How Will Coronavirus Affect My Personal Injury Case?

by Vikas Bajaj

Read about what you can expect, and what is uncertain, about how Coronavirus will impact an ongoing personal injury case, filing a new claim, and how we can help you continue to move forward with the process.

If you have been injured because of someone else’s actions (or inactions) and you are entitled to compensation as a result, then the current Coronavirus situation will likely add a lot of uncertainty to what has already proven to be a stressful time in American life. The team at Injury Trial Lawyers, APC understands that this level of additional uncertainty and stress is very unhelpful for someone who has recently suffered a life-changing injury, especially one that could have been avoided if the responsible party had acted appropriately and upheld their care of duty. 

At Our San Diego Personal Injury Firm, We Are Working Hard To Keep Things Moving Forward

Fortunately, when you partner with our San Diego personal injury firm in order to get the legal representation and support that you deserve, you can be confident that we are taking every step possible in order to continue providing our clients with the same level of legal guidance as we always have. Take a look below to get a better idea of which areas of a personal injury case may be impacted the most during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, as well as some ways that we are adjusting to this virus in order to keep our cases moving forward. 

If you have been injured and are uncertain of your options, or are worried that you will be unable to get the financial compensation that you deserve because of the current COVID-19 outbreak, contact us as soon as possible for a free initial consultation. During our consultation, we will be able to look at your situation in detail in order to get a better understanding of the best initial steps to take, and we will be able to give you some peace of mind about the way that we are handling ongoing cases during this situation. 

Do Insurance Companies Have the Upper Hand Because of Coronavirus?

There are innumerable impacts that Coronavirus has had on all aspects of American life, and there are more impacts on personal injury cases than can be listed in just one blog post. However, one of the most certain impacts is that the insurance companies will use this uncertainty as a way to convince victims to settle for less than what they deserve since the courts are currently operating at significantly limited capacities. 

What the insurance company does not want you to know, though, is that some estimates show that nearly half of all personal injury claims are settled without even having a lawsuit filed, and possibly as high as 95% of all personal injury cases are settled before trial. This means that realistically, we will have the same leverage and motivation as we would have otherwise to reach a settlement. The other reality is that personal injury cases that do require a trial take a long time, meaning that we will likely be able to wait for updates to the current social distancing protocols in order to seek legal redress.

The Defendant May Be Experiencing Financial Hardships

If you are seeking compensation directly from a defendant, and not from an insurance company, the other issue is that the defendant may not have the money to pay you what you deserve. This is always a major risk factor with any personal injury lawsuit, but the situation may be exacerbated because so many businesses have been forced to close or move to extremely limited operations as a result of the Coronavirus closures. 

Part of the issue with a personal injury lawsuit is that the amount awarded by the court does not necessarily reflect the amount that you will be able to collect if the defendant simply does not have the ability to pay. If you have been injured in a slip and fall, hurt by a defective product, or injured in any other situation that places responsibility directly on a small business, we may need to get creative in order to find a solution that adequately compensates you for your injuries in a way that they are able to actually fulfill.

Access to Healthcare Is Inconsistent At Best

It is no secret that the American healthcare system is overwhelmed as a result of the requirements that the Coronavirus pandemic has placed on these facilities. Therefore, if you have experienced minor injuries or require non-critical healthcare, such as an independent medical exam for the investigation of your claim, there will likely be delays and interruptions to these visits and support. 

The medical documentation that will play a central role in our negotiations as we attempt to reach a settlement agreement may be hard to come by during this time, which means that we may need to think of alternative approaches to this aspect in order to ensure that we still have the leverage that we need in order to reach a settlement agreement. Again, this will require aggressive negotiations with the insurance company and experience with this process in order to stay strong and confident in this process. If you are trying to deal with your injuries and recovery, attempting to work directly with the insurance company on your own is not advised. 

Do Not Let Coronavirus Keep You From Getting What You Deserve

Partnering with an experienced San Diego personal injury firm like Injury Trial Lawyers, APC is the best step that you can take in order to make sure that your case is heard and your situation is handled as it should be, regardless of whether or not there is a global pandemic going on. Our team is actively working on identifying a range of alternative methods to facilitate negotiations and all other important steps in this process so that we can get our clients the money that they deserve, and not just the money that the insurance company wants to pay. 

Contact us now for a free initial consultation so that we can discuss your accident, injuries, and how we can help you move forward with your case during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and emergency responses.