Insurance adjusters know that claimants are eager to receive a monetary reimbursement for their losses. Consequently, many adjusters present a low-ball offer, when making an initial bid.
How to respond to such a low bid?
Always talk with a Personal Injury Lawyer in Fort Erie, before accepting such a low offer. Lawyers understand the value in considering the long-term needs of an accident victim.
Actions taken by a lawyer that has been hired by an accident victim:
Consults with witnesses
Talks with experts
Seeks facts revealed by surveillance data
Answers sought by an attorney that has been hired by an accident victim:
Over a lifetime, what are the needs of someone that has sustained an injury similar to that of the attorney’s client?
What could be the future medical expenses of that same individual?
What issues should the lawyer for an accident victim stand ready to address?
Issues related to the client’s medical history, if he or she has relied on a method for treating a chronic condition.
Issues related to the client’s medical history, if he or she has suffered an injury in the past.
Issues regarding the amount of pain experienced by the injured victim: Many lawyers ask their clients to keep a diary of journal, and to record the emergence of any painful sensation, along with its length and intensity.
Steps To Be Taken By A Claimant That Has Received A Low-Ball Offer:
Analyze the offer: does it account for all of the claimant’s losses?
Save all of the paperwork, the documents that show the size of the claimant’s medical expenses. Do not forget to show the cost for parking in a lot that is adjacent to or under a medical facility.
Pose questions about the reason for the exceedingly low offer. Claimants that have hired a lawyer have access to someone that could help with composition of a series of written questions.
Still, do not expect a letter from the adjuster, one that contains all the answers. Instead, repeat the questions, during the next phone call with those in the adjuster’s office.
If no answer has been provided, ask for the time when you could expect an answer. Adjusters should be held to their promises. In other words, the letter-writer/claimant has a right to contact the adjuster’s office on the date that was shared in response to the earlier phone call.
Risks Linked to Accepting A Low Initial Bid
It is possible that not every victim has reached the point of maximum medical improvement. Hence, there is a chance that some future complication might not be covered by the insurer that has pushed for acceptance of the low-ball offer. Indeed, that was the reason for presentation of such a low figure.