When Should You Accept A Settlement Offer For A Personal Injury
by Becky Freeman
Were you injured due to someone else's negligence, and are you now being offered a settlement from their insurance company? If so, you may be wondering if you should accept it or not. Here are some questions to ask that can help guide your decision.
Are All Your Medical Bills Covered?
One of the biggest parts of the settlement should be to cover your medical bills related to your injury. However, things can get complicated quickly because a settlement not only covers your previous medical bills but all your potential future medical bills as well. Once you accept a settlement, you can't go back and ask for more money because your treatment ended up costing more than you expected. That's why it's important to pad out your settlement amount for more money than you think you'll need for those future bills.
Are All Your Lost Wages Covered?
An injury is also going to cause you to take time off of work to recover. This includes time after the accident where you got immediate medical assistance, and time after the settlement to attend doctor appointments and things of that nature. One thing that people are often confused about is that you can claim lost wages, even if you did not directly lose wages.
Having to take sick days and PTO to cover your time off is time that you've earned and now lost. That time can be recovered in your personal injury settlement by simply using days that were supposed to be used for your own vacation or getting sick through other means. It's important that you consider all time off work, even for future doctor appointments, and how that relates to policies from your employer for PTO and sick days.
Are Your Miscellaneous Costs Covered?
Another type of damage you can recover is for durable medical goods. Things like bandages, crutches, a wheelchair, ice packs, and other things that help with your recovery. If you had to purchase it to help recover from your injury, you can include it as part of a settlement. You can also ask for compensation for things like parking costs, mileage on your vehicle, and medication expenses.
Is Your Pain And Suffering Covered?
One cost that is incredibly difficult to measure is pain and suffering since this depends on how you are injured and the pain you have since experienced. You'll need help working with a personal injury lawyer to determine if the amount for pain in suffering in your settlement offer is enough or if you still deserve more for your accident.
Reach out to a personal injury lawyer to learn more.
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About Me
Hello and welcome, I'm Winfred Paulo. I have a passion for civil court cases of all kinds. Some time back, I ended up in the thick of a civil case after a lengthy dispute with my neighbor. The dispute went on for years and ended badly with an incident that landed us both in court. We had to prove our side of the case in an effort to obtain a positive outcome and recoup our losses. Unfortunately, I lost the case due to a lack of evidence. Since then, I've maintain a strong interest in civil cases and their proceedings. I will share information about civil cases on this site to help others understand these proceedings better. I may talk about legal terms, and expected outcomes for each case type. I hope you visit often to learn more. Thanks for stopping by my website.