Personal Injury Lawyer in St John’s understands that following agreement on settlement terms, the size of a claimant’s compensation would tend to increase, if the claimant had taken the time to compose a demand letter.

The letter’s contents

• Information on the claimant’s injury and on the prescribed treatment
• A chronological listing of the events that took place at the time of the accident
• The time and location of that same event
• A demand: This should be higher than the amount expected as payout.

Events to anticipate, after sending letter to claims’ office

An initial offer from the adjuster

—It could be a low-ball figure
—Smart claimants never accept the initial offer

Composition of response to the initial bid

—This should contain a new demand
—That new demand should equal the size of the old demand, minus the amount proposed in the adjuster’s initial bid.
—In order to create a more impactful letter, the claimant-lawyer team could add pictures of the damaged vehicle, or a note from the victim’s treating physician.

If negotiations were to proceed, the 2 sides would exchange offers and counteroffers until both sides had agreed up one specific figure.

Meanwhile, the injured victim should be following the prescribed treatment protocol.

At any time, the adjuster might urge the claimant/victim to settle. Smart victims refuse until their doctor has announced that their bodies have reached the stage of maximum medical recovery.

Then, if both sides had agreed on the same settlement terms, the case could be settled.

An agreement on settlement terms does not automatically ensure delivery of the compensation package to the waiting victim/claimant.

That victim should send a written letter to the adjuster, and ask for confirmation of the size for the agreed-upon payout/compensation. The same letter should also ask about the date when the insurance company’s check would be placed in the mail.

At that point, the insurance company would ask for the claimant to provide the company with a signed release form. Claimants with a lawyer could have him/her examine the same form, before arranging for the client to sign it. Once signed, the release should be sent to the insurer. Then the insurer would arrange for delivery of the compensation/payout.

If the claimant has hired a lawyer, that money ought to be sent to the claimant’s lawyer. Any claimants without a legal representation would receive a check that had been made out to them. If a lawyer were to receive a settlement check, then he/she would put the money in a trust fund, until the time has come for giving it to the client.

A personal injury attorney would take out his/her contingency fee, along with money to cover the expenses. The remainder would be handed to the attorney’s client.