Time spent on Minnesota lakes and rivers should be enjoyable, but for a small percentage of people each year, their boating trip ends with accident and injury. If you’ve been injured in a boating accident in Minnesota and are considering filing for compensation, don’t be surprised if the liable party’s insurance company seeks to offer you a quick settlement.
It may seem like they are offering you this settlement as a show of good faith, but oftentimes these fast settlement offers are made in order to close a claim for pennies on the dollar. We’re not saying that you should never settle your boating injury claim, but you do want to take some steps before you sign on the dotted line. We explain what you should do before agreeing to a settlement after a Minnesota boat injury in today’s blog.
What To Do Before Agreeing To A Settlement
If you are injured in a boating accident, you may be able to bring an injury claim against any party that contributed to your injuries. It may be obvious that they were in the wrong, but that doesn’t mean that their insurance company is going to offer you a major award. Insurance companies became profit giants by working hard to minimize their liability and payouts, so don’t expect them to offer a fair settlement out of the gates. Instead of jumping at that first offer, here’s what you should do after a boating accident.
1. Have Your Injuries Professionally Assessed – In order to get fair compensation for your injuries, there needs to be official professional documentation of your injuries. You’re not just going to be able to claim that you have neck pain, you’re going to need a doctor to diagnose you with nerve compression, whiplash or a cervical fracture. Getting your injuries professionally documented will make it clear what injuries you need to be compensated for.
2. Hire A Lawyer – You may think that you don’t need a lawyer because it is obvious that another party was in the wrong, but again, that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a fair payout. In fact, if you don’t have a lawyer, it’s almost a given that the insurance company will try to take advantage of your unfamiliarity with the system. Odds are you don’t know how to perfectly calculate a compensation amount for a concussion, a vertebral fracture or for surgery and rehabilitation, but your lawyer will. As we’ve said time and time again, a lawyer is the only party who is fully on your side, as they take home a percentage of your injury award. That means they earn more money when they get you a bigger payday, so they have all the incentive they need to get you every single penny that you deserve.
3. Don’t Succumb To Pressure – This is easier said than done, but oftentimes the insurance adjuster will try to pressure you into accepting an offer. They may say that it needs to be signed now, that it’s only an active offer for 48 hours, or that they’ll pull the offer if you hire legal representation. They know that medical expenses are piling up and they want to use this to their advantage, but don’t let them pressure you into a settlement. Always bring any settlement offer to your lawyer. We’ve never heard of cases where a person was worse off by bringing an offer to their lawyer first, but we’ve heard plenty of horror stories about people who agreed to a settlement without first running the offer by a lawyer. Don’t let this happen to you.
4. Ensure All Factors Are Considered – Finally, make sure that a settlement offer accounts for all compensable factors. You may have incurred medical expenses after the accident, but there are a number of other factors that go into your compensation package. You can also get compensation for things like lost wages, future medical expenses, assistive mobility devices, travel expenses, property damage, pain and suffering and more. Make sure any settlement offer accounts for all compensation aspects. Again, since you’re probably not all that familiar with what you can collect compensation for, it’s a good idea to have a lawyer make sure all aspects are accounted for in the offer sheet.
If you want to make sure that you get a fair and generous award for your boat injury claim, make sure that you connect with a team of lawyers like the ones you’ll find at Hey Workers. Give our team a call today at (844) 439-9675.
