- June 8, 2015
- Blog posts Personal Injury Uncategorized
One of the critical stages of your personal injury case is settlement negotiations, as your Tacoma personal injury lawyer can explain. These negotiations include an adversarial approach with your lawyer representing your interests and the defendant’s attorney or claims adjuster representing the insurance company’s interests. To be successful, your Tacoma personal injury lawyer must use an art of persuasion.
Procedure of Negotiation
Each lawyer has a different style when approaching negotiation. However, in most cases, the procedure is the same. Your Tacoma personal injury lawyer makes a demand. The insurance company may respond by giving your lawyer an offer. Commonly, the lawyer’s demand is substantially more than he or she really believes the case is worth. However, a higher demand figure may be used because the lawyer can reasonably anticipate that the insurance company will offer a much lower number.
Factors to Consider in Valuing a Case
There are several factors that go into determining the approximate value of a case. For example, the portion of the accident that was caused by the defendant and you is an important consideration. Additionally, the limits on the insurance policy are important considerations.
Improving Negotiations
It is important to realize that there may be ways to improve or hinder negotiations. Threatening to sue the company likely will not pay off because insurance companies are usually in a better leveraging position. For example, their medical bills are not increasing, and they are likely not threatened to go out of business over one lawsuit. Additionally, insurance companies often have their own legal team on retainer that is ready to act at a moment’s notice. However, an insurance carrier may have an advantage of settling a claim before a lawsuit at a much lower value than the plaintiff may be able to receive at trial. One strategy that often works is for the plaintiff’s lawyer to give the insurance company the necessary information to help resolve the case with less time, energy, and hassle.
Legal Assistance from a Tacoma Personal Injury Lawyer
If you would like more information on settlement negotiations, contact a Tacoma personal injury lawyer from Greene & Lloyd, PLLC at (253) 770-0808.