Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #2

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION 2: Will the insurance company verify that the settlement amount being offered to me is fair and reasonable?"

ANSWER: The adjuster surely will TELL you what you want to hear -- of course, the settlement is fair, you wouldn't expect an insurance company to tell you any different. But the adjuster can’t verify or prove that everyone with similar injuries never receives more. Unless you are in the business of negotiating and settling injury claims there is little chance you will know whether the settlement amount that is being offered is fair. Therefore, by negotiating and settling the claim yourself without using the assistance of a professional (i.e., personal injury attorney) you run the risk of accepting a sum that may turn out to be much less than what is considered reasonable for your type of claim. Moreover, once you accept that amount, and sign the accompanying release, then you are forever barred from revisiting and reopening your settlement. In other words, you had best be sure that you are fairly, and fully, compensated before agreeing to, or signing, anything..