How Our Lawyers Handle a Nationwide Injury Claim

How Our Lawyers Handle a Nationwide Injury Claim

If you sustained injuries in an accident that resulted from someone else's negligence, you may recover monetary compensation and damages from the at-fault party's insurance company. In some instances, that insurance company is Nationwide.

Dealing with an insurance company like Nationwide on your own and attempting to obtain a favorable monetary recovery for your injuries is a nearly impossible task. Insurance companies have an incentive to offer you as little monetary compensation as possible in your case.

A knowledgeable personal injury attorney in your Chicago area can enter an appearance on your behalf, handle all settlement negotiations for you, and secure the monetary compensation you deserve from Nationwide.

Moreover, if the Nationwide adjuster does not offer you fair compensation for your injuries, your attorney can take them to court. Your attorney can represent you at all legal proceedings to maximize the monetary damages you recover for your injuries and other losses.

Nationwide is a major insurance company with significant resources. The corporation wants to maintain its profits from year to year, often at the expense of claimants. Always hire a legal advocate with experience handling Nationwide claims. This is the best leverage you can have if you need to file a claim and seek compensation for injuries.

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What is a Personal Injury Case?

A personal injury case arises when another individual or entity commits a negligent act, resulting in an accident and injuries.

In some situations, a negligent person does something that a hypothetical reasonable person should not have done in the same situation. At other times, negligence occurs when an individual refrains from doing something that a hypothetical reasonable person should have done.

Some of the most common circumstances that arise from the negligent actions and inactions of others include:

• Slip and fall accidents that occur on someone else's premises
• Truck and car accidents
• Motorcycle and bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Premises incidents that result from an inadequate security presence on someone else’s premises
• Swimming pool accidents
• Fair and amusement park accidents
• Boating accidents
• Construction site accidents
• Workplace accidents

If you sustained physical injuries in one of these types of occurrences, always seek the legal help you need immediately.

A personal injury attorney in your area can explore all your legal options after determining your eligibility to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Your lawyer can then negotiate fair settlement compensation from the Nationwide Insurance Company adjuster and work to recover the monetary damages you need for your injuries.

Types of Injuries in Serious Accidents

When other individuals commit negligent actions, and an accident occurs, victims may suffer serious injuries that leave them incapacitated for a long time.

In addition to needing ongoing medical treatment, accident victims might have to miss time from work for a significant amount of time after their accident, resulting in lost earnings.

The accident victim might also suffer a permanent injury that affects them for the rest of their life and causes them to experience lifelong pain and suffering.

The injuries that an individual suffers in an accident will depend significantly on the type of accident that occurs and the specific body part or parts which become injured.

Common accident-related injuries include:

• Bone fractures
• Rib fractures
• Eye injuries
• Mouth and teeth injuries
• Soft tissue contusions
• Internal organ damage
• Internal bleeding
• Traumatic head and brain injuries
• Open lacerations
• Complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries
• Full and partial paralysis injuries

If you sustained one of these injuries in your accident, complete all recommended medical treatment and that you attend all necessary medical appointments, including physical therapy sessions. By completing your medical treatment regimen, you show Nationwide that your injuries are serious and you deserve to recover favorable monetary compensation.

If an insurance company like Nationwide sees that you regularly missed medical appointments or discharged yourself from medical care, they will likely be skeptical of your injuries. Consequently, they may not offer you the fair monetary settlement you deserve.

While you focus on completing your medical treatment regimen, we can begin gathering all of the necessary supporting documentation to prove your personal injury claim or lawsuit. Important documents may include copies of your related medical treatment records, medical bills, lost income statements from your employer, police reports, and witness statements.

Your attorney can then assemble these documents into a settlement demand package and forward them to the Nationwide adjuster for review.

If Nationwide accepts fault for your claim, settlement negotiations with your attorney may begin, and your lawyer will aggressively fight to pursue the compensation you deserve.

How to Successfully Prove a Personal Injury Claim or Lawsuit?

You must satisfy several legal elements to recover favorable monetary compensation as part of a personal injury claim or lawsuit with Nationwide.

First, you must demonstrate that the other party owed you a legal duty of care. For example, everyone has a duty to drive in a prudent, careful, and safe manner at all times and to follow all state traffic laws and regulations.

Similarly, property owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for the benefit of property owners and to warn about or correct known hazardous conditions on the premises within a reasonable period.

Next, the injured accident victim needs to establish that the at-fault individual or entity somehow violated their duty of care.

For example, the motor vehicle operator might have violated one or more traffic laws, operated their vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, or engaged in distracted driving. Similarly, a property owner might have failed to repair or correct a known dangerous hazard on their property, such as a food spill on the floor, within a reasonable amount of time.

