Car accident victims can receive compensation when another motorist strikes them, but negotiating a settlement is complicated. A central part of the negotiation process is the car accident demand letter. This letter contains critical information about the accident and your injuries. You should also include the amount you are willing to settle for. Call Swilley Law Firm, LLC, for help with your car accident claim. A Florence car accident lawyer can draft your letter and handle negotiations from start to finish.
What is the Purpose of a Car Accident Demand Letter?
This letter relays critical information about the accident from your point of view to the driver who hit you. This letter should include:
- A summary of how the accident happened. Provide a narrative of what you remembered about the accident. For example, you might have been idling at a red light when a car crashed into you from behind.
- Description of your injuries. You should identify all injuries, including the date of diagnosis.
- Details regarding the cost of medical treatment and lost income. You need to provide details about your economic losses, since they make up a large part of any settlement.
- Information about the pain and distress you feel. Accidents do more than cost motorists money. You can also struggle with painful bodily injuries, as well as anxiety and other mental distress.
The letter all builds up to the demand: the amount of money you are willing to settle your case for. If you don’t agree to a settlement, then you have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit.
A demand letter for car accident injuries starts the negotiation process. The other side will read the letter and determine what action to take.
Is a Demand Letter Necessary?
Yes. You could certainly negotiate orally and never write anything down. Your lawyer could pick up the phone and have a long conversation with the defendant’s lawyer. But a written letter documents everything. You can always refer to the letter if there is a dispute about what you said regarding the accident or your injuries.
Weak Demand Letters Hurt Your Florence Car Accident Case
Any car accident victim should hire a lawyer to draft a settlement demand letter for car accident injuries. You want to avoid the following:
- Poorly written letters. These are hard to read, and you’ll lose your reader’s interest. A letter riddled with typos and grammatical errors suggests you might have a poor grasp of the facts.
- Not enough detail. The reader is usually the insurance carrier for the driver who hit you. The letter should give them a strong sense that their insured was to blame for the crash and that you have significant injuries.
- Too much detail. There is no reason to disclose everything in the first letter. For example, we might only gesture toward your pain and suffering but save more details for a subsequent letter.
- Inaccurate information. You want to be 100% accurate in the letter. Any misstatements might be used against you later. Half-truths also destroy trust in the reader.
- Exaggerations. You don’t want to make exaggerations that reduce your credibility. For example, it’s an exaggeration to say you haven’t slept for a month.
Work with an attorney to ensure your letter is strong. Our Florence car accident lawyer is happy to help. You want to send a demand letter before the statute of limitations expires, which is three years in many cases. (South Carolina Code § 15-3-530(5).)
The Key to a Car Accident Demand Letter: Your Proposed Compensation
A well-written demand letter is essential. But the key part is how much you propose to settle your claim for. The letter contains a number and a sentence, such as, “I propose to settle this claim for $100,000.”
This letter starts the negotiation process. We fully expect the other side to reject our proposal and make a counteroffer. For this reason, you need to give considerable thought to the number you include in the first demand letter.
We usually aim high, which gives our firm some room to come down. Let’s say our analysis shows that $50,000 is a fair amount of compensation for your injuries. We wouldn’t include that number in the initial demand letter, because then there is nowhere to go.
Instead, we might start high, around $75,000. That gives us room to come down without going too low. We always expect the other side to negotiate. And if they don’t? Then you might receive a larger settlement than usual.
How Negotiations Play Out
Once the defendant reads our demand letter, they usually write one of their own. Typically, they reject our proposed settlement and make a counteroffer. This counter is usually too low, so we need to draft a follow-up letter.
All subsequent communications should be just as solidly written as the initial demand letter for your car accident case. An experienced lawyer knows what points to make, such as emphasizing the pain you feel.
Defendants refuse to immediately settle for a couple of reasons. Usually, the defendant disagrees about fault. They might claim you were partially to blame for the collision, so they want to offer less compensation. South Carolina law states that your compensation is reduced in proportion to your share of fault. If you are 40% to blame, they will offer 40% less than if you were totally blameless.
The defendant might also disagree regarding the severity of your injuries, especially the pain. We can counter by providing more detail about how your injuries have disrupted your daily life. A vivid couple of paragraphs can convince them that your injuries warrant the compensation requested.
Speak with a Florence Car Accident Lawyer Today
Our experienced attorneys at Swilley Law Firm have handled many car accident cases in the 29501 zip code and nearby areas. You deserve the maximum compensation possible, and we can handle your settlement demand letter for your car accident case. In a free consultation, we can delve into greater detail about what happened and your injuries. We will draft an air-tight demand letter that explains clearly why you deserve a fair settlement. Call us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our legal team.
