The goal of most personal injury claims is to obtain compensation for injuries, losses and what is known as pain and suffering.
And the process can be a long one, especially if you are taking on a big company that has the resources to fight your claim.
But in many instances, you will receive a personal injury settlement offer, which details the amount the other party’s insurance company is willing to pay for the claim.
So how should you evaluate this offer before making a decision whether to accept it or to decline it and risk going to trial?
Evaluate a Personal Injury Settlement Based On How Long It Would Take To Go To Trial
You have to weigh the settlement offer against the time it would take for your case to make it to trial.
In many states, trial dockets are full, which means it may take months or even years before your claim is tried in a court of law.
And while it is possible that you would win the trial and receive substantially more money than the settlement offer, you have to decide if the wait is worth the additional money.
Evaluate a Settlement Based On Your Demand Package
Your ‘demand package’ is the documents that your personal injury lawyer sent to the other side’s attorneys providing them with police reports, investigation of the claim, medical records, bills, amount of lost wages, and any additional information such as visits to a psychiatrist due to the effect of the accident/injury.
The demand package also includes the amount you want for all your losses as well as for pain and suffering.
When you receive the settlement offer, it should be within range of what you asked for, and if there is a huge disparity, that is a clear indication that the other side is trying to lowball you.
Remember, you can always reject the settlement offer and force the other side to come up with something better.
Let Us Handle the Hard Work
After you’ve suffered injuries in a car accident, the last thing you want is to deal with the other party’s aggressive insurance company investigators who want nothing more than to get you to say something that is self-incriminating. That’s why it’s so important that you hire a personal injury attorney such as the experienced law firm of Fetterman & Associates, P.A. Our job is to fight for the compensation you deserve while you concentrate on healing from your injuries. Contact us today for a free legal consultation.
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