How Do Amarillo Personal Injury Lawyers Negotiate Settlements?
When someone’s hurt in an accident and seeks compensation for the damages they’ve suffered, it would be ideal if the responsible party and their insurer simply owned up and paid out. Unfortunately, it’s rarely that easy all-too-often filing an injury case is required.
On the up side, most of these cases don’t end up in court, and are instead handled through a process of back-and-forth negotiation, at the end of which a settlement is reached. Explore the process of negotiation in a legal settlement, how personal injury attorneys handle these cases, and how you can get the maximum damages.
Negotiating an Injury Case
While many people wonder how negotiating a legal case goes, there’s really nothing mysterious about it. It’s a lot like negotiating for the price of a car or buying a house, in the end. It starts when the plaintiff files their case. They ask for an ideal amount of money, usually a very high figure, in their initial filing and demand letter.
The defendant then comes back with a lowball offer which is far below what the plaintiff is willing to accept. In their offer, they challenge everything they can about the initial claim.
From here begins a back-and-forth dance with each party illustrating its case and reasons why they’re asking for or offering the amounts they are. Ideally, the two sides eventually come to a solid middle ground settlement which is acceptable to everyone involved.
Insurance Company Negotiation Tactics
It’s important to understand the tactics insurance companies will use to challenge your case and try to avoid paying out as much as possible. These include shifting the blame for the accident off of their client, and sometimes on you.
They could, for example, claim that you were behaving irresponsibly so their client isn’t at fault. They could try to find evidence that you had a pre-existing injury which you can’t sue for. They might point out that there were other circumstances that caused your injury and their client was completely innocent as a result. They might even make the accusation that you’re not hurt as badly as you claim to be.
In the end, your goal is to get as high a settlement as possible, and their goal is to avoid paying out altogether.
Personal Injury Attorneys and Negotiations
When you’re dealing with insurance companies, you’re facing experts in non-payment and negotiation tactics. It’s vitally important to have someone in your corner that knows how to challenge them and get you the maximum possible settlement from your case.
Whether they’re raising non-salient points or trying to strong-arm you into signing off on a lowball offer, solid representation from Amarillo area personal injury attorneys can help you to fight back, protect your rights, and get the full settlement you deserve.
If you’ve been hurt and are seeking settlement, the attorneys at Tormey & McConnell Law have the knowledge and experience to stand up for you and get justice for what’s happened to you. Give us a call today and we’ll sit down and discuss your case for free, with no obligation. You’re not alone — we’re here to help.