How do I know how much to settle for a personal injury claim?

Your offer will be less than medical. You nee dot hire a lawyer to get the best offer.

I am endlessly amazed at how people actually believe that what they are doing on their own is somehow exactly the same thing that an attorney does. Truly. Anybody could cut themselves open at home, but does that make them a surgeon, or what they are doing surgery? Likewise, anybody can talk to an insurance company and draft a letter with dollar amounts based on something they found online, but does that make it a real demand? The analogy is the same in my mind. That said, without a lawyer I wouldn't waste your time drafting a demand that has no legal penalty attached to it anyway. If you want to handle this without a lawyer, all you can do is tell them how much your bills are and beg them to pay as much as possible. I don't mean to be blunt or rude, but this is exactly why we suffer through law school, the bar, and then years of specialized training.

I agree that you must hire a lawyer. Lawyers will be able to maximize damages for the scar. Where is it in your person? Will other people see it? Is it on hands or face? How big is here scar? Can it be revised?

Please, please, please talk to an attorney if you want to pursue this case. There are so many intricacies involved in settling a case- and that's assuming your case settles. What do you plan on doing if you need to go to court? I've seen straightforward cases with obvious, serious injuries and low insurance policies take *years* and hours upon hours of correspondence, drafting, phone calls, etc. before they settle. That's not for any lack of effort- it's just how cases go sometimes. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys will fight your case, because it's their job to do so. You never quite know what's going to happen in a case. Call a lawyer.

Scars can be worth a lot of money, especially if your first name is Gisele.

There is no formula for calculating the value of case. Seek the advice of experienced counsel. They have the experience and additional tools that will help them properly value your claim.

I am sorry to hear about your accident. Whenever you are injured as a result of another person's negligence (carelessness), you potentially have claims for (1) medical bills, (2) lost wages from missed work, (3) pain and suffering, (4) any permanent injury or disfigurement, (5) inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life, and (6) any property damage, such as damage to your car. However, without knowing all the details of your accident and injuries there is no way for me to evaluate how much their case is worth. You should know that the driver’s insurance company is interested in settling for the least amount of money possible and that they have hired attorneys to represent their interests. It is great that you sought medical treatment like you did. Are you still experiencing pain? If you do not have the means to pay for additional medical care, a personal injury attorney may be able to help. For example, I have relationships with several local doctors and have been able to arrange for my clients to obtain medical treatment with no out of pocket expense for them. The client must only pay for treatment when his/her case settles. It's very important that you do not fill out any of the paper work that is being mailed to you. The language in the documents from the insurance company can be very misleading. Insurance companies may send documents requesting medical records prior to the accident and ask that you sign a HIPAA form, etc. By filling out these documents, it could significantly jeopardize your case as they will get access to your entire medical history. It is very important that you do not say or do anything that could jeopardize your claim. The goal of the insurance company is to devalue your claim as much as possible. While you can attempt to represent yourself against the insurance company, it is almost never in your best interest to do so. As I stated before, it is very important that an attorney reviews what is signed and being sent to the insurance company. Only after an attorney reviews it, the only information that should be sent to the insurance company is pertinent medical records, bills, wage loss information, and anything else that directly pertains to the accident. You should speak to an experienced personal injury lawyer, who will be able consider all the relevant facts and tell you what the case could be worth. In the meantime, please do not speak with the insurance company, give a recorded statement, or fill out any of the correspondence that they are sending to you. Good luck.

Definitely provide them with pics of the scar. You may even want to consult a plastic surgeon and provide them with an estimate for scar revision. I would start at $50K but I would be surprised if they gave it to you.