Contract Basics In Personal Injury Negotiations

In first semester law school, every student learns in Contract Law class that any counter-proposal to an offer effectively removes that offer from the table.  As an example, you are offered $12,000.00 by someone who desires to purchase your vehicle.  You tell the potential buyer that you will accept $15,000.00 (but you would have accepted the $12,000.00 offer if it wasn’t increased).  The buyer walks away, not only failing to increase his offer but also refusing to put the original offer back on the table.

The same holds true when negotiating a personal injury settlement. Generally, an insurance company will make multiple offers in attempting to resolve a personal injury case.

The injured party needs to understand that every time they make a counter-proposal to an offer, they could lose out on that offer.  As a practical matter, however, the insurance company will usually not pull their top offer when negotiations reach the end of their authority.  With that being said, I have seen offers revoked by insurance companies when they are apprised of new information, such as a prior similar injury, or a supervisor’s re-evaluation of the claim.

These are not frequent occurrences but it does happen and an injured party needs to keep this in mind.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, motorcycle accident or pedestrian accident, reach out to the experienced lawyers at Select Law. With our extensive experience in the legal field, we know what it takes to win your case. Call us at (425) 891-6691 to arrange your FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced attorney (in person, phone, zoom or your residence/hospital).

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