Bodily Injury Settlement

Dealing with a bodily injury usually comes with mounting medical bills. Such an injury can keep you out of work and away from doing what you enjoy. The good news is bodily injuries caused by an accident are typically covered by insurance. Insurance covers your healthcare needs all the way up to the policy limit. So if you are required to stay at the hospital for an extended period of time, the goal is to for the settlement to cover all costs related to medical bills expenses.

While almost all attorneys are not afraid to take a case to trial, many bodily injury cases are settled before there’s a chance for any trial anyway. Both sides negotiate until a mutual settlement is agreed to. What a plaintiff receives in a settlement should be absolutely fair.

It is common for exchanges between attorneys to take place for weeks and months before a dollar amount is agreed upon. But the majority of the time it is not a smart financial risk to enter into a civil trial because trials are simply too time consuming and costly to all parties involved.

Filing a body injury claim needs to be done by a qualified attorney. These types of claims are filed with the other parties’ insurance company. After a bodily injury claim has been filed you can follow up by regularly checking in with the insurance company to see the status of the claim. Keep an eye on the statute of limitations to make sure they don’t pass while you are waiting for the claim to be settled. Do not sign a release unless your attorney recommends you do so.

Bodily injury settlements on average are in the ballpark of $15,000-$20,000 per incident. Once a settlements is reached, it can be paid out in either a lump sum or structured payment over a period of time. While the lump sum may be considered the best option, many times it is because the victim may need the money right away. If that option is chosen, it takes around two months at most to receive.

The other option is a structured payout. These are payments made based on a schedule. If the money is not needed up front it is likely the better option because it can keep you from overspending. It guarantees you financial security over many years and the terms of the payout can be changed instead of dealing with an overwhelming payout all at once. Bodily injury settlements that you receive are not taxed and thus the settlement is meant to compensate you in the fairest way possible.