You don't want to accept a settlement offer without talking to a lawyer. The insurance company's initial settlement offer is probably not fair. The offer may be much lower than the value of your damages. If the insurance company sends you a check, don't cash it.
Never accept a settlement offer until your doctor understands the full impact of your injuries. Maximum medical improvement is the milestone in your recovery, where the doctor recognizes that there is nothing else he can do for you. When you receive an offer for your request, you can decline it. That's when the negotiation process begins and the lawyers on your team begin drafting a response.
If there is a possibility that you are partially at fault in the cause of your injury, your lawyer can advise you to accept the settlement offer. The offer could be favorable given the possibility that you could lose a substantial amount of money if you go to trial. You don't have to say “yes” or “no” right away. You can say that you need time to consider the offer or that you would like to talk to your lawyer about it.
With the experience and training needed to deal with insurance companies and their low offers, your lawyer will even the playing field between you and the insurance company, increasing your chances of getting a fair settlement. Before accepting a settlement, accident victims should know how injuries will affect current and future employment opportunities, levels of mobility and activity, overall health, and quality of life. Read the settlement offer carefully or ask an attorney to review it to make sure it is legally binding: that the creditor or collector cannot go after you for the remaining balance at some point in the future. It's always a good decision to have a personal injury lawyer review the settlement offer before you enter into a settlement agreement.
If you're not absolutely sure what your case is worth, or you haven't spoken to a personal injury lawyer yet, be sure to do so before you agree to anything. Talk to a Redding personal injury lawyer before accepting a settlement offer from an insurance company. However, there may still be some details you should consider reviewing with your lawyer before accepting it. The company expects the victim to accept the settlement offer before the victim understands how much the personal injury lawsuit is worth.
Experienced personal injury lawyers know that a settlement offer is the beginning of a negotiation process with the insurance company. A fair settlement value recognizes that your injuries affected you in a different way than they would have affected anyone else.
Personal injury lawyers
in Redding, California know that an early settlement helps victims feel like life is returning to normal. Injured individuals should not accept settlement offers before reaching MMI because the full impact of their injuries is not yet known.And remember that if you are having short-term financial difficulties while your personal injury case is ongoing, your lawyer can often help you delay paying your medical bills until a settlement or verdict is returned. So even after paying a fee, people with lawyers get ahead and have peace of mind knowing that the agreement was made legally correct. In a nutshell, you need to understand the full extent of your injuries and how much economic damages, lost wages, and pain and suffering will cost you before you can accept any offer with confidence.
