The best Jackson, Wyoming personal injury lawyer will help you argue your case to get you the settlement you deserve. If you want to come out of your case in the best shape possible, take in the tips below.
Ask a Jackson, Wyoming Personal Injury Lawyer: 5 Tips for Getting a Fair Settlement
1. Figure Out How Much You’re Asking for
Don’t go into this without a sum in mind. You should sit down and speak to your Jackson, Wyoming personal injury lawyer about what you can expect. Your lawyer will then go over the various things you can claim for when deciding your settlement. These things include:
- Medical bills after the injury
- Future medical costs for continuous treatment
- Lost income
- Future lost income if the injury left you unable to work full time again
- Emotional distress
You may also be able to add your attorney’s contingent fee to your claim. However, this isn’t always guaranteed, so speak to your attorney about this first.
2. Don’t Accept the First Offer
If the insurance company makes an offer straight away, then you need to take time out to think about it. Is it a reasonable offer? If so, then come back with a counter offer that’s higher than the amount offered to you but lower than the amount you actually want to claim. This will let the insurance company know that you’re reasonable and unopposed to compromising if their offer is fair.
However, the first offer may also be obscenely low and nowhere near reasonable enough for you to accept. This is the insurance company putting some feelers out to see if you know how to handle yourself. If this occurs, then you should outline the key points of your case again without going into all the details. The insurance company is well aware of these details and is choosing to ignore them for now. Then, restate the amount you’re hoping to settle for.
3. Always Ask for Justification
If the insurance company gives you a low offer, ask them how they’re justifying it. They’ll make some well-articulated points, but the points may be entirely irrelevant, as you’re most certainly entitled to a higher sum. Respond to these points calmly, and provide a counteroffer just slightly lower than what you initially asked them for. Don’t send another response until the insurance company gets back to you.
Don’t lower your offer further if the insurance company refuses to go higher after reading your response. They want to see how low you’re willing to go, but you need to let them know that you’re serious and know what you’re doing. A highly skilled attorney who’s done this numerous times will know how to handle this, and they won’t let you settle for anything less than a reasonable sum. Your attorney is your most valuable tool in this negotiation.
4. Play up the Emotional Aspects
The people you’ve been dealing with at the insurance company are only human. Try to appeal to their human side by reminding them of your gruesome injury, your destroyed car, or your new lifelong disability. Reminding them of photographs you’ve sent or sending new ones can help with this.
Use every emotional aspect of your case you can. For example, if you were in a car accident and the other driver’s car had an empty beer bottle in it, then point this out. Mention this driver may have been drinking, and bring up the number of tragedies that have occurred due to drunk driving. If you have a child, then bring up how this whole ordeal has impacted them. If you’re a low-income household, mention the financial burden this has all caused.
5. Be Patient
Agreeing on a settlement may take weeks or even months, and you’ll most likely be eager to get this over and done with. Never let the insurance company know that you’re growing impatient. You need to appear as levelheaded and professional as possible during negotiations. Watch your attorney, and see how they conduct themselves while remaining composed. Do your best to mirror them.
Coming to a fair settlement agreement can seem like an ordeal, but if you play your cards right, you can walk away with a fair sum. Patience and negotiation skills are key, and that’s why working with a highly qualified attorney is so important. Your attorney needs to have the appropriate skills to deal with whatever lowball offer and justification the insurance company comes out with so you can walk away with the settlement you actually deserve.