{"id":1038,"date":"2018-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartercullold.wpenginepowered.com\/should-you-turn-down-that-settlement-offer\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T18:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T02:44:20","slug":"should-you-turn-down-that-settlement-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/should-you-turn-down-that-settlement-offer\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Turn Down That Settlement Offer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While each situation has its own variables, and there\u2019s no right answer for everybody, one thing holds true: it takes\u00a0two to tango<\/em>\u00a0(two to dance or two to get a deal done).\u00a0 Settlements can only occur when the wrongdoer or wrongdoer\u2019s insurance agrees to pay an amount enough to resolve the case.\u00a0 What is the right amount?\u00a0 Should I take that offer? \u00a0When the parties can\u2019t agree, the judge or jury decides.\u00a0 However, turning down an offer and filing a lawsuit doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re going to trial. By refusing to back down and having your attorney prosecute your case, the case may resolve at a substantially greater amount and get you closer to what you deserve.<\/p>\n

An Unforeseen Injury<\/h3>\n

Say we have Sally Wood, a young woman in a hurry to get to her next appointment.\u00a0 Sally\u2019s exceeding the speed limit and chooses to run a red light, well it was yellow just before she entered the intersection, according to her later.\u00a0 Sally drives her car into the intersection and collides into a small car driven by Gavin, a fourth-grade school teacher on his way to the gym after school.\u00a0 The impact smashes his driver\u2019s door and snaps his left arm.\u00a0 Paramedics rush him to the hospital where he undergoes emergency surgery.<\/p>\n

Gavin didn\u2019t ask for any of this to happen.\u00a0 Sally broke the safety rules of the road and caused serious injury to another driver who had reasonable expectation other would follow those rules.\u00a0 Gavin hires an attorney to make sure all T\u2019s are crossed and I\u2019s dotted.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t want to deal with the insurance companies alone.<\/p>\n

Gavin\u2019s primary concern rests on getting better, returning to work, and back to his normal way of life, doing those things he\u2019s passionate about and enjoys.\u00a0A well-experienced attorney<\/a>\u00a0will counsel Gavin that the time for settlement lays a way down the road.\u00a0 His attorney will need to investigate all the potential wrongdoers or liable parties.\u00a0 In this case, Sally was on-the-job, so her employer would be responsible for her actions.\u00a0 This fact greatly increases the amount of insurance coverage available.\u00a0 Further, Gavin\u2019s attorney needs to determine if the employer had properly hired, trained, and supervised its employees, including Sally.\u00a0 If not, the employer may have additional liability, which could further assist Gavin.<\/p>\n

When Should You Settle?<\/h3>\n

Timing of settlement remains a crucial consideration.\u00a0 Presuming there\u2019s sufficient insurance or means to compensate the injured person, one should never settle his or her case until all the past damages and future probable (more likely than not) damages can be known.\u00a0 This would include items like past and future pain and suffering, past medical expenses and lost income, and future medical expenses lost income and earning capacity likely to be incurred in the future.\u00a0 Additional items could consist of property damage, rental and tow expense, loss of use, and decreased value to your property, if not already resolved before treatment concluded.<\/p>\n

Should I Hire an Attorney?<\/h3>\n

Insurance companies find unrepresented individuals easy prey for premature settlements.\u00a0 Countless times trusting people accept offers from adjusters they presume can be trusted, only to discover later they should\u2019ve never settled without knowing the full extent of their damages.\u00a0 How any adjuster could push an offer where the injured person\u2019s continues to treat for his injuries is extremely upsetting.\u00a0 It\u2019s a common practice to obtain, before one even sees a doctor, a release of all claims for chump change.\u00a0 The targets are the desperate, or the unsuspecting who act before they truly consider the ramifications of their actions.<\/p>\n

Gavin, on the other hand, hired an attorney so he doesn\u2019t have to deal with that tomfoolery.\u00a0 Gavin\u2019s arm did heal, but not to 100%, leaving him with some permanent pain and disability because of nerve damage.\u00a0 His doctors believe he will need future surgery in five years at an estimated cost.\u00a0 Gavin\u2019s attorney gets Gavin\u2019s doctors to put all his current condition, prognosis, and future needs in the proper format so, along with all the past damages, he\/she can present a settlement demand package.\u00a0 Now, whether the case will settle is in the hands of the corporation or its insurer.<\/p>\n

How Does Hiring an Attorney Make a Difference?<\/h3>\n

Settlement offers received before litigation has begun, in other words before a lawsuit has been filed and the defendant is served, are often conservative (i.e., low).\u00a0 In this day and age, those responsible will do everything to avoid responsibility.\u00a0 Let\u2019s be clear what responsibility is.\u00a0 Responsibility is what we taught our kids or we were taught ourselves.\u00a0 The baseball example remains a perfect way to explain.\u00a0 When Lauren hits that ball through the neighbor\u2019s window and breaks not only the window but the vase and table, her responsibility is to admit fault, be remorseful, and pay for EVERYTHING she caused.\u00a0 Insurance companies seek to blame the victim, the victim\u2019s past medical history, the doctors for charging too much, and the inability for the victim to heal fast enough.\u00a0 Further, those responsible want to pay as little as possible.\u00a0 No duh, right?\u00a0 One way to accomplish this is to see who will take the money and run or turn down an unreasonable offer and proceed to court.<\/p>\n

Gavin prepared himself for months and possibly years of litigation because this was a wise investment of his time.\u00a0 He was fortunate that his attorney would advance all the costs.\u00a0 Gavin had his key to the courthouse since, although he didn\u2019t have the money to hire an attorney like Sally\u2019s company could, his attorney would push forward as long as it took on a contingency fee basis, recovering his fee only if the case was successful.\u00a0 The low offer before litigation convinced Gavin going to court was his only option.\u00a0 Sometimes we are tested \u2013 is there\u00a0bite behind the bark<\/em>?<\/p>\n

How Much Is My Case Worth?<\/h3>\n

A case is worth what you\u2019re willing to accept and they\u2019re willing to pay.\u00a0 When these two match up, cases resolve.\u00a0 However, no good settlement comes without hard work, and all the information considered.\u00a0 Tomorrow is so much longer than yesterday when you have your whole life in front of you.\u00a0 While it does take\u00a0two to tango<\/em>, sometimes your dancing partner is the courthouse.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been injured in an accident in Nevada and are unsure about the offer you\u2019ve received from your insurance company, please call our firm immediately. We offer a free consultation and can help you make the right decisions for your future. Carter Cullen of Las Vegas, NV 702.800.0000<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While each situation has its own variables, and there\u2019s no right answer for everybody, one thing holds true: it takes\u00a0two to tango\u00a0(two to dance or two to get a deal done).\u00a0 Settlements can only occur when the wrongdoer or wrongdoer\u2019s insurance agrees to pay an amount enough to resolve the case.\u00a0 What is the right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-injury"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartercullen.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}