If you are a road accident victim, whether you are a pedestrian, passenger, or driver of a car, motorbike, scooter, or bicycle, you can easily file for compensation. However, compensation for bodily injury is not the same according to the different profiles. It also responds to a very specific approach. A qualified personal injury attorney can help you through the process. Injury attorneys have the necessary expertise to guide and assist you through the process of securing your compensation.

There are two types of profiles in road accident victims:

• The driver of a vehicle. Compensation will depend on the degree of responsibility for the accident and the guarantees subscribed to in the insurance contract.
• The passenger, the cyclist, or the pedestrian. Except in the case where the latter would have deliberately caused the accident, he is fully compensated.

What are the stages of compensation for bodily injury caused by a traffic accident?

Filing a Report

First of all, if the situation allows it, it is preferable to fill out an amicable report at the place of the accident. Then contact your insurer to report the accident within a maximum of 5 working days after the date of the accident.

You must also send your insurer a medical certificate or a certificate of hospitalization, a work stoppage, possibly a letter listing the damage suffered, and an example of the amicable contract if it could be made at the time of the accident.

Medical Examination

You will then be the subject of a medical examination: assessing your bodily injury will be based on a “documentary opinion” for minor damages. But you can also be the subject of medical expertise. If the insurance wants this expertise to take place, you will not be able to oppose it.

Expert Report

This medical examination will give rise to an expert report. It is he who determines the nature and extent of bodily injury and thus the amount of compensation. If you have to undergo a medical examination, you will receive a summons from your insurance two weeks before the date on which it is set. You can be assisted by the doctor of your choice during the expertise.

The doctor in charge of the expertise, who is not the one who assists you, then draws up an expert report which he then sends to your insurance. You will be able to see this report within a few days. If necessary, a new assessment will be carried out after the consolidation.

Compensation Offer

Your insurance is then obliged to offer you a compensation offer within a few months after your request. This period may be extended if your file is complicated and determining the person responsible for the accident or assessing your damage requires additional time. You can then accept this offer, but if you feel that the amount is not high enough to compensate your bodily injuries, you can request a review from your insurance or go to court.

To obtain optimal compensation for your damage from the first insurance proposal, or if necessary before the court, it is advisable to be accompanied by a lawyer specializing in compensation for road accidents.