Between a settlement directly carried out between the victim and the insurer and a transaction in which the victim is assisted by a consulting doctor and a lawyer, the difference in important cases is at least one-third or more.
How does the insurance company’s offer work?
Before compensating you, the Insurance Company will appoint its own expert doctor to assess your various damages during the medical examination. Similarly, it is the insurance company that will make you a financial proposal based on the different damages determined during this examination. It is therefore important to prepare this medical examination, have a complete medical file including the medical report drawn up following the accident, medical opinions, incurred care costs, and be assisted by an independent consulting doctor.
What are the timeframes?
The insurance company’s offer must be made within 8 months from the date of the accident. In the absence of wound consolidation, the insurer is required to present a provisional offer within this 8-month period, with the final offer to be made within 5 months from the date of consolidation or the day the insurer became aware of the consolidation.
The compensation offer must be comprehensive and indicate the evaluation of each damage and must take into account the existence of third-party payers.
However, since the offer proposed by the insurer is always lower than what victims could receive if negotiated by a lawyer or within a judicial process, it is preferable to negotiate the compensation proposed by the insurer with the help of a lawyer who can argue based on compensations granted by the courts.
The specialized lawyer is indeed familiar with the amount of compensations granted for such and such bodily injury, for aesthetic damages, third-party assistance, etc.
Sometimes, just sending a letter with the lawyer’s letterhead can result in doubling the proposed compensation offer.
An amicable settlement with your Insurance Company or that of the opposing party if a third party is responsible for the accident is always possible.
If, on the other hand, you consider the Insurance Company’s proposals insufficient, you can take action through a lawyer in the Court of First Instance to request the appointment of a judicial expert who will be responsible for examining you and determining your damages. Finally, it is important to check in your insurance contract whether you have legal protection insurance that will cover your lawyer fees. Your lawyer will get in direct contact with your legal protection insurer to secure payment.
