After suffering an injury in a car accident in Pennsylvania, you might receive a settlement offer from an insurance company. Unfortunately, the amount offered often appears much too low, considering your injury and medical expenses. The good thing is you do not have to accept it. The Reiff Law Firm represents people injured in car accidents and helps them determine if an offer is adequate. Below, our Philadelphia car accident lawyer discusses what to do if you are offered an insufficient insurance settlement.
Why Was I Offered a Low Insurance Settlement after a Car Accident in Pennsylvania?
The first thing you need to consider is why you were offered a settlement. An insurer is typically not looking to pay a large amount of money to an injured victim. In fact, they have attorneys and adjusters working to either limit their liability or completely deny compensation to an injured person. So, if you were offered a settlement, there is usually a reason behind it.
In some instances, an insurance provider is looking to avoid the time and expenses involved in a personal injury lawsuit. By offering a settlement, the hope is you accept it and are therefore prohibited from seeking additional damages. When the evidence is in your favor, a settlement is likely. However, the insurance company is aware that you are facing some financial difficulties and might attempt to have you agree to an artificially low offer. You should never agree to any settlement amount without reviewing it with our Pennsylvania car wreck attorney.
Car Insurance Settlements and the Real Value of Your Pennsylvania Personal Injury Claim
When you recover for your financial losses, either through a settlement or a personal injury lawsuit, you need to know what those losses actually are. In many cases, you will not know the full extent and nature of your injuries for many weeks or months after the accident. What appears to be a simple bump on the head could turn out to be a concussion or result in hemorrhaging and a traumatic brain injury. A stiff back could be later diagnosed as a spinal cord injury that requires surgery and extensive physical therapy. If you agree to a settlement without knowing the full impact of the harm you suffered, it is unlikely you will be adequately compensated for your medical expenses. Our Pennsylvania car accident attorney will work with your healthcare provider to determine what potential costs you could incur due to your injury.
Similarly, you might feel well enough to return to work soon after your accident. While the settlement offer might cover your lost wages, it might not include any future income you will have lost. If your injury limits your ability to work, or if you become permanently disabled, you are looking at years to a lifetime of lost income. Our law office will use your current salary and work with financial experts to project what you would have earned had you not been injured.
Once again, without taking the time to thoroughly examine the potential consequences of your injury or taking a settlement too early in the process, you could be costing yourself a significant amount of necessary compensation. An insurance company is not looking to make you whole or compensate you for your emotional distress – its goal is to limit its liability.
How Our Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer Can Help with an Insurance Settlement
Retaining our Pennsylvania car accident attorney before negotiating with any insurer will increase your chances of receiving a higher offer. Remember, you are not required to accept any offer. You must not make a statement to an insurance adjuster that could jeopardize a personal injury lawsuit. Sticking to the basic facts is your best opinion. Leave the negotiations to our experienced lawyers.
Our law office will do two things while negotiating with an insurance provider. First, we will calculate what your case is worth in terms of financial and emotional damages. Next, we will review the evidence and the strength of your case and advise you of what you could reasonably receive if we took your case to trial.
In many cases, taking your case to trial will result in a more significant recovery. Not only will our attorney calculate your financial losses in your favor – but you are also entitled to receive compensation for your pain and suffering. Often, this is the largest portion of an injury award at trial. If an insurance company factors your pain and suffering in at all, it will not be close to the amount our office will request in a lawsuit.
Our Pennsylvania car accident attorney has a legal obligation to advocate for your best interests. At the Reiff Law Firm, we pride ourselves on our ability to obtain beneficial resolutions for our clients. There will be some cases where the evidence is not in your favor, and an insurance settlement is the best option. In those circumstances, you are still not required to take the first offer, and we will aggressively negotiate to get you the highest amount possible.
Call Our Pennsylvania Car Accident Attorney if Your Believe Your Insurance Settlement is Too Low
If you are injured in a car accident, you will need money to cover medical expenses and lost income. A quick offer by an insurance company might appear to be a lifesaver. However, in many cases, an injured victim believes that the offer is too low. You are under no obligation to accept a settlement offer. You should contact our Philadelphia personal injury lawyer before talking with an insurance company, let alone taking an offer. To review your settlement offer and discuss filing a personal injury lawsuit, call the Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940 to schedule a free consultation.
