Working with a personal injury attorney can be beneficial to you if you have sustained a personal injury. When a settlement offer is presented from the other party, your attorney must present the offer to you, regardless of whether it is a good offer or a bad one. In some cases, they may recommend that you reject a settlement offer that has been presented. This may leave you wondering why they may suggest that you reject the offer. Here are a few of the most common reasons why a personal injury lawyer may recommend that you reject a settlement offer.
Damages Are Unknown At This Time
One of the reasons why a personal injury lawyer may recommend that you reject a settlement offer is because damages are not known at this time. It is very common for an insurance company to offer a settlement offer towards the beginning of the case. At that point in time, you may not know what injuries you have sustained, the extent of the injuries, or how your body will or won't respond to treatment. Taking a settlement early on is a gamble. If your injuries are worse than you knew, you may get far less money than you would otherwise be entitled to.
The Settlement Offer is Too Low
Another common reason why a personal injury attorney may recommend that you reject a settlement offer is because the offer is too low. When it comes to personal injury cases, what you are entitled to is not black and white. There are guesstimates that come into play when it comes to calculating future medical care costs, permanent injuries, and money for pain and suffering. If your attorney feels an offer is too low, it may be because they feel the other side underestimated these amounts.
The Lawyer is Trying to Set a Public Example
The final reason why an attorney may recommend you reject a settlement offer is because they are trying to set a public example or precedent. They want the case to go to trial so it is public record. For example, when the lady spilled hot coffee on herself from McDonald's, lawyers wanted the case to be heard publicly so they public knew what was going on, and so McDonald's and other restaurants would have to take steps to protect the public from such injuries in the future. If you have a case similar to this, your attorney may want the case to go to trial, which may mean rejecting all settlement offers.
If you are presented with a settlement offer, and your personal injury attorney recommends that you reject the offer, it is always acceptable to ask them why. They should be able to give you a good reason why they recommend you reject the offer, and that reason should make sense to you. Ultimately, you have the final say in accepting or rejecting a settlement offer, regardless of what is recommended to you by your attorney. A great attorney is there to offer advice, helping you to understand why holding off on the offer may be in your best interest.
For more information, contact professionals like David Helfand PA.
Share19 August 2019
Defective products are produced and sold to consumers all of the time. Unfortunately, some of these defective products cause consumers injuries when they malfunction. So, what can you do if a defective product causes you or someone that you love some kind of injury? This blog will show you how the legal system works to protect consumers from instances such as this. You will find out about personal injury lawsuits and what it takes to file and proceed with a lawsuit to hold the company that manufactured that defective product responsible for the role that they played in the pain that has been experienced.