By Keira Collin
The majority of car accident lawsuits in Pueblo settle. A settlement allows for a quicker resolution and faster money. But, you should not accept the first offer of the insurance company. Rather, you must know the worth of your injuries and use the facts to your advantage. An experienced car accident lawyer pueblo can help you with this, so you can focus more on your recovery.
Determining the Worth of Your Injuries
To determine whether a claim settlement is fair, you first have to determine the worth of your injuries. You can do this by adding up your economic losses first. These losses are sums of money you have spent to deal with the accident’s impact, including medical bills, lost wages, rehab costs, lost future wages, and property damage. Then, consider your non-economic damages like pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, emotional distress, and physical impairment. It can difficult to assign a monetary value to these intangible injuries. But, to come up with a rough figure, multiple your economic losses by 2-3. An experienced attorney can properly convert your injuries into a dollar amount.
Comparing the Settlement Offer to the Worth of Your Injuries
When you compare the numbers, you may see a huge gap between what the insurance company wants to offer and the worth of your injuries. After all, insurance companies are notorious for lowballing. But, you should not feel frustrated since this only the start of the negotiation process. Your attorney knows the tactics companies use to try to get you to accept their lowball offers and can expertly negotiate with them to ensure you get fair compensation.
Drafting a Counteroffer
When writing a counteroffer, your lawyer will mention your rejection of the low offer and why. They will tell the insurance company that because their client is at fault, they must compensate you for your entire economic losses. Then, your lawyer will make a counteroffer. Because of their knowledge and experience, the lawyer knows how much to make.
Keep in mind that while you might be outraged at the low offer, you should not take it out on the claims adjuster. This person is just under pressure from their employer to settle the claim for as little as possible.
The steps involved in settlement negotiations can give you headaches, so it is best to hire an attorney to handle it for you. An experienced attorney has negotiated with some of the biggest insurance companies in the state and they know how the process works.
