Did you know that most car accident cases never go to trial? Both parties agree to a settlement (out of court) to save the enormous amounts of time and money associated with going to court. If you are ever involved in a car accident, you need to hire a personal injury lawyer in Delano even if you never go to court. This lawyer is trained to help you obtain the settlement you deserve. Read further to learn about this.
The demand letter
Since your demand letter is the core of your personal injury case, your personal injury lawyer will tell you to always submit one to the at-fault party’s insurance company. Your lawyer will help you craft this letter. Your demand letter will reconstruct the accident scene with the facts and circumstances pertaining to the accident. It will need to list the necessary details of the accident scene and contain a comprehensive and itemized list of your medical expenses and bills. You’ll want to ask for a high settlement amount since the defendant’s insurance company will be trying to adjust this amount downwards.
How to negotiate after an initial offer
The at-fault party’s insurance company will offer you a settlement amount immediately after reviewing your demand letter. This amount will be incredibly low and you should not accept it because this is the insurance company trying to ‘lowball’ you into accepting a lower settlement. Note that you can’t sue for a higher settlement amount if you accept the initial settlement.
Have your personal injury lawyer in Delano draft a responding letter that declines the initial amount. If the letter is written correctly, it will list the reasons for the decline in detail. A good reason to provide is that the settlement amount is not enough to cover the counseling and psychiatric visits you need because of pain and suffering you have experienced as a result of the accident.
The responding letter must highlight the key points in your initial demand letter. Be sure to include a counter demand in the response letter. You can formulate a new demand by reducing your initial demand by the amount of the initial settlement offer. Since the defendant’s insurance company is trying to justify not paying you the settlement you are requesting, you’ll likely be negotiating with them for a while. You can speed the process up by providing a letter from your counselor that states that you need the settlement amount.
Mediation and accepting the offer
Your personal injury lawyer will recommend that you hire a mediator or neutral third party to speed up talks if he or she (lawyer) feels that they are stalling. A mediator is also called an arbitrator and this professional can help settle a case quickly by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of both party’s cases in a rational light.
If you are offered a settlement amount that you like, make sure it covers all of the expenses and bills that resulted from the accident. You will generally not receive any money until you have signed a release letter where you promise not to pursue the defense for further settlement amounts.
Settlement is not rocket science
Though involved, settlements are not complex. You can indeed get the settlement you deserve from your car accident provided you hire good legal counsel and are familiar with the settlement process.