Five ways to prepare for settlement negotiations

The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits end up settling before they get to trial. If your suit settles, it means that you might be able to recover compensation more quickly than anticipated, thereby providing you with the financial relief that you need.

Still, you have to be careful as you navigate your settlement negotiations. Otherwise, you could end up recovering far less than you deserve.

How to prepare for your settlement talks

Before sitting down at the negotiation table, you need to be prepared so that you can protect your interests. Here are some ways that you can do that:

• Analyze police reports so that you know what facts were gathered by law enforcement, how they believe the accident occurred, and who they think is to blame for the wreck.
• Talk to witnesses so that you know how they’re going to testify at trial and can better determine if there’s any detrimental statements that you need to be prepared to address.
• Consider whether expert testimony is going to be needed in your case and, if so, whether that testimony is going to be helpful or hurtful to your case.
• Figure out what your claim is actually worth by calculating your incurred and expected medical expenses, your lost wages and lost earnings capacity, and your pain and suffering.
• Anticipate any other evidence that may jeopardize your case should it go to trial.

An attorney might be able to help you with your case

There’s a lot that goes into your settlement negotiation preparations. So much so that you might find the process overwhelming.

But if you’re in that situation, then you should avoid the urge to quickly settle your case to get the process over with. Instead, you might want to work closely with a legal professional who knows how to competently navigate these sorts of cases so that you’re better positioned to recover the compensation that you need to spur your recovery forward.