What Is a Good Settlement Offer in a Personal Injury Case?
November 24, 2024
When you are injured due to the actions of another party, the law allows you to file a personal injury lawsuit against that party to get compensation for any expenses or losses resulting from the injury. Although you have the right to file a lawsuit, most personal injury cases are resolved without ever setting foot in a courtroom. Typically, personal injury lawyers can negotiate a fair settlement offer from the insurance company. But what is a good settlement offer in a personal injury case? The answer to that question depends on several factors.
The attorneys at Wapner Newman can answer that question concerning your case during your free consultation. However, before we get a chance to analyze your case and determine a fair settlement offer, the following information will help you understand what factors may influence that.
Pennsylvania Rules That Affect a Good Settlement Offer in Personal Injury Cases
Several state laws can affect whether a settlement offer is fair or not. Not all of these apply to all types of personal injury claims, though. What is a fair offer in a car accident case might be unfair in a medical malpractice case that involves similar injuries.
Comparative Negligence
The law that affects nearly all types of personal injury claims is the comparative negligence standard. According to this standard, a litigant has the right to get compensation from a personal injury lawsuit, even if they are partially responsible for their injuries. However, there are limits to that recovery. The first limit is that the litigant must be less than 51% responsible for their injury. If they are 51% or more responsible, Pennsylvania state law doesn’t allow them to get any compensation from a lawsuit. The second limit is that any recovery will be reduced by the litigant’s percentage of fault.
This rule exclusively applies to jury awards at the end of a trial. However, insurance companies understand that this rule would apply if the case went to court and thus apply it to settlement offers. If you are 51% or more responsible for your injury, typically, you won’t receive a settlement offer. If you are 50% or less responsible, your offer will usually be prorated based on your responsibility. A reduced offer based on your level of responsibility may be a good settlement offer in a personal injury case if the insurance company properly estimated your level of fault. The experienced attorneys at Wapner Newman will examine the evidence to determine whether your level of responsibility has been fairly calculated.
Insurance companies will modify your settlement offer based on how responsible you are for your injuries.
Tort Coverage of Car Insurance Policies
This law applies only to car accident injuries. When Pennsylvania drivers purchase car insurance, they are required to purchase either a limited tort policy or a full tort policy. The latter is more expensive but always allows the driver to file a personal injury lawsuit against the responsible driver in a car accident. With a limited tort policy, the driver can file a lawsuit only if the driver suffered a “serious injury.” This means that an insurance settlement offer won’t include compensation for pain and suffering unless you have a full tort policy or a qualifying serious injury.
Were you seriously injured due to the negligent actions of another party? Not sure whether the insurance company is making you a fair offer for the harm you suffered? Contact Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to discuss your case with experienced personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia.
Certificate of Merit Requirement
Any settlement offer in a medical malpractice case will usually be based on whether you have managed to get a certificate of merit. In medical malpractice cases, you need another physician to sign a certificate of merit that asserts that they have evaluated your injuries and the treatment provided by the defendant and believe that it was outside the acceptable professional standards of conduct for physicians.
While an insurance company might make a settlement offer before you have obtained a certificate of merit, it will typically be quite small. It may not even cover all of your medical bills. However, once you have obtained the certificate of merit, the insurance company is likely to offer a much higher settlement. To get a good settlement offer in a personal injury claim involving medical malpractice, your lawyer will typically delay negotiating with the insurance company until after another doctor has signed off on the case.
Signs That You Have Not Received a Good Settlement Offer in a Personal Injury Case
There are several warning signs that the offer you have received in a personal injury case is not worth entertaining.
You Received the Offer Quickly
Many insurance companies will make an offer quickly. If you accept the offer, this means you can never get additional money from the insurance company. Any quick offer is almost certainly undervaluing your case. It is very unlikely that the insurance company has enough information to know the true value of your claim. It is just trying to offer you a number that looks good enough that you will take it. Typically, though, once you add up all the costs after you have fully recovered, you will likely discover that the money you received from the insurance company covers only a fraction of your expenses and losses.
The Offer Was Contingent on Your Signing Away Your Rights
This most often happens when the responsible party is a business of some sort. Often, a representative of the business will try to get you to sign something that absolves the business of liability. They may even tell you that this is the only way that you can get money. This isn’t true, but if you sign the paperwork, you give up your chance to get more money. If anyone tries to get you to sign away your rights, assume it is not a good settlement offer for your personal injury case and consult with our law firm right away.
The Offer Did Not Go Through Your Lawyer
If you receive any offer that a lawyer has not looked at, you should assume it is probably a bad offer. When you are represented by experienced lawyers, insurance companies know they can’t get away with making a bad offer. The lawyers at Wapner Newman have decades of experience identifying how much money injuries are worth and whether settlement offers in personal injury cases are good.
You should contact us before filing a claim with the insurance company. If the insurance company knows that you are represented by an experienced Philadelphia law firm from the start, it knows that you are willing to file a lawsuit. This encourages the insurance company to negotiate fairly with your lawyer.
Contact Wapner Newman Personal Injury Lawyers in Philadelphia Today
Looking to get a good settlement offer in a personal injury case? Our law firm has decades of experience helping people like you get fair compensation.
Act quickly after suffering a serious injury. Contact our law firm as soon as possible at (215) 569-0900 to schedule a free consultation with personal injury lawyers who care.