I’m not happy with the insurance company’s offer to settle my case, what are the next steps?

Bad faith insurance,FAQ,Personal Injury - February 8, 2017 by Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates

Thomas A. Kelliher, an associate and trial attorney at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates answers a listener’s question on Free Legal Advice Friday’s:

I’m not happy with the insurance company’s offer to settle my case, what are the next steps? Can the insurance adjuster limit the medical treatment I receive?

Those two questions are very similar because, unfortunately, before you get involved in litigation the insurance company has a lot of power.

They can pay your claim.
They can decide how much they are going to pay for your claim.
Depending on where you are, if you’re just going to take whatever the insurance company gives you, then you’re not going to have a lot of power in that decision making process.
If you have an insurance company that just says, you know, we’re only going to pay you $3000.00, or whatever the case may be, for your claim – you know, take it or leave it – then you need to make a decision. And if you’re comfortable with that, then fine, for a much smaller injury.
But if the insurance company is really playing hard ball with you, then I think it’s time to get an attorney involved. I mean, in large part, the only way, the real way, to change the mind of an insurance company is to get them involved in litigation – take depositions, go through the treating physicians, go through the experts – and either they’re going to learn through that process that your case is much more significant than they think, or they’re not and we’re going to go to trial and take that money from them.Thomas A. Kelliher answers the Free Legal Advice Friday listener’s question: I’m not happy with the insurance company’s offer to settle my case, what are the next steps?

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