A car accident can quickly upend life as you know it. You can be instantly struck with physical limitations, excessive pain and emotional suffering, and financial losses that can be catastrophic to your stability. If you want to try to offset these losses, you need to be proactive in building a personal injury case against those who are responsible for causing your injuries.
Be prepared to receive a settlement offer
As you proceed with your claim, you’ll probably find that the other side is eager to settle. And the offer that’s submitted to you may be enticing. After all, most car accident victims want to recover compensation as quickly as possible.
However, before you accept and sign off on one of these offers, you need to make sure that you understand the intricacies of your case. Only then can you really determine if accepting a settlement offer is right for you.
So, although you may be excited to receive a settlement offer, you should slow down, take a deep breath and give yourself the time you need to adequately assess the situation.
How do you analyze the appropriateness of a settlement offer?
Before acting on a settlement offer, you should look at some key aspects of your case. This includes each of the following:
- The value assigned to your damages: You’ll only know if a settlement offer is sufficient to cover your damages if you know the extent of your losses. Therefore, you need to understand the full scope of your damages and what they’re worth from a monetary perspective. So, calculate your incurred medical expenses and lost wages, consider your anticipated medical costs and lost earnings and think through what your mental anguish, pain and loss of enjoyment of life are worth.
- What the settlement is actually offering you: Before you accept a settlement offer, you should make sure that you understand its terms and compare it in light of the true cost of your damages.
- Evaluate the evidence: Accepting a settlement means that you’re foregoing the risks associated with a trial where you can fight for what you think you deserve. But you won’t know how risky a trial is until you fully assess the evidence in play in your case. Therefore, you’ll want to review accident reports, witness accounts, your medical records and expert opinions in order to identify strengths and weaknesses associated with your case.
- Consider how quickly you need relief: A settlement is a great way to get a quick infusion of cash to offset your losses. However, depending on the circumstances, you may be able to recover more compensation by taking your case to trial. Doing so can be stressful and time-consuming, though, which is something that you’ll have to take into account as you move forward with your case. Ask yourself how much time and stress you want to spend on dealing with your personal injury case.
Do you need help making the legal decisions that are right for you?
If so, now may be the best time for you to consider your representation options and to reach out to a legal team that you think will aggressively advocate for what you deserve. An advocate who is experienced in this area of the law can educate you as to the process, give you an analysis of your case and provide you with the legal guidance that you might need to feel confident moving forward.
Hopefully, you can achieve a favorable outcome that allows you to focus on your recovery and your family.