Car accident lawyer baltimore rafaellaw.com: If you’ve been in a car accident and the other driver’s insurance company wants to settle with you, it may seem as though they are being kind and cooperative. You may wish to accept the settlement to relieve some of the mental, emotional, and financial stress caused by the accident. However, taking the settlement may be the worst decision you can make. Discover why you should never accept settlement offers without contacting a car accident lawyer in San Antonio
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Common Reasons Not to Settle Before Contacting a Car Accident Lawyer in San Antonio
Post-accident proceedings can be stressful and complex. Car accident victims are often far too preoccupied with expenses and recovery to make effective decisions about how to approach a settlement with the at-fault party, leaving them vulnerable to various pitfalls. Here are several pitfalls and common reasons for accident victims to avoid settling without the help of a licensed attorney.
Insurance Companies Will Try to Underpay
Major insurance companies are large for-profit organizations, with yearly revenue numbers often totaling in the tens of billions of dollars. One way they secure that revenue is by bringing in more money in premiums than they pay for insurance claims. In other words, regardless of how cooperative and friendly the opposing party’s insurance provider may seem to be, it is not in their best interest to provide the accident victim with a fair payout that is appropriate for your injuries.
Instead, the other driver’s insurance provider will attempt to glean information from the car accident and trick them into providing statements that they can use to justify lowering the amount of compensation that the accident victim receives, enabling the insurance provider to keep their claims-related expenses low and maximize their profits.
Rushed Claims Neglect Future Expenses
It takes time for all of the details and expenses associated with an accident to fully manifest. Accident victims can file insurance claims for current and future medical expenses, repair bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and more. Unfortunately, many accident victims make the mistake of accepting the first settlement offer given by the other party’s insurance provider because it appears to be a lot of money that can help them with their existing expenses.
However, in doing so, accident victims neglect the possibility of recurring medical bills due to permanent disability and disfigurement, as well as other ways that the accident may impact their future. Insurance providers are aware of this tendency and will often rush over a deceptively low settlement immediately following an accident while pretending to be friendly to the accident victim in the hopes that they’ll accept to avoid having to pay a large settlement.
Loss of the Ability to Sue
One of the major reasons that insurance providers attempt to get accident victims to accept an early settlement is to avoid the possibility of being taken to court. Insurers may attempt to force the settlement using all manner of tricks such as claiming that it is their final offer. Once an accident victim signs a settlement agreement, they forego their right to sue for any additional damages and must forever accept only the amount that was granted in the settlement.
How Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help Accident Victims
Hiring a car accident lawyer in San Antonio can help car accident victims avoid all of the above pitfalls to maximize the amount of money that they receive on their insurance claims and make their post-accident lives much easier. In addition, hiring these professionals makes post-accident proceedings more manageable for car accident victims in several ways.
Establishing an Accurate Claim Estimate
Car accident lawyers are familiar with all of the things that car accident victims can file for, such as pain and suffering and lost wages, as well as all of the language that is used in claim filing documentation. Using this knowledge and experience, they can discuss the details of the accident with their clients and produce accurate estimates of the amount of compensation that they should reasonably be able to receive in damages.
This accurate estimate helps car accident victims move forward with a clear plan, making the filing process a much easier, pleasant, and approachable experience for the accident victim.
Negotiation Assistance
For car accident victims, there are few things more annoying than dealing with repetitive and unpleasant calls with the other party’s insurance provider, especially when they know that all that the insurance provider wants to do is find a way to take advantage of them and cheat them out of their rightful compensation.
Car accident lawyers can handle all communications with the other party, avoiding each trick that the opposing party attempts, and negotiating on behalf of the car accident victim to ensure a more positive post-accident experience.
As you can see, there are numerous pitfalls that car accident victims must navigate during the post-accident process, but hiring the right lawyer can help. Fortunately, it’s quite simple for accident victims to arrange a consultation with a reputable car accident lawyer to get the settlement that they deserve!