A negligent driver in Tennessee collided with you and caused you to suffer serious injuries. These may have left you unable to work, unable to enjoy quality time with family and dealing with chronic pain and emotional scars. Combined with this may be the stress of dealing with the insurance companies. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Insurance companies are in it for the money
Insurers are for-profit companies, so the less they pay out in approved claims, the better. Before that, of course, they will try to deny any claims from victims or get those victims to agree to a low-ball settlement: a settlement that cover much less than what victims are entitled to.
The insurance company may have contacted you early on precisely to offer you such a settlement. Unfortunately, many victims, out of desperation or out of ignorance, take these offers.
Understanding this state’s negligence laws
Tennessee adheres to a modified comparative negligence rule known as the 50% rule. The courts will assign a percentage of fault to each of the parties involved in an accident, and plaintiffs who are less than 50% at fault can have a chance at recovering damages. This is the rule that your personal injury claim would need to hold up under. You may file with your own insurer if the other side was uninsured or underinsured.
A lawyer to help you file your claim
In your effort to achieve the maximum amount in compensation, you may want to hire a lawyer who focuses on motor vehicle accidents and their aftermath. If a case evaluation shows that your grounds for a claim are good, the lawyer may help build the case up with evidence and anything else that could make the negotiation process go more smoothly. As a last resort, you could consider litigation.