After practicing this area of law for over 20 years (for plaintiff and for the defense), we have found these cases boil down to five major factors:

• The severity of the impact, documented by photos depicting major damage and/or physical injuries.  If you can't see the damage, it's going to be difficult to persuade an adjuster (much less a jury) that any injury was likely.  If you have to point out the damage to others, that's not great for your case.  

• The nature and extent of the injuries.  Muscle sprain/strain cases are generally less serious than cases involving neurological damage and surgical intervention, etc.  Generally speaking, adjusters downplay "soft tissue" cases.  I can't tell you how many letters I've received from adjusters saying "Your client should have been done treating by now since she probably only had 'soft tissue' injuries."  You see, they presume the outcome without knowing anything about the case.  Soft tissue cases are already "judged" by adjusters before they know any of the details.

• Seeking appropriate health care quickly and consistently.  Delays in care, gaps in treatment, etc. will be used against you.  Basically, insurance adjusters will question your injury if you don't get care.  They will argue you didn't get care because you were probably just fine.

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• Making sure you communicate in great detail with your doctors regarding your injuries and the effects of the injuries on your daily life activities. You want your medical and treatment records to be detailed and well-documented.  If something isn’t documented, the insurance adjusters probably won’t consider it.   If something isn't in your medical records, most insurance adjusters will argue it never happened.

• Regularly documenting how the accident affects your daily life activities (known as your “non-economic” damages) and listing people who can substantiate these effects on your life. It’s one thing for you to testify about how the accident affected you, but getting others to corroborate your story is even more powerful.  Basically you want to document what pain you had, how it affected you, what you did to relieve the pain, how it affected your daily life, etc.  In short, your case will be far more compelling if you add some color, by recounting specific examples and effects of the injuries.

Although they are somewhat rare, people can certainly get an eye injury from a car accident. Sometimes, eye injuries can be very serious. The eye is a very delicate yet important organ, and damage can occur which can alter a person's life. 

Sometimes, an eye injury might affect someone's abilities to drive, or to even do their job. Injuries to the eye can sometimes be caused by trauma from the car accident, or perhaps the result of flying glass or debris resulting from the collision. Sometimes, an eye injury can occur during the airbag deployment which would strike someone with such force that it causes damage to the eye. In some cases, a traumatic brain injury can also result in a impairment of one's vision. 

If you've had an injury to your eye due to a car accident, it is important that your treatment involve ophthalmologist, optometrist, or other eye care professionals. The injury can be to the eye itself or perhaps to the eyelid, the retina, the cornea, the iris, or other areas of the human eye. 

It is important to document the injury early to make sure the insurance company understands the accident caused the injury, and that it did not occur later on. The absence of documentation may cause some insurance adjusters to doubt the claim.  Or they might believe you have an eye injury but they may not believe it was caused by the accident.

The doctors need to be very clear in their notes and in the reports that the accident caused the eye injury. Testing can also indicate whether or not the injury can be partially or fully repaired.  

I had a case once where flying glass from the windshield fell into the client's eye and caused a permanent scratch to the client's cornea.  He did not know there was glass in his eye until he went to his optometrist to repair his broken glasses.  She noted the glass lodged in his eye.  As a result, the clients vision was impaired for the foreseeable future. Proper documentation is critical in cases like this. You need to get a doctor to write a report explaining in no uncertain terms that he or she believes the injuries resulted from the car accident, and whether or not the injury is permanent to any extent. If it is permanent, the doctor needs to explain how the injury might affect the person's life going forward. What exact deficits are expected?  

If you've been seriously injured in a car accident, call attorney Robert Mansour for a free consultation regarding your personal injury case. Call (661) 414-7100.

After my clients have completed their course of medical treatment following an accident, there comes a time to present the case for settlement to the responsible party's insurance company.

Prior to this time, the lawyer is indeed in contact with the insurance company and keeps them posted. However, a formal "demand package" isn't usually presented until my clients have finished their treatment and/or reached a plateau where no further treatment is going to help.

The lawyer will then put together a "demand package" - this package contains several times including, but not limited to the following:

1) A letter to the insurance adjuster establishing liability adverse to their client and arguing the damages of the case - both economic and non-economic damages (the latter are also known as "pain and suffering" or "general" damages). The letter is basically an "argument" to the adjuster. It should be persuasive but not long-winded. Remember, adjusters are handling hundreds of files at any given time so they don't have time or energy to read a novel.

2) Photos of the accident - the photos need to help the adjuster understand the severity of the impact. If the photos show little damage, I generally won't include photos that can backfire on my client. Photos should tell a story. Remember, pictures "tell a thousand words," so the photos sent need to help tell the story.

3) Property damage estimate - if the estimate shows significant property damage, frame damage, etc., it should be included to further show the adjuster the extent of the damage. Sometimes, photos don't tell the whole story so the esimate can help. The property damage estimate might reveal damage that's hard to see.

4) Medical reports - Not just medical records but also reports that contain narratives - explanations from the doctors as to what the injuries were, what treatment was done, and any prognosis.

5) Medical bills - Billing from all medical providers, from the ambulance, hospital, ER, orthopedic, chiropractic, physical therapy, MRIs and other scans, etc. This is NOT "explanation of benefits" forms or co-pays. Your co-pay is not your billing.

6) Lost earnings verification. If you are asserting lost earnings, you need to provide the adjuster with adequate documentation that supports your claim for lost wages.

There are sometimes other documents that are included with the demand package, depending on the particular case. The adjuster will review the package and generally call the lawyer with further questions and/or an offer. The lawyer and the client then discuss the offer and how to respond.