When you have a car accident because of someone else's fault, you have the option to file a lawsuit.
After making sure no one is hurt, the first thing you do is call your car injury lawyer and file a car insurance claim with the other driver's insurance provider. Even if most times the insurance providers offer fair compensation, sometimes the negotiations don't go as you expect, and you must file a lawsuit. But is it worth filing a lawsuit? The only reason to do it is to get enough money to cover a fair compensation and the lawsuit's associated costs. When the other party doesn't come to the negotiating table with a good enough offer, going to court is the best option.
Here is when to settle and where to sue.
When your injury claim is worth more than the insurer is offering you should go to court
Personal injury cases always boil down to money because you need compensation for your stress and injuries. After you have an injury, it's always best to get in touch with a professional who can handle your car accident injury claim and calculate how much you should get. When the lawyer thinks your case is worth significantly more than the insurance company offers, they may advise you to file a lawsuit. But before going to court, they may try to renegotiate with the insurer to make sure they aren't willing to increase the offer even if you file for a lawsuit.
But how far do the two situations have to be to make sense to file a lawsuit? It's important to remember that car accident injury claims don't have a specific value, but they have a range of values according to their particular implications. This is because part of the sum is your suffering and pain, which is always subject to the insurance company's calculation or court. When consulting a personal injury lawyer, they won't tell you that your case is worth $70,000, but they'll estimate a sum from $50,000 to $80,000. This way, you establish your goals and decide if you can settle for the sum the insurer offers.
So, let's say that your lawyer value the claim for somewhere between $50,000 and $80,000, but the insurer offers $45,000, there is no doubt you should take the case to court. The decision is easy because it's below the minimum value you are willing to accept. The offer wasn't close enough to the valuation the lawyer made. But it would help if you remembered that when you file a lawsuit, you cannot talk about a settlement of the case for a long term because while the case is in suit, the defence attorney needs to perform investigation and discovery. The insurer will talk about settlement only after the investigation is complete and the defence lawyer makes a recommendation. Also, you'll have to pay the personal injury lawyer for their services and the expenses will increase more significantly than in a settlement outside the court case.
So, are you ready to sue the insurance company?