Personal injury attorney will use their experience in negotiating settlements to work for the highest possible outcome for their clients. They will prepare and send a settlement demand letter to the insurance company, which may accept or issue a counteroffer.
Having as much information as possible regarding your injuries and their expected future costs is essential during the negotiation process. This includes medical bills, lost wages, and property damage.
Insurance Company:
In most cases, the insurance company will make an initial settlement offer based on their internal calculations of your losses. This first offer often needs to compensate you for your actual costs adequately.
A personal injury lawyer will carefully examine the insurer’s offer and respond with a package containing crucial supporting documentation of your real expenses. This usually includes medical bills, police reports, and documentation of lost income.
In addition, New York personal injury attorneys will know how to use this evidence to maximize the value of your settlement or case. They also understand how insurance companies work to lowball claims and how to counter their offers. This process could include informal discussions, mediation, or arbitration. The goal is to secure a reasonable settlement that releases the liable party from further liability.
Medical Bills:
In personal injury claims, medical bills play a vital role. However, insurance companies can manipulate these documents to offer you less than you deserve if you don’t have a personal injury attorney.
In addition to calculating your economic damages (i.e., monetary losses such as medical bills, property damage, and lost income), your attorney will also consider your non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. They will ensure that all of your losses are documented, including those you may experience in the future.
This will help them determine how much your case is worth. Then, they will craft a demand letter to send to the at-fault party’s insurance company. This will include a total of your losses and a breakdown of how these were caused by the accident.
Damages:
The monetary sums awarded to injured accident victims are called damages. They are intended to help a victim return to everyday life quickly. Damages like hospital expenses and property losses may be financial or non-financial in heart, such as pain and suffering.
Insurance companies frequently use several tactics to limit the amount an injured accident victim receives. A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer in NY can recognize and counteract these tactics. They also understand the complicated task of estimating non-economic damages and will work hard to ensure that this portion of your claim is adequately addressed.
If necessary, they will suggest other potential sources of compensation, such as underinsured motorist coverage or other policies owned by the at-fault party.
Time Limits:
Most states have strict statute of limitations laws that limit the time a victim has to file a lawsuit. Insurance companies often try to delay settlement negotiations or even stop communications until the statute of limitations clock is about to run out. A personal injury attorney will know this and ensure the insurance company cannot “run out the clock” on you.
Additionally, personal injury attorneys understand how to calculate the value of your claim, including both economic (like medical bills and lost wages) and non-economic (like pain and suffering) losses. They also know when the timing is right to initiate settlement negotiations. They also have experience dealing with insurance adjusters daily, so they can anticipate the tactics that insurance companies use to try and reduce your compensation.
Collateral Source Rule:
Collateral source rules are laws that prevent a defendant from reducing various types of plaintiff’s damages award by what they receive from other sources. These sources may include insurance, private payments, or government assistance programs. This rule aims to ensure that the wrongdoer is held responsible for all the harm they cause and not partially compensated.
Defendants may be permitted to introduce evidence of these collateral sources in court, but only if they can show that the services received were unnecessary, reasonable, and reimbursed. This is a high standard to meet.
For example, health insurance or medical payments coverage are likely considered collateral sources, but life insurance and charitable donations are not. This is why discussing your options with an experienced attorney is essential.
