After an accident, receiving a settlement offer from an insurance company might feel like a relief. This is particularly true if your medical bills are piling up and you can’t work. But even if the settlement offer seems generous, accepting it too early can be a costly mistake.
Insurance companies often present settlement offers as fair, final, and time-sensitive (i.e., you have to accept now!). In reality, these offers are rarely fair to the accident victim. A Vero Beach personal injury lawyer can help you understand when to accept and reject a settlement offer based on their experience handling similar cases and knowledge of Florida law.
At Gould Cooksey Fennell, our law firm fights to get top dollar for our clients. We are fierce advocates, working hard to get our clients maximum compensation for their property damage, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Contact our law offices today to schedule a free consultation with a Vero Beach personal injury attorney.
Understanding Insurance Settlement Offers
A settlement is a legally binding agreement. When you accept an insurance company’s settlement offer, you will receive money in exchange for giving up the right to sue the at-fault party and the insurance company. In other words, you must waive your right to file a lawsuit in exchange for an insurance company check.
Once you accept a settlement offer, you typically cannot seek additional compensation. You will also give up the right to file a lawsuit. This means that even if your condition worsens, you cannot go after the insurance company for your future medical costs. Instead, you will be on the hook for these expenses.
It is because of these realities that you should always carefully review a settlement offer before making a decision about whether to accept or reject it. Ideally, you should consult with a lawyer before you agree to anything. This way, you can ensure that you aren’t giving up important rights or agreeing to less than you are entitled to under Florida law.
Every settlement offer should also be examined with an understanding of the insurance company’s motivations. Insurers are in business to make money…and they do make record profits, year after year. Part of how they make so much money is by resolving claims for as little money as possible.
One tactic that insurance companies often use is making settlement offers early in the process. For example, you might be hurt in a car accident in Vero Beach on a Monday, and an insurance adjuster is offering you a settlement on Friday. You’d probably be tempted to take the offer, but before doing so, you should think carefully about why the insurance company is making an offer so quickly.
Insurers make early settlement offers to try to get you to sign away your rights early, allowing them to close your claim quickly and cheaply. So soon after an accident, your injuries might not be fully known. Your long-term medical needs will almost certainly not be known. At this stage, there is also less risk of litigation, and you might be worried about how you will pay your bills.
You should always be suspicious of an early settlement offer, particularly if the insurance adjuster is pressuring you to accept it. Always remember that the insurance company’s goals are in direct opposition to yours: they want to resolve the case for as little money as possible, while you want to get maximum compensation. Before you make any decisions or sign anything, give our law offices a call to talk to a Vero Beach personal injury attorney.
Factors to Consider Before Accepting an Insurance Settlement Offer
There are some things that you should consider before accepting a settlement offer. Even if you don’t end up hiring a lawyer, thinking through these things can help you make a more informed decision.
First, consider whether you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). In other words, are you at a place where your condition won’t improve any further? MMI is the point at which doctors can reasonably predict future care needs. If you aren’t at MMI, then you should not accept a settlement offer.
Consider a situation where you suffer a spinal cord injury in a truck accident. After surgery and several months of physical therapy, you are showing some improvement. However, your doctors have told you that they won’t know exactly what your future holds, medically speaking, until the swelling goes down and your body has a chance to heal.
If an insurance adjuster offers you a settlement at this point, you have no way of determining if it’s a good offer. You don’t know if you’ll need another surgery or whether you will be able to return to your same work in a few months. The settlement offer might seem like a lot of money, but anyone who has ever gotten a medical bill in the mail knows that medical treatment is incredibly expensive.
In this situation, because you have not reached maximum medical improvement, you should not accept a settlement offer. If you accept the offer, then any future medical treatment and other expenses would not be covered. If you are still actively in treatment or don’t know what treatment you’ll need for your injuries in the future, you should not accept a settlement offer.
Second, you should consider what your current and future medical expenses will be. Even if you have reached MMI, you can’t know if a settlement offer is a good idea unless you know what your past medical bills are and what your future care costs will be.
