Most car accident personal injury cases settle before going to trial. While this means you might be able to save the time and stress associated with litigation, rushing the process can put you at risk of an outcome that falls short of what you need to stabilize your finances and further your physical, emotional, and psychological recovery.
Before signing off on a settlement agreement, and even before entering the negotiation process, you should sit down and carefully think through what you need from your car accident settlement to be satisfied with the outcome of your case.
That’s a question that only you can answer. However, there are some key considerations that you’ll want to take into account to prepare for settlement negotiations. Here are some of them:
- Your medical needs: A significant part of your car accident settlement will be geared toward covering your incurred and anticipated medical expenses. Before sitting down for negotiations, you need a full understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries, as well as what it’ll cost to treat them. Your doctor’s opinion can be crucial here, so get their opinion in writing.
- The impact your injuries have had on your ability to work: If you’ve suffered severe injuries, then they’ve probably limited your ability to work. You’ll need to be able to convince the defense of not only the wages you’ve already lost, but also how your injuries will negatively impact your ability to work in the future or prevent you from building the career that you want. Your goal here is to obtain compensation for wages you’ve already lost and wages that you anticipate you will lose because of the impact your injuries have on your ability to work.
- Harm caused to your emotional and psychological well-being: Your accident has probably taken a toll on your mental health. You deserve to be compensated for these injuries, but to convince the other side of that, you’ll need to paint a clear picture. Detail the impact your injuries have had on your daily living and how they make you feel.
- Your desire for accountability: While much of your personal injury case is focused on securing the compensation that you need and deserve for damages caused to you, it’s also about finding accountability. By doing so, you can feel like you’ve acquired a sense of justice, and you might rest easy knowing that you’ve done what you can to prevent similar negligence-based accidents from occurring in the future.
- Your need for quick resolution: It’s no secret that the legal process can be slow. That can be a key consideration in your determination to settle your case. If you don’t have a way to stay afloat while you wait to get trial, then settlement might be your best option.
Advocate for what you deserve in your personal injury case
To get as much as you can out of your personal injury claim, you have to be prepared with evidence and an understanding of what you want to get out of the process. So, before heading into settlement negotiations, be thorough in developing your legal strategy. If you’re uncertain of how to do that, don’t worry. There are ways to seek out the guidance you need to competently and confidently navigate your claim.