accident and the extent of damage that resulted from it. Besides gathering physical evidence, you must take photographs to support your claim.
• Identify people who had seen the accident happen and are willing to become witness to help you prove your case. Return to the scene of the accident as soon as possible because the delay in gathering evidence will only make the task difficult. The evidence might help you with such information that you were not at all aware about earlier.
• While you carry out the above tasks, do not forget to notify the concerned people about your intention to file a personal claim.

You must understand that it is imperative to stay organized after an accident and maintain your cool. That helps to remain alert and take the steps one after one to ensure that you can file the claim correctly.