After someone has been seriously injured due to the negligence or recklessness of another driver, that individual may receive a settlement offer from the driver’s insurance carrier. What if the amount is too low to cover all the expenses associated with the accident? The suggested compensation may cover repairs to the vehicle, immediate medical expenses and lost wages during recovery. However, this person may have ongoing health-related needs that should not be paid for out of pocket. The insurance company should pay for those aspects too. Attorneys in Fort Benning, GA can help when a settlement offer is unreasonably low.
Examples of Expenses
An injured person may have a broad range of expenses associated with an accident. Immediate expenses, which the insurance company is likely to cover, may include:
- an ambulance and a trip to the emergency room
- surgery or setting of fractures
- X-rays, CT scans and other diagnostics
- attention from medical doctors
If the insurer doesn’t offer to pay for ongoing expenses, this can be problematic for the injured person, especially if going back to work is not yet possible. Some of these additional expenses may include:
- physical therapy
- rental of a wheelchair or walker
- prescription pain medication
In some cases, the doctor may want the patient to have appointments with a nutritionist and start a high-quality vitamin and mineral supplement regimen. That may be advisable if the patient was in poor health before the accident and needs a nutritional boost during recovery.
The Importance of Legal Representation
A law firm such as Phenix Legal provides skilled representation for injured persons. These individuals then do not have to go without important health care treatment and adaptive equipment, and they are not forced to use their own savings to pay those bills.
It’s difficult for a person who is not highly knowledgeable about personal injury law to negotiate effectively with an insurance company. Insurers naturally want to pay out as little as possible, and it’s common for them to start with a low offer. Getting attorneys in Fort Benning, GA involved in the matter shows the company that the injured person is not willing to accept less than he or she deserves.
