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How Lawyers Negotiate Settlements and How Long it Takes…
How Long it Takes to Negotiate a Settlement
Negotiating parties always prefer a situation where they reach a settlement as soon as possible. There are many factors that can lengthen or shorten this process. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you reach a settlement with the other party’s insurer so that you can receive compensation at the right time.
Lawyers Negotiating A Legal Settlement
People injured in accidents caused by negligent parties suffer psychological, material, and physical losses. These losses can affect your ability to earn a living or may burden you with expenses such as medical and repair bills. Going to trial is often an option of last resort in such situations. Of course, this can often depend on what your injury accident is worth.
People prefer to negotiate to reach a settlement because negotiations are less risky, shorter, and affordable. If the negotiations are successful, the responsible party pays the victim an amount as compensation for their losses. The negotiations are considered successful when both parties agree on the amount that the injured party should receive for the damages they incurred.
The parties must go to trial if they cannot agree so that a judge can decide the case. The time it takes to negotiate a settlement is determined by the unique circumstances of a particular case.
Beginning A Settlement Negotiation
The individual bringing the claim has to send a demand letter to the negligent party or the negligent party’s insurer. The demand letter outlines the amount the injured party wants to be paid and other details that support their claim. But insurance companies often ignore these letters or respond to them weeks after they receive them.
This is not always deliberate and may be due to the insurer having a backup in their workload. But sometimes when you sue the insurance company, the insurance company deliberately ignores demand. They may have also investigated your accident and decided not to respond to your demands based on their findings.
Timeline For Negotiating A Settlement
After sending the demand letter, the other party may respond with a counteroffer. This counteroffer is often an alternative amount to what you demanded. You don’t have to settle for the counteroffer. You need to be careful because insurance companies will always offer something less than what you deserve.
So, the negotiations can take as little as a few weeks or go on for years until the parties agree on a number. Typically, more complex litigation, like a class action lawsuit, will take longer to settle.
How To Speed Up Settlement Negotiations
As you negotiate a settlement, you are likely going to have to cover the expenses resulting from your injury out of pocket (like your initial visit to the car accident chiropractor). That may motivate you to cut a deal faster if you require immediate financial relief. To make the process go on smoothly and quickly, do the following:
- Prepare your claim properly with relevant documents and well-thought-out offers.
- Be persistent and stick to a number close to you’re the amount you originally demanded when the other party makes a counteroffer
- Don’t let your emotions determine the decisions you make because this can delay reaching a settlement
Talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer to help with the negotiations.