After a car accident or other act of negligence, people look to receive justice for their pain and suffering. But it’s also the truth that one can attribute the degree that justice has been delivered by looking at the sentence one receives or the size of the compensation package (aka. the settlement).
The settlement is important because it represents what the court believes to be the extent of your hardship. For some people, the amount affects your long-term recovery and return to a normal, everyday life both physically and financially, so the settlement amount is crucial. Here you can learn some tips on getting the best possible settlement so once you acquire a personal injury attorney such as Expert Legal Opinions you’ll know what you need to do to get the compensation reflecting the justice and the recovery you deserve.
- Don’t take the first offer: To be fair, the first offer isn’t always bad, but unfortunately, it usually is. The first offer prepared by insurance adjusters is usually low to see if you (and your attorney) know what you’re doing. Your next action of whether to go higher or lower can depend on your case and the skill of your attorney. Your attorney might submit more files and records that give you leverage to ask for higher compensation. Or, in the rare event that the first offer is reasonable, your attorney might send over a counter demand that’s a tad lower to secure the settlement and diminish all possibility of any further opposition. This is especially useful when you actually have no other documents of leverage and you want to go ahead and close the case.
- Get the adjuster to justify their lower offer while justifying your higher offer: In negotiations, make sure that any and all case-altering information is brought to light, whether it’s a bottle of beer, texts from before the accident, etc. It may seem trivial or dumb to point out, but these are factors that can cause an accident and affect the outcome of your case. The more guilt that is poured on the opposing party, the more likely they’ll agree to a higher settlement. Also, one needs to have them justify their lower offer. The same squeamishness one could have for trying to justify seemingly trivial details applies to the other party as well and the end result of whether you get a higher or lower settlement depends on how each party presents itself.
- Be patient in receiving a response, but be prompt in giving one: Desperation is unattractive and it reeks of weakness which the opposing party will take advantage of. That said, once you’ve made your offer, wait until you get your response before giving yet another counterdemand. However, once you receive your offer don’t waste too much time in accepting or making another demand. It’ll make you look like you’re not serious if you sit on your behind and wait.