A fair settlement should include money for emergency care, hospitalizations, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, follow-up appointments, future medical care, and any other expenses. The average person doesn’t necessarily have a good way of estimating these costs, especially when it comes to future medical treatment. If you don’t know how much it will cost to go to physical therapy three times a week for the next year, for example, then it will be very difficult to figure out if a settlement offer is any good.
Insurance companies often undervalue medical expenses, especially when it comes to more speculative future medical treatment. They also don’t take things like inflation into account. If you aren’t sure if a settlement offer is enough to cover your medical costs, it is probably a good idea to reject it.
Third, think about whether a settlement offer adequately addresses both lost wages and reduced earning capacity. Many injuries cause a victim to take time off work, whether that is for a few days, a few weeks, or even longer. More serious or catastrophic injuries may also impact a person’s ability to work in the future.
For example, you might not ever be able to work in the same position without restrictions after an accident. You might have to take time off regularly for therapy or doctor’s appointments. You might lose overtime pay or bonuses simply because you cannot work as hard or for as many hours because of your injuries.
For most people, it is difficult or impossible to estimate future income loss without the help of a vocational expert. Unless you are certain that your accident injuries won’t affect your ability to work in the future, you should probably not accept a settlement offer. You should also closely examine any offer to see if it properly accounts for your lost wages to date.
Fourth, you should review a settlement offer to make sure that it compensates you for non-economic damages, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
- Emotional distress
Insurance companies often undervalue these types of losses because they are subjective and hard to determine. Most initial settlement offers do not properly account for “pain and suffering” damages, if they include any money for these losses at all. If a settlement offer does not reasonably reflect how an accident has affected your life, then you should not accept it.
Of course, there are many other factors that go into the fairness of a settlement offer. Some of these are things that you probably can’t evaluate on your own, such as the strength of your case. If liability is disputed, then even a lower settlement offer might be fair. If you have strong evidence to prove liability, then you might have leverage to negotiate a settlement.
Ultimately, it can be hard to know if a settlement offer is fair in any given case unless you have expertise in the area. Our Vero Beach personal injury lawyers will listen to your story during a free initial consultation and give you a ballpark estimate of the value of your case. This number may increase or decrease as the case proceeds.
When You Should Accept or Reject an Insurance Settlement
Hiring a lawyer is the best way to protect your rights in a personal injury claim. Insurance companies are not interested in getting you the most possible money for your claim. You must also remember this when you are dealing with insurance adjusters, even if they seem nice and helpful.
You might want to consider rejecting a settlement offer in the following situations:
- You are still undergoing medical treatment.
- The offer does not include money for future medical care.
- The settlement offer doesn’t have money for lost wages and/or reduced earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering damages are not included in the offer.
- Liability is both strong and well-documented.
- The insurance adjuster is pressuring you to settle quickly.
Importantly, you can reject a settlement offer and still ultimately end up settling your case. It is often the first step in the negotiation process.
It may make sense to accept a settlement offer if:
- Your injuries are minor, and you are fully healed.
- The offer includes money for all of your medical expenses.
- You won’t need future medical care.
- There is some dispute about liability.
- The offer reflects the true value of your claim.
Accepting a settlement offer means that you cannot pursue a claim in the future, so the best course of action is to always talk to a lawyer before giving a statement or signing any documents (including a settlement offer). An attorney can evaluate the true value of your claim and advocate for your best interests.
Hurt in an Accident? We Can Help.
It can be hard to know exactly what to do after you have been hurt in an accident. This is particularly true when the only person you are hearing from is the insurance adjuster, who is trying to convince you to settle the case. While taking an offer can be tempting, you shouldn’t do so until you have had a chance to talk to a personal injury lawyer.
At Gould Cooksey Fennell, we understand the pressures that our clients are under after an accident, including significant financial strain. We represent all personal injury clients on a contingency fee basis, which means that you won’t pay a fee unless we recover money for you. We will work hard to get you fair compensation while you focus on your health and well-being. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Vero Beach personal injury attorney, give us a call at 772-758-8756 or fill out our online contact form.
