Traffic Accident
Traffic accidents can occur to anyone at any time. For victims, the consequences extend beyond physical pain and injury to include complex and emotionally burdensome issues such as claims for medical expenses, lost income, compensation for emotional distress, as well as negotiations with insurance companies. Even for offenders, traffic accidents often involve significant anxiety, as criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings may proceed simultaneously.
In traffic accident cases, clients frequently raise concerns such as:
- Difficulties in negotiating with insurance companies;
- Uncertainty as to whether the compensation amount proposed by an insurer is reasonable;
- Uncertainty about how the liability ratio should be determined, or dissatisfaction with the liability ratio proposed by opponent side;
- Uncertainty about whether to pursue advance assessment or direct claims procedures; and
- Concerns about the assessment and rating of permanent disabilities.
In many cases, settlement amounts offered by insurance companies are calculated based on the insurer’s internal standards, which are typically lower than amounts determined under court standards. In many cases, when an attorney is retained and applies court based standards, compensation amounts are often significantly increased.
The assessment and grading of permanent disabilities is a critical process that has a substantial impact on the total amount of compensation. However, there are many cases in which disabilities that should have been recognized are denied or undervalued because the medical certificate describing the disability is not prepared appropriately. In preparing a permanent disability medical report, careful attention must be given to objective medical findings, the description of subjective symptoms, and the impact of the disabilities on daily life and work. Because physicians are not specialists in law or disability grading systems, leaving this process entirely to physicians may result in incomplete or inaccurate reports, increasing the risk that a lower disability grade will be assigned than it should be. Attorney involvement can help prevent such risks in advance.
As descried above, pursuing compensation claims arising from traffic accidents requires a thorough understanding of damage calculation standards and permanent disability assessment procedures, and the involvement of legal counsel often has a decisive impact on the outcome. Our firm has extensive experience handling a wide range of traffic accident cases.
To ease the anxiety and burden our clients face after an accident, we carefully listen to their concerns and work together to achieve the best possible resolution tailored to each individual situation.