A demand letter is a core part of any injury lawsuit, and with personal injury claims, it’s often best to settle out of court. The reason is that personal injury litigation is fraught with uncertainty. Firstly, there’s never a guarantee you’d win a lawsuit. Yet, the injury claim process is often complicated and challenging.
Knowing how to write a demand letter is crucial if you choose to settle with the fault party. However, if you don’t know, a Carrollton personal injury attorney can help you. An excellent lawyer would have written many demand letters. So, writing one for you shouldn’t be difficult.
How To Write a Settlement Demand Letter
Carrollton, GA, practices the fault accident system. Therefore, it’s the responsible driver and their insurer that bear the losses of the collision. The steps below can help you draw up a compelling settlement demand letter.
-
Describe the Accident
The first part of your settlement demand letter must contain a narration of the accident. Here, you’ll need to outline how the collision occurred clearly. Relevant details under this point would include the time of the crash. In addition, state the accident site and other vital facts.
It would help if you stuck to the facts as you remember them. This extra care is necessary because the insurance company will most likely use anything you say against you. So, if they can fault one claim at this point, it may be grounds to deny your settlement demand.
-
Explain Your Injuries
You’re writing a demand letter because the accident caused you damage. So, you have to describe the injuries you sustained from the crash. Make sure you include all your wounds. It’ll be challenging to later add extra injuries to the settlement demand.
Furthermore, asking your doctor to guide you through this step will be wise. This is because the doctor would be conversant with your medical history. In addition, it’ll help to describe any treatments you’ve undertaken. These could include surgeries and medications.
-
Detail Your Other Losses
Indeed, injuries aren’t the only consequences of accidents. For example, you may suffer personal property losses and vehicle damage. Therefore, it would be best to state these losses in the demand letter. Describe what you lost and how, if possible. If you leave out these details, the insurance company may assume that you only suffered health challenges. So, these are almost as important as your bodily injuries.
-
Calculate Your Settlement Demand
At this point, you can now claim damages. This is the compensation for all the losses you incurred from the personal injury accident. It’s at this point that writing a demand letter gets complicated. The issue is that you have to make a good impression with the insurance adjuster. Therefore, you mustn’t make a too high or too low settlement demand.
Furthermore, it mustn’t look like you’re desperate for the money. However, coming up with the correct figure can be challenging. That’s why you need an excellent personal injury lawyer. Attorneys and insurance companies have techniques for arriving at the settlement figures. So, your lawyer can guide you here.
-
Include Any Relevant Evidence
The success of your injury claim depends on the strength of your evidence. So, if you have any evidence that establishes your claims above, it’ll be best to include them. Relevant documents would include:
- Medical records and receipts
- Police reports
- Employment communications for proving lost wages
- CCTV footages
- Witness testimonies
These documents would show the insurance company that you aren’t making baseless claims. Moreover, it allows them to see that you have a strong case, should they choose to go to trial.
-
Set a Deadline
Finally, you can give the insurance company an ultimatum. This is when you’ll escalate the matter to trial if you don’t get a favorable reply. However, it’s best not to take this step if you have no plans of going to court. This is because there’s a chance the insurer will call your bluff. If they do, and you don’t sue, they know you aren’t ready for trial, affecting the settlement negotiation.
Carrollton Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You!
Have you survived an accident in Carrollton, GA? If so, you may be eligible to file a claim against the fault party. First, however, you’ll need the best Carrollton personal injury lawyers available. At the Law Office of John B. Jackson, our attorneys have decades of experience dealing with insurance companies.
So, if you hire us, you can rest assured that we’ll send the fault party’s insurance company an effective demand letter. We’ll also follow up the process to ensure that you get fair compensation for your injuries. So, what are you waiting for? Call us today for a FREE case evaluation!
