Chad Hemmat - When Is Right Time To Settle Your Colorado Personal Injury Case

Settlement, by its nature, is quite subjective. In an injury case, one of the recommendations that we normally make is that you should not settle your case until your doctors have determined what sort of future medical care you will need. Nevertheless, this is not the only indicator for when a settlement should occur. Sometimes, it is the right time to engage in settlement talks because the mounting medical bills equal or eclipse the available insurance coverage. For example, if you have $125,000 in medical bills and the at-fault driver only has $50,000 in insurance coverage, you should be negotiating a settlement. Consequently, a person who is hit by a driver with only $25,000 worth of coverage versus a driver with $1,000,000 in coverage will normally engage in settlement discussions at a much earlier time in the case. However, regardless of these factors, the most critical aspect in determining the right time to settle a case is you, the client. Your lawyer should openly and clearly communicate with you about these various issues and explain what your options are and what consequences may result with respect to whether you should commence settlement discussions.

Will it cost me in the long run to use the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage from my auto insurance?

There are certain claims that you can bring against your own insurance company that do not affect your future premiums. In a situation where you are hit by a driver who does not have insurance or hit by a driver who has less than sufficient coverage to compensate you for your injuries (uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist), making a claim against your policy will not increase your premiums or cause your insurance company to drop you as a customer. An insurance company cannot increase your premiums simply because you are making a claim against coverage that you purchased and paid for every month. Additionally, Colorado makes it mandatory that everyone has at least $5,000 worth of med pay coverage on an auto insurance policy. Oftentimes, you can stack med pay coverage if you are injured in a collision and you carry med pay coverage on another vehicle. For example, if you are riding as a passenger in a friend's car and you are in an accident, you can claim the med pay on your friend's insurance policy and the med pay from your own insurance policy. The mere fact that you open a claim for med pay benefits will not in and of itself cause an insurance company to increase your premiums. Again, if you caused the motor vehicle crash, you can expect your premiums to increase or you may be dropped as an insured. If you are making a claim for benefits that you are entitled to because another driver caused the crash, such as uninsured, underinsured, and med pay benefits, your monthly premium will not increase and you should not hold off on making a claim based on those concerns.

Anderson Hemmat, LLC
5613 DTC Parkway #150
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
[phone]

Personal Injury Law Offices in: Denver Tech Center, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Loveland Colorado for your convenience.

Denver Car Accident Lawyer: