Should I Accept a Settlement After a Car Accident?

If you suffered injuries in a car accident resulting from another driver’s negligence, you may be able to collect compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more. Receiving full compensation for your damages requires negotiations with the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

After the insurance company investigates your accident and determines that the insured was at fault, it might approach you with an offer. Should you accept it? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer – and successful litigation often requires the assistance of a personal injury attorney.

How Much Is My Claim Worth?

Knowing whether to accept a settlement requires basic knowledge about your claim’s worth. In Texas, you can collect two main types of damages following a car accident:

• Economic damages address monetary losses for medical bills, lost wages, any loss in earning capacity, and the costs of therapy and rehabilitation.
• General damages compensate for non monetary losses including loss in life quality, pain, suffering, or loss in partnership (in the case of wrongful death).

Economic damages are easier to calculate, as you simply need to add up the total amount of your incurred medical bills, lost work hours, etc. It might be harder to determine the cost of your future medical expenses or loss in earning capacity, however. Additionally, most victims of car accidents don’t know how much their pain and suffering are worth.

Fortunately, a personal injury attorney can use a special formula to put a monetary amount on your intangible losses. He or she can also give you an idea of what your future medical expenses will entail, based on his or her own experience as well as expert testimony.

If you don’t know how much your claim is worth, you cannot confidently accept a settlement. Arranging a free initial consultation with an attorney can help you determine how much an insurer owes you for the full extent of your injuries.

The Truth About Insurance Companies

An insurer is responsible for paying your car insurance claim, but it is not committed to your best interests. Insurance companies are for-profit entities that are committed to paying as little on your claim as possible. Even the firm does determine that an insured policyholder is responsible for a car accident, it will not initially agree to pay what your claim is worth.

The initial offer of settlement from an insurance company is a lowball offer. It’s a jumping-off point for negotiations and will not accurately compensate you for the harm you suffered.

Personal injury attorneys have specific experience in negotiating with insurance companies. Not only do they know the value of your claim, they will aggressively negotiate on your behalf to obtain compensation that reflects the harm you suffered in a car accident.

The Bottom Line

Be wary of settlement offers from insurance companies. Never accept a first offer unless instructed to do so by your personal injury attorney. Let an experienced attorney negotiate on your behalf to achieve a fair settlement in your car accident case. If negotiations fall flat, you always have the option of pursuing litigation, in which a jury will rule on your case following a trial.

Never settle for less than you deserve following your car accident claim. Never sign any statements or agree to recordings from an at-fault driver’s insurance company unless you’ve consulted your attorney. A personal injury attorney will defend your right to compensation under Texas law. Even if an offer does seems to accurately reflect the degree of your monetary and non-monetary losses, an experienced attorney can point out often overlooked and highly technical areas of law. Hire a Houston personal attorney to help you obtain the best possible outcome in your case.