The injuries that you’ve suffered in your car or truck accident, or your medical malpractice incident, probably have you facing significant hardships. Your physical pain and suffering may be more than you can bear, and the emotional, psychological, and financial toll taken on you can be overwhelming.
You might be thinking that a personal injury lawsuit can help you, and it certainly may be able to do so. However, as you navigate your case, you have to be careful to ensure that you’re fighting to recover the compensation that you deserve. It’s important to keep this in mind because you’re probably going to be offered a settlement in the early stages of your case. Although it might be tempting to accept one of these settlements and be done with it all, this quick resolution may not be in your best interests.
Assessing your settlement offer
Before you accept or deny a settlement offer, you should take the following into consideration:
- What your claim is worth: The only way to adequately gauge the appropriateness of a settlement offer is to understand the value of your claim. To make this calculation, you’ll have to consider your incurred medical expenses and lost wages, but you’ll also want to consider your anticipated losses, including rehabilitation costs and lost earnings capacity. You’ll also want to be able to articulate your noneconomic damages, such as how your injuries have affected your enjoyment of life and your mental wellbeing.
- The strength of your evidence: You have to know how strong your case is before you can gauge your likelihood of succeeding at trial. If your evidence is strong, you’re in a better position to negotiate a favorable resolution, and you’ll be better able to gauge when it’s time to walk away and take your case to court.
- Evidence that may jeopardize your claim: Although you need to focus on gathering and presenting evidence of liability and damages, you also need to consider the defenses that you’ll encounter if you take your case to trial. This may include arguments that you were partially responsible for the wreck, which, if found to be true, can lead to a significant decrease in the amount of damages that are ultimately awarded to you. Therefore, as you navigate your claim, you need to fully assess the evidence that is unfavorable to you so that you know how to adequately address it at the negotiation table and at trial.
- How much you’re willing to endure: We know that navigating the legal process can be enormously stressful. That’s why some people seek to settle their case as quickly as possible. So, you’ll need to weigh the possibility of recovering more compensation by going to trial with your desire to put this matter behind you as quickly as possible.
Advocating for the resolution that is best for you
There are a lot of moving parts to a personal injury case, which is why you have to be comprehensive in your analysis of the evidence at hand and your legal options. Only then can you make the fully informed decisions that are right for you.
If you think that you could benefit from assistance in building your legal strategy, you might want to consider having a legal advocate on your side as you navigate your claim. An attorney can help you analyze the facts, the law, and your options. Hopefully then you can obtain the resolution that is right for you so that you can focus on your recovery.