If you’ve received a settlement offer from an insurance company, it can be hard to know if it’s a good offer, especially if you’ve never been through the process before. There’s no single dollar amount that makes an offer fair, because every personal injury case is different. However, you can evaluate an offer by considering your losses, the strength of your claim, and the available insurance coverage.
When you accept a settlement offer, you agree to resolve your entire claim in exchange for that money. You cannot go back and negotiate more money if your injuries last longer than you expected. Before you sign a settlement agreement or release, make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to and whether the payment reasonably reflects your losses.
At Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, we offer free case evaluations. If you’re unsure whether an insurance company’s offer is fair, contact us, and an experienced Virginia injury attorney can review the offer and explain your options.
What Makes a Settlement Offer Fair?
There’s no standard settlement amount that’s considered “good” for every personal injury claim. Calculating a personal injury settlement involves evaluating the circumstances of the individual case and the potential value of the claim.
When evaluating an offer, consider the following:
- Your current and future losses: A settlement should account for the losses you’ve already experienced as well as reasonably anticipated expenses and other damages.
- The liable parties: Evidence showing that another person or business was responsible for your injury affects the value of your claim.
- Available insurance coverage: The amount of insurance available affects how much compensation is potentially recoverable.
- The potential recovery and risks of continuing the claim: Pursuing the claim further could yield additional compensation, but it also entails time, expense, and uncertainty.
Red Flags That the Offer May Be Too Low
If you’ve been offered money to settle your claims, your settlement offer deserves a closer look if:
- Timing: The insurance company pressures you to accept the offer quickly.
- Clarity: The settlement terms or release language are unclear.
- Future treatment: The offer doesn’t account for future medical treatment or other known losses.
- Downplays injuries: The insurer minimizes the severity of your injuries.
- Calculations: The insurance company can’t clearly explain how it arrived at the offer amount.
You don’t have to decide whether an offer is fair based solely on the number printed on the settlement letter. What the offer includes and what it leaves out matter just as much.
How Do You Know if a Settlement Covers All of Your Damages?
One way to evaluate a settlement offer is to compare it with the full value of your current and anticipated losses. Depending on your circumstances, damages in a personal injury claim can include the following:
- Medical expenses and other healthcare costs
- Lost wages or other lost income
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent impairment or disfigurement
- Costs associated with future medical treatment
- Other financial losses related to the injury
Future losses deserve particular attention. If you’re still receiving treatment or your doctors have recommended additional care, you might not yet know the full extent of your medical expenses when an insurer makes an early offer. If you settle before you have a clear picture of those losses, you could be left responsible for expenses the settlement doesn’t cover.
How Does Insurance Coverage Affect Your Settlement Offer?
Evaluating a settlement offer also requires a clear picture of the available insurance coverage. Consider the offer in relation to the applicable policy limits, the total value of your damages, and any additional coverage that could apply. Also, keep in mind that there might be more than one source of insurance coverage available in a particular case.
For example, an offer that represents a substantial portion of your documented losses deserves a different analysis from an offer that falls well below the available policy limits while you have significant documented damages.
Insurance coverage can be complicated, especially when multiple policies or parties are involved. Our attorneys can offer valuable guidance on dealing with insurance companies. We can also provide information on the claims process and other potential issues that may arise when dealing with an insurer.
Should You Accept a Settlement Offer or Continue With a Personal Injury Claim?
After receiving a settlement offer, you’ll need to decide whether to accept it, negotiate for a different amount, or continue pursuing your claim.
That decision should account for the potential recovery, the evidence supporting your claim, and the losses you’ve experienced. You’ll also want to weigh the time, expense, and uncertainty involved in continuing the case. If a case proceeds toward trial, there’s no guarantee the result will be better than the settlement offer.
An attorney can review these factors with you and explain what accepting the offer, negotiating, or continuing the claim could mean based on the facts of your case. Our attorneys can help you work through the legal issues and choices involved.
Ultimately, the decision about whether to accept a settlement belongs to you. A lawyer can provide advice and explain the potential consequences, but you’ll make the final decision about how to resolve your claim.
Should You Have a Lawyer Review Your Settlement Offer?
Having a settlement offer reviewed by an attorney can help you understand whether it fairly reflects your losses and what rights you’d give up by signing it. If you already have an attorney, a review can also help you understand how the offer compares with your damages, evidence, insurance coverage, and the risks of continuing your claim.
Before signing, make sure you understand the terms of the settlement agreement and release. A release will likely affect your ability to seek additional compensation for the same injury.
Under Virginia Code § 8.01-425.1, certain unrepresented injury claimants have a limited right to rescind a release signed within 30 days of an incident, subject to specific requirements.
Is It Too Late to Get a Lawyer After Accepting a Settlement Offer?
In most situations, accepting a settlement and signing a release makes it difficult to pursue additional compensation. There are exceptions, though, particularly when you act quickly.
Virginia law provides a narrow rescission procedure for certain releases signed shortly after a personal injury accident. Under Virginia Code § 8.01-425.1, specific requirements must be satisfied in order to rescind an offer, including that the person wasn’t represented by counsel when the release was executed.
If you recently accepted an offer and are having second thoughts, seek legal advice promptly. An attorney can review the settlement documents and the circumstances surrounding the agreement and tell you whether any options remain.
Special rules also apply to settlements involving people with disabilities. Virginia Code § 8.01-424 addresses the court’s approval of certain compromises involving people with disabilities.
Consult a Lawyer to Evaluate Your Settlement Offer for Free
You don’t have to evaluate a settlement offer on your own. Whether you handled your insurance claim yourself or already have an attorney, a case evaluation can give you a better understanding of the offer and the factors that affect your claim.
At Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, injury law is all we do. Our attorneys have extensive experience handling personal injury claims and negotiating with insurance companies on behalf of our clients. We focus on keeping our clients informed so they can make decisions about their cases with a clear understanding of their choices.
If you’ve received a settlement offer and aren’t sure whether it fairly compensates you for your losses, get your free case evaluation now or call (757) 333-3333.
