Don’t Quickly Settle Your Auto Accident Claim
If you were injured in an auto accident, you should always contact an Atlanta auto accident lawyer before you settle your claim. At Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers, our Atlanta auto accident lawyers have successfully represented auto accident victims for decades. We’ll help you settle your claim for top value.
We encourage you to read our former clients’ reviews. We’ve got what it takes to win the best result for you.
Call us today at (404) 939-9470. Also, you may fill-out our online contact form to schedule a free case review.
Don’t Accept the Insurance Adjuster’s Initial Offer
The insurance adjuster’s initial offer is always their lowest offer. In fact, their future offers will always exceed their initial offer. If you settle your case too soon, you won’t maximize your settlement.
When the insurance adjuster receives your medical bills and records, they’ll calculate your case’s value based upon the following factors:
- Your medical bills
- Your injuries
- The typical jury verdict value of your injuries in the county where the liable driver lives.(You must sue the liable driver in the county where they live).
The insurance adjuster doesn’t want to pay you what your case is worth. In fact, they’re incentivized to pay you as little money as possible. If you settle your case too early, you’ll help the adjuster earn a bonus. But, you won’t help yourself.
Don’t settle your auto accident claim too quickly. Instead, you should hire our Atlanta auto accident lawyers to collect every insurance dollar that you deserve.
Enhance Your Claim Before You Settle Your Case
If you settle your case too quickly, you’ll also lose the opportunity to strengthen your claim. Stronger claims settle for more money than weaker claims. If you hire an auto accident lawyer, your lawyer will help you track down evidence to strengthen your claim.
For instance, most insurance adjusters try to justify an initial low-ball offer by pinning some fault on the injured victim. If you settle your case too quickly, you may not have enough evidence to persuade them that the other driver was 100% liable.
Your lawyer can help you obtain that evidence by:
- Tracking down eyewitnesses and collecting their statements
- Obtaining surveillance video of the collision
- Cross-examining the liable driver to show their excuse isn’t credible
If that evidence is favorable to your claim, the insurance adjuster will have to increase their offer. If you’d settled your case too soon, you would’ve lost that opportunity.
Treat Your Injuries Before You Settle Your Case
If you settle your case too soon, you’ll also lose the opportunity to recover additional compensation if your injuries worsen. In fact, once your case is settled, you can’t call the insurance adjuster and ask for more money if you need surgery.
Therefore, you should never settle your case until your doctor says you’ve reached “maximum medical improvement” (MMI). MMI doesn’t mean that your injuries are gone. It just means that you’ve improved as much as you’re going to improve. When you reach MMI, your doctor has typically ruled out the possibility of future medical treatment. However, if your doctor thinks you’ll need future treatment, they’ll prepare a treatment plan for you. You can use that treatment plan to help enhance your case’s value.
If you’re unsure whether you’ll need future medical treatment, you should contact our Atlanta auto accident lawyers. We’ll help you find great, affordable medical treatment.
Call us today at (404) 939-9470. Also, you may fill-out our online contact form to schedule a free case review.