If you receive a phone call from the other driver’s insurance company offering you a quick settlement after a car crash in North Carolina, you may ask yourself, “Should I accept the first compensation offer?”
Here’s the answer: Almost always, no. This is because the first settlement offer an insurance company makes is often far less than what car accident victims need to move forward.
Why Is the First Settlement Offer Often So Low?
Insurance companies are for-profit companies. They don’t make money by paying out auto accident claims. Adjusters are trained in tactics meant to diminish valid personal injury claims.
Insurers may also recognize that many accident victims may be unfamiliar with the claims process and uncertain about what their case is worth, making it important to understand your rights before accepting a settlement.
Initial offers often come in soon after a collision, sometimes within even a day or two. This is a strategic move by the insurance company. First, insurers know most people want to put the crash behind them, and getting a settlement check provides a sense of closure.
Second, insurance adjusters know the full scope of a person’s losses may not be clear yet. This means they can make a low-ball offer based on incomplete information, before the injured person has a fuller understanding of what their expenses and losses might look like.
Imagine you suffered a concussion in a wreck. Even though a concussion is classified as a mild traumatic brain injury and people typically expect to make a full recovery, a recent study published in the JAMA Network Open found that up to 30 percent of adults can experience long-term effects after a concussion, such as difficulty concentrating.
If you accept a settlement before you know how your injuries will ultimately affect your life, the amount you receive will not adequately cover your medical bills, lost wages, and other accident-related losses.
So, why is the first settlement offer so low? Because the insurance company knows that if you accept it, you can’t ask for more money later — even if your losses and future medical expenses turn out to be far greater than you initially realized.
How to Politely Decline a Settlement Offer
Before you respond to an initial settlement offer, reach out to an experienced car accident attorney. They can evaluate whether the proposed amount accounts fairly for your injuries, any future medical treatment, vehicle repair costs, lost income, and related losses.
If you receive a settlement offer and already have legal representation, your personal injury lawyer can respond on your behalf. If you don’t have a car accident attorney yet and wish to decline the offer, do it in writing. It doesn’t have to be long. A simple “no thank you” should suffice.
Avoid signing a medical release until you understand what you are authorizing the insurer to collect. The release could give the insurer broad access to your entire medical history, not just the medical records pertinent to the crash.
Any information about pre-existing conditions could then be used to question the severity of your injuries or the amount of compensation you requested to receive.
What Happens If You Accept the First Settlement Offer?
If you accept the insurance company’s first offer, you will be required to sign a release giving up your right to pursue additional compensation for the crash at a later date.
This means that if your injuries worsen, you need more medical treatment, or additional losses don’t become apparent until much later, you won’t be able to file another claim for the same accident.
Before you accept a settlement offer, review all potentially available insurance coverage with an experienced attorney, including the at-fault driver’s liability policy as well as your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM).
Your lawyer can determine whether the settlement adequately addresses your current and anticipated losses.
Contact a North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, the attorneys at Kornbluth Ginsberg Law Group are here to help.
Our Durham office represents car accident victims throughout Durham and the surrounding Triangle region, while our Sanford office provides Sanford and surrounding communities with convenient access to experienced personal injury attorneys.
We also represent injury victims throughout North Carolina. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your accident and learn how we can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
