How Do You Negotiate a Bodily Injury Settlement?
After suffering the impact of a bodily injury, it can be hard to get the fair compensation you deserve from a settlement. Negotiating with the insurance companies can overwhelm, and then you have to deal with your injuries and emotional damage on top.
If you are wondering, “How do you negotiate a bodily injury settlement?” read on to learn more about the process. For help in the negotiation process, reach out to a Richmond personal injury lawyer.
Factors that Impact a Bodily injury Settlement
The bodily injury settlement process usually begins by sending a demand letter to the insurance company. However, there are a few factors that can impact your ability to get the settlement you expect in a bodily injury case, such as:
- The Statutory Deadline – In Virginia, the statute of limitations on personal injury claims generally expires two years from the date of your accident. Filing a claim after this deadline has passed could prevent you from collecting a bodily injury settlement at all.
- Pure Contributory Negligence – Sometimes, an accident isn’t cut-and-dry; both the plaintiff and defendant could both bear some blame for having caused it. However, in Virginia, being found even minimally responsible could prevent the plaintiff from filing their claim.
- The Insurance Company Isn’t Interested – It’s common practice for insurance companies to offer you far less than what’s rightfully yours in a settlement offer. Or, they may also just ignore your demand letter completely.
The three above factors are all things that need to be managed accordingly if you’re going to win a settlement for your bodily injury damages.
Understanding the Value of Your Claim
The reason it’s so important to understand how much your bodily injury damages are actually worth is because this lets you know how much you should negotiate for in a settlement. Some damages that can be factored into your bodily injury settlement include:
- The cost of your medical bills
- Lost income
- Total or partial disability
- Emotional trauma
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- And others
Knowing the value of these components is the best way to negotiate for a favorable bodily injury settlement.
Often, insurance companies try to downplay the value of your injuries in order to spend less of its own money to compensate you. That’s why, if you can afford to hold out, negotiating with the insurance company is often the key to a successful settlement.
Accident victims should first see a doctor, who can tell them what kind of bodily injuries they’ve suffered in their accident. From there, many elect to partner with an experienced attorney who can help them negotiate for maximum compensation.
Contact a Bodily Injury Settlement Lawyer in Richmond
When you’ve suffered serious bodily injuries in an accident, don’t let the insurance boss proceedings. A top-rated bodily injury settlement lawyer with Halperin Law Center will help you negotiate for the maximum compensation available to you for your claim in Richmond.
We offer free consultations. Call 804-527-0100 or fill out the form below to get started today.
