Why You Should Never Accept The First Offer In a Personal Injury Case

This is Kentucky Injury Attorney Tate Meagher with the Meagher Injury Lawyers. In this post, I will explain why you should never accept the first offer in a personal injury case.

The Importance of Not Accepting the First Offer

First, please know that it is my strong recommendation to never accept the first offer in any personal injury case. This applies to car accidents, slip or trip and fall incidents, dog bite cases, or any other scenarios where you have a personal injury claim.

First Offers Are Often Low

For any personal injury case, never take the first settlement offer. I cannot stress this enough. In my experience, the first offer from any insurance company or big corporation is never the highest amount they are willing to pay on the case. They are always willing to negotiate further. I can think of countless cases I’ve handled over the years that ended up settling for multiple times the amount of the initial offer.

Case Example

Let me tell you a story to illustrate this point. In a recent case, a client came to me months after a car accident. She had already received a fair amount of medical treatment and was trying to handle her case with the insurance company on her own. The insurance company had not offered her any money before she retained me as her attorney.

After she retained me, I obtained her medical records and bills and sent the insurance company a demand for the policy limits. The insurance company countered with a minimal offer of $5,000, claiming her injuries were pre-existing and not related to the car accident. We rejected that offer.

I then obtained a medical report on behalf of my client, where the doctor provided his opinion in writing that the injuries my client complained of following the car accident were, in fact, related to the accident. I sent this report to the insurance company and again demanded the policy limits. The insurance company responded with an offer of $7,500, which we also rejected.

I then filed a lawsuit. After some time in litigation, the defense attorney hired by the insurance company called me and advised that they would be offering the six-figure policy limits in the case. We ended up settling the case for the policy limits, resulting in a six-figure settlement, significantly more than the initial offer of $5,000.

Patience Pays Off

Getting a higher offer in a personal injury case may take some time. However, in my experience, it is well worth the time when you get a higher settlement offer on your case, which can potentially be significantly more than the initial offer, just like in the story I shared.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading. Remember, if you have been injured in a car accident in Kentucky, don’t wait. Call Tate. Also, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch more of my videos. Thanks!