Filing a lawsuit in your injury case can be a game-changer that can lead to a big settlement. If you want a fair settlement for your injury case, it is often necessary to file a lawsuit. To illustrate this point, let me tell you the story of my past client, Donna.
Donna’s Story
Donna’s case involved a car accident, but what I’m about to teach you in this video applies to all types of personal injury cases, including slip or trip and fall cases, dog attack injury cases, and any other type of personal injury case.
Donna was a passenger in her husband’s vehicle when another vehicle pulled out in front of them. Her husband was unable to stop before colliding with this at-fault driver’s vehicle. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital from the scene of the accident, where she complained of pain in her spine, and shoulder, and had a headache. Diagnostic testing was performed at the hospital, revealing that Donna did not sustain any broken bones. She was prescribed a muscle relaxer.
After she was discharged from the hospital, Donna was treated for some months before even calling me. She was treated with a chiropractor for several months before receiving physical therapy treatment. She continued to have significant problems, so she finally had an MRI on her right shoulder a little over a year after her motor vehicle accident. The MRI revealed a complete tear in her right shoulder. She ended up having surgery to repair her right shoulder tear, months after getting the MRI. After the surgery, she endured physical therapy treatment on her shoulder.
The Power of Filing a Lawsuit
My office gathered all of Donna’s medical records and bills for her medical treatment following her accident. We sent a demand to the other driver’s insurance company, demanding that the insurance company pay its policy limits. The insurance company delayed, though, and failed to provide us with a timely response to the demand, so I filed a lawsuit. The filing of the lawsuit got the other driver’s insurance company’s attention.
Very shortly after filing the lawsuit, the other driver’s insurance company finally gave in and offered the policy limits of $100,000 to settle Donna’s injury case against their insured driver. But we were not done after that. Donna had underinsured motorist insurance coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage is a type of car insurance on your automobile policy that pays for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages, among other damages, in the event the at-fault driver had insufficient insurance coverage to cover the full cost of your damages.
In Donna’s case, when I filed her lawsuit, I included claims against her insurance company for underinsured motorist coverage. After the other driver’s insurance company paid out the policy limits, I sent a demand package to Donna’s insurance company, the underinsured motorist insurance carrier. But Donna’s insurance company did not just roll over and pay us the policy limits right away. In fact, they only made us an initial offer of $15,000 to settle the underinsured motorist claim.
Persistence Pays Off
With my advice, Donna decided to reject this offer, and we continued to litigate Donna’s case. I informed the defense lawyer retained by Donna’s insurance company that we would not accept any offer less than the policy limits. The underinsured motorist carrier saw that we meant business and eventually, after months of litigation, paid out the $50,000 underinsured motorist coverage policy limits, bringing the total recovery for Donna to $160,000 since she also received $10,000 in no-fault insurance coverage to go towards her medical bills, along with the $100,000 policy limits from the at-fault driver’s insurer.
In order to show that you are serious about your injury claim, in many cases, like in Donna’s case, you must file a lawsuit. Insurance companies want to pay you the lowest amount possible to settle your injury claim. You have to put pressure on the insurance company. If you don’t, they often will stick to a low-ball offer or delay making you any offer or at least a fair offer in your injury case.
Why Filing a Lawsuit Is Crucial
Filing a lawsuit puts pressure on the insurance company to do the right thing in offering you a fair settlement in your injury case. It shows them that you mean business and are not willing to accept a lowball settlement. This pressure often leads to a more favorable settlement for you.
When to Consider Not Filing a Lawsuit
But what happens if you get offered what you believe to be close to a reasonable settlement in your injury claim? Should you still file a lawsuit? In every case, you should try to negotiate the best injury settlement for yourself. And in the next video about to pop up here, I will tell you how you should go about negotiating the best injury settlement for you.
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait, call Tate.
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