How Disputing Parties Settle Their Dispute In Personal Injury Cases

Typically, the opposing sides reach a settlement by taking part in negotiations. Once side makes an offer of a certain amount of money, and the other side responds with a demand. The offer show how much money the one side is willing to pay; the demand shows how much the other side hopes to receive.

The step-by-step process

• The accident victim uses a letter to present a demand.
• The insurance adjuster points out any weaknesses in the demand.
• The victim responds to the adjuster’s comments, and introduces a new demand.
• The adjuster makes a low counteroffer.
• The victim reduces the size if his/her demand.
• The exchange of demands and counteroffers continues until both sides agree on a single figure.

What subjects might be the focus of the negotiations?

• The extent of coverage available to the claimant, according to the terms in the defendant’s insurance policy
• The identity of the person that should be held liable for the damages
• What facts indicate the full extent of the victim’s injuries?
• What was the nature and extent of the prescribed treatment for those same injuries?

How could a claimant’s approach to the negotiations help to ensure delivery of a fair compensation package?

Smart claimants are organized.

Smart claimants demonstrate a patient attitude.

A wise claimant pairs the patient attitude with persistence.

—That means refusing to go along with any adjuster’s attempt to “sit on a claim.”
—It also means asking for the date when a response to a stated question should be ready.

The claimant’s avoidance of words and actions that seem to create a fight helps to ensure achievement of a fair settlement. Adjusters become more cooperative, when claimants do not turn the negotiations into a battle.

How a claimant’s decision could help him/her during the negotiations

Each claimant should have in mind a figure that represents the value of the lowest acceptable offer. By having that figure in mind, claimants should find it easier to determine the proper response to any offer.

For instance, if an initial offer were close to the claimant’s lowest acceptable offer, then that should tell the negotiating claimant that he/she ought to increase the size of that lowest acceptable offer. In other words, the claimant should do a better job of identifying a low-ball offer.

Personal injury lawyer in Vaughan knows that the claimants refuse to accept an adjuster’s low-ball offer. Each of them waits patiently for the presentation of an acceptable bid/offer. By the same token, each of them persists, working with a personal injury lawyer, in order to come up with a strong demand.

Good negotiators force a reasonable response to a strong demand. That approach should work to provide the negotiator/victim with achievement of a settlement, and receipt of a fair compensation package.

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