Once you sign a settlement offer you absolve the insurance company from any liability going forward. Here’s what you should be aware of before accepting a settlement offer.
If you are in an auto accident in Missouri, then the at-fault driver or their insurance company is responsible for paying for any resulting damages and injuries. The problem is that although an insurance policy is meant to ensure that someone is compensated wholly, that is not the insurance company’s number one priority.
A settlement is an offer that an insurance company will make to those who are injured in an accident to stop the case from escalating to trial.
It is an amount that is meant, not to make sure that the victim is compensated to the fullest, but to limit the insurance company’s losses by offering the least amount possible.
If you are offered a lowball settlement price, and you think that taking it would be settling for less than you are entitled to, you are probably right.
Do You Know How to Calculate Non-Economic and Economic Losses?
Unless you are an expert in car accident injury law, you may not understand how to calculate both non-economic and economic injuries. Economic injuries might be easier to figure out. They are a combination of all the medical treatment and lost revenue you have due to your injuries. Non-economic damages are different. They are not concrete like economic damages.
How to Calculate Non-Economic Damages
To figure out how much your injury is worth, you have to know how to use either the multiplier method or the per diem method of calculation. If you don’t calculate your injury correctly, you will not know how much they are worth and you could end up not getting all that you deserve.
To ensure that you get all that you are entitled to for your car accident injuries, it is an excellent idea to speak with a St. Louis car accident attorney. Using your medical bills and other documents, your attorney can come to a quantitative amount of what your experience related to the accident is.
Since non-economic damages are not concrete and include pain and suffering and emotional distress, there is going to be a lot of wiggle room between what the insurance company thinks your anguish is worth and what a St. Louis car accident lawyer defending you thinks it is worth.
If an insurance company offers you a settlement, and although you don’t feel it is enough, you are tempted to take it, don’t. Having a lawyer look over your claim is the best way to ensure you are getting the full amount you deserve.
Once more, if you do sign it, then you absolve the insurance company from any liability going forward.