Strategies to Maximize the Amount You Recover
When you have been injured and have extensive medical expenses or can’t work, you want to get payment for your losses as soon possible. For that reason, an initial settlement offer from a defendant’s insurer can seem very attractive. It may be more money than you’ve seen at one time in your life. Furthermore, the insurer may tell you the offer is available for “a limited time,” suggesting that you might get less or even nothing if you don’t jump at the offer.
Should you accept an initial settlement offer from an insurance adjuster? The simple answer is no—don’t ever agree to anything with an insurance company without retaining and consulting experienced and aggressive personal injury counsel.
How Insurance Companies Operate
The first thing you need to understand is that insurance companies are for-profit entities. They are owned by shareholders; the decisions they make are generally geared toward maximizing their value to shareholders. How do they do that? By minimizing the amount they pay out on claims. They have a comprehensive understanding of insurance laws and policies, and will carefully review the facts and the provisions of policies to find ways to exclude coverage or minimize payments.
Because they know how much you need the benefits to which you are entitled, they’ll use it against you, often engaging in delaying tactics, so that you’ll be more desperate to take whatever they offer you. They may act as if they really want to help you, but their bottom line is their profit. They will always lowball you, hoping your situation will be so dire that you’ll accept their offer. They may even suggest that you “keep the attorneys out of this,” so they can get you your settlement sooner. It’s all a game to get you to take as little as possible.
Why You Want an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney to Negotiate Your Settlement
When you hire a lawyer to help you get full and fair compensation for injuries sustained in an accident, you’ll typically pay that attorney on a contingency basis. That means that your lawyer will receive a percentage of the amount of your settlement or verdict. The less you receive, the less the attorney receives, but the more you get, the more your attorney will earn. Your lawyer, then, has exactly the opposite incentive that insurers have—your lawyer will seek to maximize the amount you recover, so that they maximizes their contingency fee.
In most personal injury cases, the first settlement offer made by the insurer will be the lowest offer they make. If you remain patient and trust your attorney, you’ll likely end up settling for more.
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we understand the devastating impact a personal injury can have on every part of your life. We’ll aggressively protect your rights throughout the legal process, acting as your intermediary with insurance companies and as your voice in all meetings, hearings, and legal proceedings. Contact us by email or call our offices at 844-402-2992. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
