Car accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, medical malpractice and workplace accidents – all can result in devastating physical and emotional trauma to the victim. If you sustain a personal injury as a result of someone else’s fault, you may pursue the at-fault party for compensation for your damages.
If you have filed a personal injury lawsuit, you will likely be contacted by the defendant’s insurance company with a settlement offer. While an out-of-court-settlement may sound appealing, especially when you need the money to pay for your treatment, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind before taking this route. Here are some of them:
The severity of your injury
Before considering any settlement offer, it is extremely important that you understand the kind of injuries you are dealing with and how they will impact your life going forward. Some injuries tend to be more serious than they initially appear to be. Thus, at the onset of the treatment, you and your doctor may not have a clear idea of how soon you will recover and whether you will regain your pre-accident health at all.
Fair and just compensation must take into account the long-term implications of your injuries. As such, accepting a settlement before establishing the actual extent of your injury could hurt your case should you develop accident-related complications down the road.
Both current and future treatment costs
The whole essence of filing a personal injury lawsuit following an accident is to get the defendant through their insurance provider to cover all the treatment expenses associated with your injury. Thus, when considering an offer, you need to be certain that it is sufficient to cover all medical expenses (present and future) associated with your injury. This is especially important if you will require continuous care, physical therapy or in-home nursing.
A car accident can shatter your life. Find how you can protect your rights and interests while negotiating a settlement following an auto accident that was not your fault.