Definition of a “Good” Offer
A good settlement offer works in your favor and puts you back in a position of favor after the settlement is made final. Settlement offers need to consider all of the factors that have touched you in relation to your losses, damages, and personal injuries. For example, insurance companies use tables, charts, and calculations to determine the best offer for a claim. They are generally fair in their determinations but make no mistake that the insurance company wants to shave some off of the settlement if they can get away with it.
Settlement Packages Use Math Calculations to Determine Final Packages
The idea of calculating a personal injury is not exact and can be managed in many different ways. There is no one way to do it, and any way is “correct,” according to the protocols of the insurance company making the payment for the claim. The severity of the injuries and the emotional distress need to be considered. If the individual’s life is disrupted to the place of not being “normal” again, this is the main consideration to reimbursement costs as well.
Insurance companies are good at using tables, data, information, rates, and charts to determine the overall worth of a claim or loss. This is not an impersonal method of calculating losses; it is just business. It gives the insurance company a jumping-off point to start the negotiations. The cases for settlement of a claim are all unique and different. The calculations start the process and open the discussion for settling the case. The settlement package can always be negotiated. However, most people are not skilled at negotiating. That is why it is imperative to have an attorney on your side to negotiate the best settlement package for you in the short term and the long run.
Good Settlement Offer Examples
An example of a good settlement offer is not hard to find. If liability is established and the insurance company has finished its investigation of the accident, they will be ready to settle the claim with you. When you can prove your injuries, medical expenses, ancillary expenses, lost wages, future medical expenses, restricted mobility, subsequent and future injuries, you will be in the position to recover compensation to “pay you back” for these losses. The pain and suffering will also be considered, which is how you have to deal with the reality of experiencing this trauma from the accident – for the rest of your life. If you have a loss of feeling of life, loss of consortium, loss of the joy of life as a result of the loss or accident, then this needs to be part of the settlement package as well. If all of this is considered, reimbursed, and given back to you in a hefty settlement package – that is the definition of a good settlement.
Bad Settlement Offer Examples
You would like to think that any offer is a “good” offer, but that is not the case. Offers for settlement that lowball the settlement package totals are “bad” offers. A bad offer can start off being a decent offer and then go south.
For example, if there is a personal injury and an injury of a vehicle, the vehicle would be part of the settlement package to replace it. If the vehicle is a special vehicle, such as a handicap accessible van that was kitted out to include several custom apparatuses, then the new vehicle has to have at least those same criteria included. If a person does not get put back to at least the same position as before the accident, there is a disparity.
The Best Settlement Offers!
Now that you know the components of a bad offer, what makes the best settlement offers? When all of the factors are included in the settlement offer that will make you whole again after a loss, that is considered a best-case scenario for a good offer. If the offer you are given includes the following, it is considered an excellent offer:
- Past medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Past and future pain and suffering
- Reimbursement for losses and damages
- Medical expenses paid off
- Future physical therapies paid off
- Future surgical care considered and included
- Future life changes considered and included
- Emotional distress considered
- Permanent and temporary injuries considered
- Different settlement amounts for different injuries to make a total package
Negotiations Will Open to Settle Out the Claim
Your settlement will start with a negotiation. You will enter into negotiations after all of the investigations for your claim have been completed. The insurance company will start to settle the claim for you, but if an attorney does not represent you, they will rush this process to get it done. If you have an attorney, you are in a better position to slow down the process in order for it to work in your favor.
Identifying All Factors to Resolving the Settlement
The factors that apply in resolving a settlement are whatever it will take to get the money you deserve to come to you, in full restitution for your losses. If you have a permanent injury that leads to a permanent disability, then you will be taking into consideration that this injury will follow you for the rest of your life. Therefore, any settlement that you receive needs to add money for recovery compensation that will pay you for managing this injury for all of the years that you are on the earth.
For example, if you have an eye injury and are blind in one eye, you need to consider all of the daily life adjustments that you will need to make going forward in your life. Your life with a permanent disability will never be the same. You may also have ancillary injuries as doctors help you with surgical procedures during your healing process.
One Injury May Lead to Subsequent Medical Injuries or Medical Mistakes
Any time you are open to many different surgeries to fix an injury, you might find that you are susceptible to being injured by the clinical team meant to resolve your problem. You could have surgery to ameliorate an injury and come out of it with a medical error. That medical error may cause many other issues for your life and recovery. You could be worse off than ever before and need to be reimbursed for this pain that you are experiencing. This is nothing to say of the added burden of the pain and suffering you are going through during this time after the accident.
Call the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm
If you are wondering what a good settlement offer will be when it is time to settle a personal injury claim, call the injury and accident attorneys at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for the best answer. If you have been the victim of a personal injury in any circumstance, give us a call. We will work hard to get you the compensation that you deserve in every case. If you have been in an accident and claim personal injuries, you need to give us a call. Just call us at (470) 323-8779. We look forward to hearing from you today.
