What Occurs After Rejecting a Settlement Offer?

Before rejecting a settlement offer, it’s vital to understand how it could affect your personal injury case and the next steps for seeking the compensation you need and deserve. Depending on the circumstances of your case, rejecting the first settlement offered by the insurance company could benefit your case in the long run, and our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you make the most of it.

What Does It Mean to Reject a Settlement Offer?

When you reject a settlement offer, it means you do not believe the compensation offered by the insurance company is enough to cover your economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses are your losses with tangible financial value, like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic losses are your losses with intangible value, like the physical pain and emotional suffering you experience.

A settlement should cover both types of losses and account for the future impact of your injuries. If it doesn’t, rejecting the settlement may be in your best interest.

How Does Rejecting a Settlement Offer Impact My Personal Injury Case?

Rejecting a settlement can impact your case in several ways. It can allow you to negotiate a better settlement, show the insurance company that you know your case’s true value, lead to alternate dispute resolutions like mediation and arbitration, or result in your case going to trial. Rejecting an insurance company’s settlement offer doesn’t mean the end of your personal injury claim.

Can I Still Negotiate After Rejecting an Insurance Settlement Offer?

There is no limit on how much you can negotiate for a fair settlement in a personal injury case. As long as both parties are willing to negotiate, you can continue negotiating after rejecting the insurance company’s initial settlement offer.

Insurance companies often make lowball settlement offers at first in the hopes that you will accept them and end the case. However, that also means that they’re used to these initial offers being rejected and understand that further settlement negotiations are the norm.

What Are Your Legal Options After Rejecting a Settlement Offer?

After rejecting an insurance settlement offer, there are four main paths your case could take:

• You could continue negotiating for a better settlement offer.
• You could enter mediation.
• You could enter arbitration.
• You could file a personal injury lawsuit and take your case to trial.

Mediation is slightly more formal than negotiations, involving a neutral mediator who facilitates the discussion. Arbitration is an even more formal process where a neutral arbitrator listens to both sides and makes a binding decision.

If negotiations break down and the parties don’t agree to mediation or arbitration, the final option is to file a lawsuit and take your case to trial.

How an Indiana Personal Injury Attorney Can Help After a Rejected Settlement

Our experienced personal injury lawyers can help you seek a better settlement offer after you reject the initial one offered by the insurance company. Contact Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC for a free case review with a skilled lawyer who can walk you through the Indiana personal injury claim process. We have extensive experience dealing with insurance companies and are prepared to do what it takes to help you seek full and fair compensation.