Your Personal Injury Settlement Offer:
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Accepting the personal injury settlement offer should be easy, but there are a few points to consider.
You aren’t going to accept an offer right-off. You always want to take time to consider the details. When you do accept the personal injury settlement offer, do it in writing.
The previous section really was the last word on putting things in writing, but of course you do have to respond to the offer.
There are two more types of letters you'll be writing.
The Rejection Letter:
Let's look at the trickier one first - the rejection letter. As seen in examining the negotiating process, there will be more than one offer made for your cash settlement.
The first will probably be very low so the adjuster can feel you out a little and see if you're really desperate. You should respond to this first settlement offer with a letter using a relatively small amount of detail. That means you want to make a clear argument, but not write another whole demand letter.
Let's say the low personal injury settlement offer came after the adjuster claimed you were negligent, and your injuries were minor. You’ll want to reject the offer in a letter that counters their arguments point by point.
For example, “You claim I am just as negligent as your client…”, and then cite the evidence that shows they're wrong. The police report might point out what the other driver did wrong. For a building code violation you'll write down exactly how the violation reads.
You'll do the same thing for your injuries, citing medical records and x-rays that prove their severity and the necessity of treatment. You’ll finish the letter by lowering your offer a few percentage points, while noting the possibility of a slight amount of negligence on your part.
Of course, you won't actually admit to any negligence.
The Acceptance Letter...
When a personal injury cash settlement offer is made that you decide to accept, you'll write a letter of acceptance. This letter doesn’t have to be complicated. Your wording doesn’t have to be as well thought out as your other letters.
The adjuster has made a personal injury settlement offer and won’t be able to take that offer back. The body of your acceptance letter will be something like this:
| “I would like to confirm our telephone conversation of November 2nd where I agreed to settle my personal injury claim for $9500. Per your instructions, I will be expecting the release documents and the settlement check within two weeks from today.” |
If you made another claim against the same insurance company for property damage, then state in your letter that you're accepting the settlement for personal injury damages, NOT property damages.
Chances are you already settled the property claim but, either way, you want to be sure the issues are kept separate.
The personal injury settlement will come as a check along with the release documents. They might come separately, so remember, you won’t be able to cash the check until the release documents have been signed and sent back.
Read the release carefully. Make sure it doesn't have you conceding to anything unexpected or that you didn't agree to. It should state clearly that the settlement is for personal injury damages and no other damages (except of course the pain, suffering and other damages already associated with your injury).
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