Recovering from an accident can be hard enough. However, the recovery processes of many people after a personal accident are often further complicated with deciding whether to sue or settle with the responsible party. Here are some tips to help you navigate this important decision.
Review your Expenses
Track all expenses related to your personal injury after the injury happens. Tracking your expenses is important for a few reasons. First, by tracking all expenses, you will have gathered all medical bills and other bills in one place for easy reference to ensure they are paid on time and more. However, more importantly, accurately tracking your injury expenses will provide the information needed to know whether you should accept an offer or sue the responsible party. For example, if you receive an offer that only covers a portion of your medical expenses and pay loss, you may decide to avoid settling and instead may sue.
Consider the Offer
Again, by accurately tracking your injury-related expenses, you’ll then have the information needed to adequately review any offer you receive. The initial offer that you receive will likely come from an insurance carrier or directly from the responsible party. It may be lower than you think is fair.
Your decision of whether or not the offer is fair will likely be based on your medical bills, lost wages, future costs due to continuing medical care and more. Considering the impact of continuing medical care is of particular importance because those future bills may be the real determiner in your actual injury expenses. If you’re asking for lost wages in the offer, be sure to track employment sheets or maintain other records that accurately portray your lost wages.
If the initial offer is lower than you’re willing to accept, you may decide to move forward with a counter offer. This counter offer would be higher than the initial offer, and it may or may not be accepted by the other party. The counter offer process could continue several times, with each party making future adjustments.
Ask a Lawyer
According to When to Sue, When to Settle: Ask an Experienced Accident Injury Lawyer, navigating this process alone can be difficult and stressful. Most times, the help of an experienced accident injury lawyer is needed. This lawyer can help you review any offers you receive, assist you in drafting counter offers and more. The lawyer will also have insight on whether a settlement isn’t going to happen and if it’s time to sue.
Look at the Pros and Cons
There are pros and cons associated with both settling and suing. A settlement can often happen faster than the completion of a legal action. However, you may never reach what you consider to be a fair offer through the settlement process. Again, an experienced lawyer can provide more insight on the pros and cons of each option.
The decision of whether to sue or settle after an accident can be based on several factors. Make a more informed decision by calculating your accident expenses, considering the offer and more. Your decision may be best made with the guidance of an experiencing accident injury lawyer.