In addition, the accident victim has to demonstrate that as a direct result of the other party's negligent actions or inactions, the subject accident – along with their subsequent physical injuries – followed.

In some cases, Nationwide and other insurance companies will dispute fault or liability for an accident. They might even allege that the accident victim somehow caused or contributed to their own accident. In those circumstances, your attorney can retain an accident reconstructionist who can determine exactly how the accident occurred and who caused it.

For example, an accident reconstructionist can speak with witnesses who saw the accident firsthand, speak with you about how the accident happened, visit the accident scene, and review incident reports or police investigations of the accident. The expert can then draft a formal written report about their conclusions and testify at a deposition or civil jury trial in the personal injury case.

Similarly, your attorney can retain a medical expert to causally relate your injury or injuries to the subject accident. Medical experts can help in personal injury cases where Nationwide disputes causation.

For example, the insurance company might allege that the accident victim's claimed injuries are unrelated to the subject occurrence or that they are pre-existing. In those circumstances, the medical provider might physically examine the accident victim and determine that the accident played a part in their injuries.

Those documents may include: 

• Police reports
• Investigation reports
• Eyewitness statements
• Medical records and bills
• Income loss documentation
• Photographs of your injuries
• Photographs of property damage
• Photographs of the accident scene
• Video camera footage that shows the accident occurring in real-time.

If Nationwide accepts fault for the accident, the settlement negotiation process may start. However, always be wary about accepting an insurance company adjuster's initial settlement offer. These initial offers typically attempt to resolve the case quickly and cheaply.

Despite what Nationwide and other insurance companies routinely state in their advertisements, they are not interested in fully and fairly compensating accident victims for their injuries and losses. Rather, insurance companies want to try and save themselves money by paying out the smallest amount of compensation possible to accident victims.

A strong personal injury attorney in your area can aggressively fight for your legal rights and interests and work to convince the Nationwide adjuster that your case is worth more money.

For example, your attorney can point to expert reports, medical records, and other important documentation in your case. They might also threaten Nationwide with in-court litigation if they refuse to increase their settlement offer.

If Nationwide still does not offer you the fair monetary recovery you deserve, your lawyer can sue the at-fault party on your behalf and work to recover the monetary compensation you need and deserve through litigation.

Throughout the litigation stage of your case, your attorney can handle every step. For example, they can guide you through answering the defense attorney's written questions, called Interrogatories, and prepare you for your discovery deposition. Your lawyer can also attend all settlement conferences with you and argue for your right to recover fair monetary damages.

Finally, if your case must go to a civil jury trial, your lawyer can represent you, introduce evidence on your behalf, and pursue the highest possible verdict in your case. Your lawyer might also convince Nationwide to explore methods of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR. Those methods may include mediation or binding arbitration with a neutral, third-party arbitrator who decides the final case outcome.

Potential Personal Injury Monetary Damages

As part of a personal injury claim or lawsuit, you may recover different types of monetary damages. Since every personal injury case is different and accident victims suffer different injuries, not everyone is entitled to the same types and amounts of monetary recovery.

A skilled personal injury attorney in your area can ballpark the amount of monetary compensation you can expect in your case, given their recent experiences in other (similar) cases.

First, an accident victim can recover monetary compensation for their related medical costs. Those monetary damages should cover all related medical treatment that the accident victim already underwent and the cost of anticipated medical treatment that a provider determines may be necessary in the future.

If the accident victim had to miss time from work following their accident, they can pursue a successful claim for lost income - or loss of future earning capacity if they had to switch to lighter duty work or switch jobs entirely and take a pay cut.

Accident victims might also recover compensation for their noneconomic losses, including compensation for their mental distress, lost quality of life, inconvenience, loss of the ability to use a body part (such as from paralysis), past and future pain and suffering, loss of spousal consortium and companionship, lifetime care costs, and permanent disability or disfigurement.

Your attorney will do everything possible to ensure you secure the highest available monetary award, either through a favorable settlement offer from Nationwide or a favorable litigation result in the court system.

Talk with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Near You Today

Accident victims only have two years from the date of their accident to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking monetary recovery. Therefore, always act quickly to retain experienced legal counsel to represent you throughout your case.

If you file a personal injury lawsuit after the statute of limitations deadline has expired, you waive your right to recover any monetary damages for your accident-related losses.

As soon as a top-rated Chicago personal injury law firm's lawyer enters an appearance in your case, they can begin working for you and advocating for your legal interests.

In addition to gathering the necessary documents and filing a personal injury claim with Nationwide on your behalf, they can aggressively represent you during settlement negotiations with Nationwide adjusters and, if necessary, litigate your case to an efficient resolution in state court.

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