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How To Write A Demand Letter For Your Personal Injury Case

3 June 2016 by Franklin Vasquez

After becoming hurt due to the negligence of someone else, the first step when making an insurance claim is writing a demand letter. A demand letter will contain every detail pertaining to your case such as injuries, loss of income, damages, and so on. The following are some important aspects of writing a demand letter:

Determining Liability

The first thing to do in your demand letter is to describe the accident. This will help the insurer determine the liability in the accident. List in order what happened that ultimately led to the accident. Describe what your actions were prior to the accident, detail all components of the actual incident that you are able to remember, and what happened immediately after the accident.

You also need to discuss comparative negligence. This refers to your contribution to the accident. You need to make it clear that you had no bearing in the cause of the accident. If you were at fault in some small way, consider leaving it out of the demand letter. Instead, have your attorney factor in your portion of the responsibility in the settlement figure that you will include in your letter.

Summarize Your Injuries

You also need to completely describe your injuries as best you can. You will need to rate the amount of pain you have sustained due to the injury, how it has affected your daily life, and if you are permanently disabled as a result. While you are to use your normal jargon when writing the letter, try to use medical terminology as best you can. You can get this terminology from the text in your medical report. For instance, instead of saying you have a sore lower back, use the words lumbar sprain instead.

Medical Treatment

You should also include a section describing the medical treatment you have received and how much it is going to cost. This includes all emergency expenses, including ambulance transportation, as well as subsequent therapy you need to have.

Your Lost Income

The next section of your demand letter should briefly state how much money in income you would be losing due to the inability to work. This should also include the use of your sick days and vacation days that had to be exhausted due to the injury. You will need to get a letter from your human resources department that details how much work you missed and leave you have used. For those who are self-employed, you will need to figure an amount based on what your productivity levels were prior to the injury.

Settlement Figure

Finally, you want to include your settlement figure. This is an amount of money you would like in order to settle the claim. You should demand an amount that you believe to be a fair representation of what is owed to you due to the nature of your injury in addition to the cost associated with it. Have a higher figure in mind than what you actually expect to receive so that you can negotiate with the insurer.

Once your demand letter is complete, send it along with copies of all of your evidence that will support your case. You may want to secure an attorney to help you go over your letter to make sure all of your bases are covered. Contact a business, such as the The Gil Law Firm, for more information.  

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