How to Accept or Deny The Settlement Offer

There are millions of injuries suffered every year due to accidents and the neglect of others. Many of these cases go to court to help compensate the injured or their families for the pain endured and the cost of medical bills and future treatment. Sadly, thousands of people seeking a accident injury settlement get much less than they really deserve, simply because they just don't understand how the system works.

It's hard to put a value on each individual injury, considering that numbers change based on many factors such as the location of the lawsuit and seriousness of the injury. The most accurate estimate you can get is by contacting a personal injury attorney in your neighborhood, there are ways to figure an average amount.

Some insurance companies have been known to use a common formula when deciding how much to pay out for an injury. For injuries that are less severe they may use something such as this:

personal injury compensation = (special damages x 1.5) + income lost as a result of the injury)

For injuries that have resulted in non-monetary loss such as caused by depression, stress or anxiety they would change the formula to multiply the special damages by five. In the case of a severe injury the special damages would be multiplied by 10. If the claimant admits to any fault in their case, the total of the formula could be reduced by as much as 30%

Accepting a settlement for your injury case should be carefully deliberated. You should always take the time to carefully consider the details of the settlement. This can be a very difficult decision to make on your own, and is another reason it's recommended you contact an attorney with experience with the type of case you are involved with.

You can generally expect that your first offer will be a "lowball" offer, which is used by the adjuster to get a good feel of how desperate you are. Expect to respond to this offer with a short letter of rejection with a very clear counter to each argument they set forth in the initial settlement offer. Cite any medical records you have to prove the necessity of a larger settlement.

The acceptance letter is different. It doesn't need to be as thought-out as your rejection letter and not as carefully-worded, because once the offer has been made, they can't take it back. Make a few key notes, for example mention that you confirm the date you accepted the offer, how much it was for and when you expect to receive the settlement check.

It's not as easy as that though. Sometimes settlement can become more confusing when there are the existence of liens filed by health care providers or handling the taxes of your settlement money. The entire process can be very confusing, so hiring a professional accident injury lawyer is definitely recommended.

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