Should I accept a settlement offer for my car accident?

Being involved in a car accident is not only stressful, but it is also expensive. Everything from the initial ER visit to the physical trauma you suffered can be included in your economic and non-economic damages under the personal injury law. Unfortunately, even after submitting all of your documents to the insurance company, they can either deny your claim or offer you a significantly less amount than what you need. You should not wait until you receive a low settlement offer before you learn more about car accident law. If your injuries and missed time from work have strained your finances, then your best course of action is to speak to a personal injury attorney right away.

How do you respond to a low personal injury settlement offer?

First, it’s important to stay calm. A negative, strong reaction to the offer can exacerbate the situation and certainly won’t help you get the amount you deserve. The good news is that you do not have to accept a lowball offer, nor do you have to speak to the insurance company. A personal injury attorney handles talking to them for you, and their years of experience mean that they have a better understanding of what may have gone wrong that led to the low offer.

Your attorney will draft a response letter to the insurance company with additional details and information that may have been missed. You should include the police report, updated medical records, updated medical bills, and updated proof of lost income. With their years of experience, they will be able to spot exactly what was missing from your file the first time you tried to recover damages from the insurance company and get them to the adjuster immediately. Hence, as soon as you get the car accidents news, your first step should be to contact a personal injury attorney right away.

Why was my settlement offer so low?

Sometimes settlement offers are very low because the insurance adjuster assigned to your case didn’t have all of the necessary documentation. If you find out that the adjuster did not have all of the information they needed, then you should send it right away.

Other times the adjusters simply are wrong. They are not doctors or medical experts, so they don’t know if an expensive procedure was medically necessary to save your life or health. They may decide that you could have gone back to work because, in their hypothetical world, you should be fine. However, a doctor or surgeon would know from their years of experience working with patients how much time you need to recover in a hospital and how necessary every procedure and medication is.

One of the advantages of working with a personal injury attorney is that they have access to medical expert witnesses who can vouch for you if you had pre-existing injuries or gaps in your medical treatment that the insurance adjuster uses to base a lowered offer on.

Call An Attorney Now

After you accept your settlement offer, you cannot go back to the negotiating table. Call a personal injury attorney before you accept the offer the insurance company gives you. They will review your case and documents then talk to the insurance company on your behalf. Your chances of getting the settlement you deserve are much higher with an attorney fighting for you.