The settlement offer on the table is a number that exists in the present. Your future medical costs are a projection that exists in the unknown. Determining whether one is adequate to cover the other requires bridging that gap with something more reliable than optimism or intuition, and most people who accept settlement offers without […]
Can a Passenger Make an Injury Claim Against Both Drivers
If you were a passenger in a car accident and you were injured, your legal position is in one important respect better than either driver’s. You did not cause the accident. Whatever happened on that road, the collision resulted from the decisions and conduct of the people behind the wheels, not yours, and the law […]
Should You Accept a Settlement If You Might Need Future Surgery
The word might is doing a great deal of work in that question, and how you resolve its ambiguity is the most consequential decision you will make in the entire claims process. Might covers an enormous range: the surgeon who told you surgery was one option among several and that conservative care might resolve the […]
Can a Passenger Make an Injury Claim Against Both Drivers
Yes, and in many cases doing so is not just an option but a strategic necessity for recovering full compensation. A passenger injured in a car accident occupies a legally distinctive position that most people, including the passengers themselves, do not fully appreciate in the immediate aftermath of a collision. Unlike either driver, who must […]
What Is a Contingency Fee and What Percentage Is Normal
A contingency fee is an arrangement in which your attorney is paid a percentage of what you recover, and nothing if you recover nothing. The attorney invests their time, their professional expertise, and often significant out-of-pocket expenses into your case without any guarantee of payment, and their compensation is contingent on the outcome. That is […]
What If I Already Gave a Recorded Statement: Can a Lawyer Still Help
The recorded statement has already happened. You talked to the adjuster, probably in the first day or two after the accident, probably without fully understanding what the conversation was for or what would be done with it. Maybe you said you felt okay when you did not yet know how badly you were hurt. Maybe […]
Is the First Offer from Insurance Always Too Low
Not always. But almost always, and understanding the exceptions is what makes the rule actually useful rather than just a piece of conventional wisdom you follow without knowing why. The first offer from an insurance company is too low in the vast majority of car accident cases for reasons that are structural rather than incidental, […]
Should I Accept the First Settlement Offer From Insurance Company
Almost certainly not, and the reason is more specific than the general advice to never take the first offer that circulates in popular wisdom about negotiation. The reason is structural. The first offer from an insurance company after a car accident is not an attempt to fairly value your claim. It is a number that […]
Why Does Insurance Want to Settle So Fast After an Accident
The accident was recent, maybe very recent, and the insurance company is already talking about a settlement. They have a number. They want to resolve this quickly. They might have framed it as doing you a favor, getting money into your hands before things drag out, sparing you the stress of a prolonged process. The […]
What Happens If I Don’t Respond to Insurance Company After Accident
The consequences of not responding to an insurance company after an accident depend entirely on which insurance company is contacting you and in what capacity. Those two variables produce outcomes that range from mildly inconvenient to genuinely harmful to your claim, and treating all insurance contact after an accident as equivalent produces the wrong response […]