What will negotiating my personal injury case settlement be like?

The “Negotiation” Stage Of A Fort Worth, Texas Personal Injury Case

This is the next post in our series on the various stages of a Fort Worth, Texas personal injury case. Our last article discussed what victims can expect during the summary stage of a matter. It is important that you retain a firm with the resources necessary to retain any needed experts. Hiring an attorney without these resources can result in your matter possibly not being handled properly. In this article we will explain what you should expect while your lawyer is negotiating with insurance carriers. If you have been injured due to the negligence of another then it is important that you contact counsel as soon as possible.

Your attorney will begin negotiating with insurance adjusters shortly after they receive the settlement demand discussed in our previous article. In cases involving commercial defendants, such as trucking accidents, your counsel may deal with multiple insurance carriers. This is due to the fact that multiple parties may potentially be responsible for the accident. It is common for the carriers to reject any initial offer. They may do so out of an effort to deny liability or, in some cases, they may admit liability but dispute the amount of damages; disagreements over a damages total can stem from a carrier’s claim that the injuries were caused by some other incident or out of a claim that the injuries are not as severe as the Plaintiff believes.

Depending on the circumstances of your case, your counsel may go back and forth with the insurance carriers for months. While this may seem frustrating to a victim, it is important to understand that such negotiations are likely in your best interests. If your counsel filed a lawsuit immediately upon receiving the carrier’s denial of payment then the case would likely proceed to an expensive and protracted litigation stage. Such litigation would prolong the time which you would wait to receive compensation and this delay could last several years. Furthermore, the costs involved in litigating the case could potentially reduce your final compensation. While it may be frustrating to wait a few extra months, it is possibly in your interests to do so.

If you have been injured due to the negligence of another then it is important that you do not attempt to deal with the insurance carriers yourself. This can lead to the acceptance of a “low ball” settlement. By retaining experienced counsel, with the resources necessary to see your case through to completion, you help to ensure that you receive the highest possible recovery. This is true whether you were injured in Fort Worth, Dallas, or elsewhere in the state of Texas. Contact an attorney immediately.