The insurance company wants to give you all of the money now…
I thought that would get your attention.
And technically it is correct that if you settle your personal injury case with the insurance company they will pay you whatever settlement was agreed upon upfront.
And relatively quickly too
Why do you think they are doing this?
Is it to be nice to you?
I think you know the answer that one.
No, the reason the insurance company wants to give you the check in one lump sum is quite simply because it is in their best interest to do so.
Why?
They want to close out their file and be done with it forever.
Nothing excites an insurance adjuster more than closing out a bunch of files.
That is why you have to be very careful regarding the settlement of your case.
Once you agree to a settlement amount legally the case is over.
Sometimes people think well I didn’t sign any form so I can always change my mind later on if I want to.
Wrongo.
Once you instruct your attorney to settle your personal injury case and he communicates that to the insurance company, that is the end of the discussion.
Even if it is not in writing the settlement agreement is still enforceable.
I have seen this situation come up periodically in the past with representation of clients.
The law is that once you have conveyed to your Counsel that the offer amount is acceptable to you it is lights out time.
The agreement becomes a binding legal document.
Scary isn’t it?
That’s why Pittsburgh wrongful death car accident and slip and fall settlement attorney Bernie Tully advises all his clients to be very slow in agreeing to a settlement amount initially.
Sometimes for example Pittsburgh wrongful death, car accident and slip and fall attorney Bernie Tully has had this situation: my client is done treatment and some time goes by.
After some period of time the client has a recurrence of her symptoms
If we rush to tell the insurance company that the offer is acceptable then where do we go from there?
What if your symptoms come back later?
The good news is that if you have an attorney you can trust like hopefully Pittsburgh car accident and slip and fall attorney Bernie Tully, you can be sure that we are going to protect you from these legal landmines.
So what do you think of all this?
And more importantly what you think of Pittsburgh Penguin captain Sidney Crosby?
He is currently on fire and just seems to get better every day.
Go Penguins and thank you for reading.
Attorney Bernie Tully.