Should You Accept An Injury Settlement Offer?

The ideal scenario for an injury claim is to arrive at a settlement offer that works well for you. Unfortunately, there will always be some fuzziness about whether an offer represents the best deal you can reach.

A personal injury attorney can't guarantee an outcome, but they will check for a handful of things before recommending a client take or reject an offer. Personal injury lawyers always evaluate the following aspects of agreements before settling claims.

The Extent of the Client's Physical Recovery

You don't want to accept a settlement before you know what your long-term medical prospects are likely to be. The issue is especially important if a defendant's insurer comes in with an offer quickly after you've had an accident. If you take a deal, you have no legal recourse if you discover some undiagnosed issue from the incident just a few years from now.

Consequently, your injury attorney will want to know as much about your current and likely future condition as possible. They will want to see reports from doctors whether you'll ever fully recover. If the long-term prospects aren't great, then an attorney will want to know what your needs are likely to be in terms of physical care, surgeries, prescriptions, and medical devices.

Full Accounting of Medical Bills

Even fairly small cases involving things like broken bones can produce a lot of medical expenses. The medical bills will come in over time, and your lawyer will need to document them. You want to be as confident as possible another bill won't arrive before you settle the case.

Investigation

Personal injury lawyers always want to know how liable a defendant was. In a typical injury claim, the defendant only pays the percentage of the damages they were liable for. If an insurer deems a defendant was 80% responsible for $100,000 of medical damages, for example, the insurance company will pay $80,000 of the total.

Understandably, a personal injury attorney wants to nail down as much of a defendant's blame as possible. They may need to review reports from cops and first responders, videos of the incidents, maintenance logs, employee records, and more. The goal is to present the fullest picture possible so the insurer is motivated to settle for a high number.

Defendant Demands

Most injury cases don't carry any demands from the defendants. However, some high-profile defendants, such as celebrities or major companies, may want claimants to sign non-disclosure agreements. This effective surrenders your right to publicly discuss the settlement. NDAs aren't inherently bad, but the defense should pay a claimant more for accepting one. To learn more, contact a personal injury lawyer.