Insurance companies have tremendous experience in assessing personal injury claims. They have dealt with them for decades. They have personnel whose entire careers are devoted to "Risk Management." These are career professionals whose sole job is to make sure that they don't pay out one dollar more than is absolutely necessary. Make no mistake about it, these are professionals with years of experience, libraries of information, and computer databases of settlements on similar claims. They are trained and encouraged to minimize your recovery. In many cases, their compensation is tied to doing just that, i.e., the less their company pays out, the more they get paid in salary and bonus.
Unless you have extensive training and information resources, you are at a startling disadvantage. You have no real way of knowing whether an insurance company's offer represents a fair settlement. How could you be expected to? Rest assured, the hospitals and insurance companies will take full advantage of your inexperience and lack of knowledge. Many times, if they know their insured is exposed, they will offer you with a quick settlement. They don't want you consulting with a lawyer because they know that an experienced personal injury lawyer will thoroughly evaluate your claim to determine its actual value.
Typically, having an experienced personal injury lawyer in the case will add significantly to anything you would be offered on your own. Lawyers have expertise in evaluating all forms of potential damages and other aspects of the case that could affect the ultimate outcome. Moreover, the lawyer can draw upon years of experience and specialized databases showing what similar cases settled for and jury verdicts in cases with comparable facts. Good lawyers will more than pay for themselves. Our clients typically recover far more than the insurance company's "last and final" offer even after deducting the contingency fee.
Our goal at Ripper Law Firm PC is your goal, to maximize your financial recovery for all of your injuries and damages. Our success is your success. The insurance companies' interests are entirely against you – they want to avoid paying anything more than they absolutely have to in order to close out your case file. This is especially true now, when the vast pools of money that insurance companies have invested in the financial markets have been reduced by 40% or more.