After enduring a severe injury in an accident caused by the negligence of another, it’s common to wonder how you will get the liable party to pay for their actions. Thankfully, in California you have a couple different options when you hope to obtain the compensation you deserve.
Many injury victims are under the impression that an insurance settlement and a personal injury settlement are the same thing, but nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading to learn more about the differences between insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits in California.
In almost any type of accident and injury, you will first need to file a claim with the liable party’s insurance company because California is a fault state when it comes to personal injury cases.
Once you have filed a claim with the insurance company, you will then be asked to give a statement of events. We do not typically recommend that our clients provide a statement due to the likelihood of the insurance company twisting their words.
It is quite common for insurers to do so and utilize other tactics to reduce the amount of an injury settlement. Your lawyer can deal with the insurance adjuster to secure a settlement that is reasonable. However, in some cases, the insurance company refuses to settle or continue negotiating, at which point we will need to go to court.
Other times, the insurer will settle, but the amount of the injury settlement does not fully meet your needs. The insurance company only needs to settle up to the limits of their insured’s policy, so even maximum insurance recovery may require legal action.
When you file a personal injury lawsuit, it is quite possible that you will need to go to court and have your case heard by a judge and potentially a jury. Here, you are seeking an order from the judge that the named party has been found liable for causing your injuries and will therefore be compensating you for the damages they inflicted on your life.
Pursuing a personal injury claim is often in the injury victim’s best interest, as it gives the injured an opportunity to recover full compensation for all of their losses, whereas an insurance claim only provides coverage for specific losses.
Understanding when to file an insurance claim, when to go to court, and when both types of claims are necessary can be a challenge, but if you have a qualified Orange County personal injury lawyer at Dickson Kohan & Bablove LLP working on your case, you can rest easier knowing our team will lead you in the right direction. You can find us online or call our firm by phone at 1-844-404-2400 to schedule a free, no-obligation case review.
