If you are dealing with an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit, a personal injury lawyer can be of immense help in settlement negotiations. An attorney in Salt Lake City, UT explains.
How Does a Lawyer Handle Settlement Negotiations in Salt Lake City, UT?
Your lawyer will start by submitting a written letter with a demand for compensation. The letter will give the facts of the case in detail, describe the injuries or losses, and give a high number for what is expected in compensation for your damages. Medical records and evidence will often be included along with the letter.
Insurance Adjuster Responds with Claim Issues
The adjuster will send a response highlighting any issues they have with the claim. They may bring up questions of fault or challenge the amount of medical or other expenses. Their purpose is to lower the amount that the insurance company will have to pay out in compensation.
Your Lawyer Responds to the Issues
In the response, your lawyer will address the issues raised by the insurance company. They will provide additional evidence, if there is any, to counter the arguments against your claim.
Adjuster Makes a Counteroffer
The response will then generally be a low settlement offer from the insurance company. The offer may also be accompanied by further statements questioning the value of your claim.
Your Lawyer Counteroffers
A good lawyer will respond with a slight concession, countering the counteroffer with a slightly lower demand than was stated in the original demand letter. The goal is to keep negotiations moving, and the initial number is often deliberately placed high to allow room for movement down at this point.
Adjuster Increases Offer
The insurance adjuster will generally raise the offer made by the insurance company. This may follow a review of new evidence, if your lawyer has presented any.
Your Lawyer Accepts or Counters Again
The new offer from the insurance company will be considered by your lawyer and then either accepted or countered. If your lawyer decides to make another counter demand, the back-and-forth negotiation process will continue.
Strategies That Lawyers Use
Presenting Clear Evidence
Your lawyer will submit any official documentation that will help to establish liability and extent of damages, such as police reports or medical records. They may also use expert testimony to substantiate your claim.
Medical professionals, for example, may be called on to give testimony as to your injuries or your pain and suffering. Economists may be asked to testify as to the financial loss you have incurred from the injury. Expert testimony can be submitted as evidence in support of your claim.
Accurately Assessing Damages
This means not only figuring your present financial expenses or losses, such as medical bills and lost wages. It also would include calculating future expenses, for example for in-home aid, physical therapy, or home modifications.
A lawyer may also call on an economist for help with determining your reduced earning capacity. This may be done by looking at your past wage statements to figure the amount of income that has been lost as well as looking at lost bonuses, benefits, or paid time off and vacation days.
Proving Liability
An insurance adjuster will carry out an investigation to determine who is at fault for the injury. However, a good lawyer will conduct their own independent investigations to counter the findings of the insurance adjuster, since Utah follows a modified comparative negligence system.
If you are determined to be somewhat at fault for the accident that caused the injury, you can still seek compensation as long as you were not more than 50% at fault (in which case, you would receive nothing). If a certain percentage of the blame is attributed to you, then your compensation will be reduced by that same percentage.
Reviewing Insurance Policy
Another strategy that a good lawyer will use is checking your policy and negotiating until compensation is offered up to the full policy limits. The goal is to make sure that you receive the maximum amount possible.
Threatening Legal Action
If negotiations are taking a long time or have stalled, your lawyer may file a lawsuit or may threaten to file. This introduces the potential for court expenses and uncertainties, and insurance companies usually prefer to avoid the cost of legal action, if possible, and also prefer to deal in certainties, so this can be a particularly effective strategy.
Key Elements of Negotiations
Timing and patience are very important in settlement negotiations. Settling too early often means lower compensation. If you settle before you complete medical treatment, you will not yet know the extent of your medical expenses. It is generally advisable to wait until you have finished treatment so you have a full assessment of your expenses. Patience is key: negotiations can take a long time, and whoever deals with the insurance adjuster needs to stay calm and well-organized.
Factors at Play in the Outcome
Severity of the Injury
The extent of your injuries, both the long-term effects and the prognosis, will have a significant impact on the amount of your settlement. Your lawyer may work with medical professionals to help them assess your injuries accurately as well as estimate the future expenses for your medical care.
Determination of Liability
Since questions of fault can reduce the value of your claim, lawyers on both sides will work to prove the liability of the other party. Evidence such as traffic law violations or a history of moving violations may come into play to show a pattern of behavior supporting one or the other side.
Statute of Limitations
Time limitations may also affect the willingness of the insurance company to settle. In Utah, the statute of limitations for lawsuits in personal injury cases is generally four years. Since all claims must be filed before that time is up, an impending deadline may help push an insurance company that’s dragging its feet to hurry up negotiations so you won’t be pushed to a lawsuit.
After Reaching a Settlement
When a settlement is reached, the insurance company places the funds in the client’s trust account until the funds are distributed. The distribution process involves paying legal fees, settling outstanding medical bills and subrogation claims (when an insurer seeks reimbursement from another party after paying out a claim), and managing the disbursement (paying out the funds to the client).
Before disbursement, the client will receive a full accounting of how the funds will be distributed. They must sign this statement to verify that they have received it. The intent is to make sure the process and accounting is as transparent and clear as possible.
If a Settlement Is Not Reached
If the negotiations fail, your lawyer will most likely recommend that you proceed to a lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit may result in a trial, with both parties giving evidence and a judge or jury deciding the outcome, although many lawsuits are settled before a trial ever commences. If your lawsuit does proceed to trial, however, it can sometimes mean higher compensation then through an insurance claim settlement.
Contact Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Whatever your situation, reach out to the experienced attorneys at RamRock Injury Law today for a free case evaluation. We proudly serve clients across Utah. Visit us at our Salt Lake City office:
RamRock Injury Law – Salt Lake City Office
5353 South 960 East Suite 200
Salt Lake City, Utah 84117
Phone: (866) 427-5167
