One of the most frustrating things about an auto accident is trying to wrangle the money that you are owed for the damages you sustained both to your body and property from the insurance company. Sometimes is can seem like you are trying to squeeze blood from a stone. Car accident attorneys do this for their living however. So if you want to learn how to do it yourself, or just want to see behind the curtain to see what you attorney is really doing with your money, its worth it to figure out how lawyers negotiate a car accident claim.
The first step that your attoeny takes is to tally up all your medical bills, property damage, lost wages and other expenses incurred as a result of the accident. Depending on this total and the severity of the damage and also drawing on his experience and state law, you lawyer than determines the amount that he wants to ask for in pain and suffering damages. This amount gets put in a letter along with the reasons he is asking for the amount and gets sent to the insurance adjuster that is working on your case.
Usually about thirty days later you lawyer will get a response from the insurance adjuster. Sometimes they will accept the initial offer and if this is the case, your case is closed and you just have to sign the paperwork. However, in most cases the adjuster will send your lawyer a counteroffer. If you don’t accept the counteroffer then your lawyer will draw up another letter asking for slightly less money but still more money than the adjuster offered.
This back and forth process can play itself out over a long time if the two sides are far apart. However, in most cases the settlement procedures are not unduly long. It is in both side’s interests to keep the amount of correspondence and time spent on the case to a minimum so that they incur less costs.
If you want to learn more about auto accidents and how to negotiated your settlement, visit the Auto Accident Settlement Center
