Anyone hurt in a car crash, slip and fall, or other accident should consider filing a claim for compensation. At Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, we have worked with clients in considerable pain after a traumatic accident. You probably have high medical bills and many questions, so obtaining the services of an experienced lawyer is a necessary step to protect your rights.
The purpose of a legal claim is to receive compensation from the defendant who hurt you. Although we can sue this person in court, most of the time we can settle a case outside the courthouse. Below, we look at red flags that a settlement offer is much too small. Essentially, you get one chance to obtain compensation, so rejecting a low offer is important to ensure your financial wellbeing in the future. Helpfully, we have the skills you need to obtain fair compensation from a defendant. Call Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys today to speak with a personal injury attorney, (404) 529-3476.
Red Flag #1: An Insurance Adjuster Makes an Offer Right After the Accident
Don’t be surprised if you get a call from an insurance adjuster the week after the accident. Everything might still be a blur, and you feel incredible pain, but they want to make an offer you can’t refuse.
First, you should never accept a settlement offer without having a lawyer review it. And here’s why: an offer this soon is undoubtedly too low. A personal injury victim can receive compensation for various economic damages, like:
- Medical care to treat your injuries
- Rehabilitation and ongoing medical expenses
- Lost wages/income if you can’t work
With serious injuries, you could need rehabilitation and treatment for months. You won’t know the full cost of your treatment until you reach maximum improvement. Also, you can’t know how much work you’ll miss so soon after the accident.
For these reasons, there’s no way to judge whether a settlement offer is a good deal so soon after your crash or fall. Instead, you need to wait a while.
This is one reason you should contact an attorney and not speak to an insurance adjuster on your own. Once you hire a lawyer, they need to go through us.
Red Flag #2: No Compensation for Pain and Suffering
A personal injury settlement should also include financial compensation for your bodily pain and related suffering. Depending on your injury, this compensation could make up 50% or more of a fair settlement.
Imagine you are injured in a car wreck and suffer a concussion, pinched nerves, and fractured ribs. These injuries will cost thousands of dollars to treat and could also cause you to miss months of work. However, Georgia also allows victims to seek financial compensation for their bodily pain and distress.
How much can you get? It will depend on the facts. Medical bills have a bill which spells out how much you can receive, but pain is subjective. Some of our clients receive settlements where most of the compensation goes toward pain. We have also had clients who receive 4 or 5 times their medical bills in compensation for pain and suffering. It all depends on the facts of your case.
You can also receive compensation for emotional distress. Imagine if shattered glass cuts a thick scar across your face. That type of injury can cause serious embarrassment, so you should receive financial compensation for that emotional injury, too.
Red Flag #3: An Insurance Adjuster Recommends Not Hiring a Lawyer
This is another huge red flag that the adjuster is trying to pull a fast one on you. In addition to making a quick settlement offer, they might say, “Hey, you don’t need a lawyer.” Some reasons are, “Lawyers are too expensive” or “We’ll treat you fairly.”
Call us immediately. Do not depend on the charity of insurance companies. We can usually get much more compensation than you would receive on your own without legal help. We know how much these cases are usually worth, and we’ll use all our skills to get the other side to increase what they are willing to pay.
How We Win Cases
At Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Lawyers, we have won cases other law firms politely declined. Our personal injury lawyers have obtained million and even billion-dollar settlements for injured men and women like you. We know how to take a low offer and watch it grow into a fair settlement.
We credit our success to the following:
- Learn the facts of your case inside and out. We want to know everything that led up to the accident, what happened, and who witnessed it. We also want to know everything about your injuries. This evidence is critical to help us negotiate confidently.
- Research prior settlements. Insurance companies negotiate thousands of cases each year. They have a history. We find out how much cases like yours have settled for in the past.
- Tap our personal experience. We have negotiated hundreds of cases with Georgia’s largest insurance companies. We know their negotiation techniques. We also know when they are pretending they can’t pay more (but really can).
- Reject low offers. The only thing you can do with a low offer is reject it. Then we hit the other side with a counteroffer.
- Attend mediation, where appropriate. Mediation is sometimes useful at settling a case. We meet with the other side and a neutral mediator to discuss the areas of disagreement. We might find common ground and reach a fair settlement.
We always keep our clients informed of the status of their cases. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether to accept a settlement.
Contact Us to Get Started
Please reach out to us today to learn more about how much you might receive after a personal injury accident. Our legal team has won cases in front of juries, but usually we get a fair shake for our clients through negotiation. If you call, you can schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team.