Responding to a Lowball Auto Insurance Settlement Offer
When you respond to a lowball auto insurance settlement offer, you have to take action to get the car accident settlement you need. After an accident, it’s not easy to know whether the insurance company is offering you a fair settlement.
Our Lafayette car accident lawyer at Laborde Earles can help you understand whether you’re getting a good offer or not. Our law firm has over 250 years of combined personal injury experience. Read on to learn more about how to respond to a lowball car accident settlement offer.
What is Considered a “Lowball” Offer?
To know how to respond to a lowball offer, you first need to understand what a lowball offer is. When the insurance company makes its initial offer to settle your auto accident claim, it is often considered a “lowball” offer if it does not adequately compensate you for all damages. There are a few signs that can indicate an offer is too low:
- The offer does not fully cover all medical bills and treatment expenses that you have submitted. It should account for both your past and future expected costs.
- Your pain and suffering are minimized or not included. This can include factors like physical therapy you have undertaken, missed work, and long-term effects on your quality of life.
- Lost wages are undervalued and do not appropriately factor in the time you missed from work for treatment and recovery.
- Liability assessments appear questionable by not properly assigning fault to the at-fault driver, even if liability is clear.
- Demands for documentation are excessive in an attempt to delay or overwhelm you.
Hire a Lafayette Car Accident Lawyer to Accompany You
When responding to a lowball auto insurance settlement offer, you should always have a lawyer. A lawyer from our firm understands Louisiana law and knows how to advocate for you when dealing with insurers.
When you go it alone, you’re at a disadvantage. Insurance adjusters are trained to settle for the minimum amount required. They may take advantage of gaps in your knowledge. An attorney from Laborde Earles can ensure you:
- Receive a fair evaluation of your claim that accounts for all losses.
- Avoid signing anything that waives your right to seek full compensation.
- Better leverage to get the insurer to increase their offer to reflect the actual damages.
We’ve represented many clients in Lafayette and settled numerous car accident cases over the years. We’re ready to take on your case and help you recover compensation for your losses.
Factors a Car Accident Lawyer Will Use to Get You a Fair Settlement
When an insurance company offers a settlement, an experienced car accident attorney will analyze several important factors to determine if it adequately covers your damages and will use these factors to negotiate a higher amount if needed:
- Type and severity of injuries supported by medical documentation and prognosis for recovery.
- All medical expenses incurred, both current and projected future costs.
- Lost wages or income if you missed work. Economic reports show impact.
- Tangible costs like vehicle repairs or replacement if deemed a total loss.
- Impact on your daily life and activities you can no longer enjoy.
- Evidence establishing the percentage of fault the at-fault party has.
- Jury awards in comparable past injury cases to understand market values.
- How delays in treatment or recovery could increase your car accident settlement.
- Potential claims you are legally entitled to, like loss of consortium or consortium.
- How demographics like age, income, and living arrangements are affected.
Armed with a thorough grasp of these factors and how they apply to your unique situation, our Lafayette car accident attorney can use them to leverage a significantly improved settlement offer on your behalf from the negligent party’s insurer.
What Happens if the Insurance Company Refuses to Give You a Fair Settlement?
If the insurance company unjustly denies your claim or offers an unreasonably low settlement, a Lafayette car accident attorney can help file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
Our lawyers have extensive experience handling car accident injury cases in the court system. Even when negotiations break down, we are prepared to build a compelling case on your behalf.
Establishing Fault and Liability
Our car accident attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation of the accident through various means. This includes obtaining and examining the official police report, crash scene photos, and statements from any eyewitnesses. We may also hire accident reconstruction experts to analyze factors like speed, road conditions, vehicle damage, and driver actions based on evidence.
All of this is compiled into a detailed liability assessment proving the other party was negligent and the sole cause of the incident. With a conclusive argument establishing fault, we have a strong foundation for demonstrating you deserve financial compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company for injuries.
Documenting the Full Extent of Injuries and Damages
Compensation in car accident cases should cover all relevant damages. Our team requests your full medical records, bills for treatment costs, wage stubs, tax returns, and any other documentation relevant to the losses claimed. We have medical professionals closely examine records for completeness.
Timelines show the progression and longevity of any issues. This comprehensive set of records enables a precise calculation of economic damages like income loss, costs of ongoing care, and household expenses.
We also build the argument for determining the fair value of noneconomic damages like pain, suffering, and reduced quality of life. This extensive evidentiary support for all claimed injury types strengthens leverage in negotiations or if the case proceeds to trial.
Increasing Leverage Through Court Action
Merely serving notice that a lawsuit has commenced often motivates more cooperative behavior from insurance companies. From there, our attorneys work to investigate further through formal discovery procedures. This may involve deposing the defendant driver, witnesses to the accident, and expert physicians.
We also formally request insurance documentation and underwriting files through the litigation process. All of this builds even more pressure, especially if any revelations undermine the insurer’s position. Our goal through this stage is either procuring a reasonable settlement offer or sufficiently preparing your auto insurance case for arbitration, mediation, or potential trial if needed.
Learn More About Responding to a Lowball Auto Insurance Settlement Offer
At Laborde Earles, our Lafayette car accident lawyers can help you when you need to respond to a lowball auto insurance settlement offer. We can accompany you to the insurance company negotiations and fight for you to receive a settlement offer that covers your losses.
Contact us to learn more about how our team can help you when responding to a lowball insurance settlement offer.
