An incident that causes personal injuries can cost you a lot of aggravation and pain beyond the physical. An automobile accident, for instance, can result in various physical injuries from benign wounds to more severe ones like fractures from the whiplash effect. If you’re the victim of an accident, you’ll want the help of a knowledgeable personal injury attorney in Salem, Oregon to help file a personal injury case.
To file a personal injury case, you’ll need to prove that the negligence or direct action of an individual or a group has caused you direct harm. This can be difficult to prove and the process complicated to follow without the help experienced attorneys in Salem, Oregon like those from Youd Law Firm. This is especially so in small personal injury cases, where the claims aren’t as high. Derry Rundlett’s article for James Publishing’s Attorney Education Center highlights the reason why:
The cost of defending a small personal injury claim usually will not be very high when considered against the outside chance of a substantial verdict against the carrier. An insurance company would rather not pay $6,000 to defend a claim worth $10,000, but they will do so if they have to or if they want to. An insurance company would rather make you litigate a case to completion or to the courthouse steps than to leave the impression with you or with any other plaintiffs attorney that they will settle a claim just to avoid litigation.
Thus, it is often necessary to file a lawsuit to obtain the appropriate monetary recovery. There are several ways a personal injury case can proceed: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Having someone with legal skills to advise you on the best way to proceed would be beneficial to you.
Negotiation
Negotiation is usually done with the liable party’s insurance company present. Depending on how the insurance company perceives your case, they could agree to pay you some benefits, quickly. If they refuse, you will have to negotiate, and file a demand, providing proof (medical records and bills) of why you deserve that much.
Mediation
If negotiations are unsuccessful, your case may go into mediation where a third party joins the dialogue to try to resolve the issues. The two sides present their arguments to a neutral party, and this party ensures both sides are heard. Mediation ends when the two parties have come to an agreement.
Arbitration or Trial
Arbitration involves an arbitrator who directly decides on the fate of the case so far. If arbitration breaks down for one reason or another, and both parties can’t seem to come to terms, a trial becomes the only option left.
(Source: 16 Points to Remember When Negotiating a Small Personal Injury Claim, Attorney Education Center)
