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After a car accident, you might receive a settlement offer from the at-fault driver’s insurance company faster than you expected. That speed is intentional. Insurance companies know that injured people are often stressed, dealing with medical bills, and missing work. A quick offer can feel like relief, but accepting too soon is one of the most common mistakes accident victims make. Once you sign a release and accept a settlement, that’s typically the end of it. You give up the right to seek additional compensation, even if your injuries turn out to be worse than initially understood.
Signs The Offer Is Too Low
Not every settlement offer deserves an immediate rejection, but there are clear red flags that suggest the number on the table doesn’t reflect what your claim is actually worth.
- The offer arrives before you’ve finished medical treatment or reached maximum medical improvement
- Your future medical costs, such as physical therapy or follow-up procedures, aren’t accounted for
- Lost wages, both current and future, are missing from the calculation
- Pain and suffering aren’t included or are significantly undervalued
- The offer is presented with pressure to respond quickly
Any one of these should give you pause. Multiple red flags together are a strong signal to push back.
The Role Of Maximum Medical Improvement
One of the most important concepts in personal injury cases is maximum medical improvement, or MMI. This is the point at which your doctor determines your condition has stabilized, even if you haven’t fully recovered. Settling before you reach MMI means you’re agreeing to a number without knowing the full picture of your medical needs. Wyoming law allows injured parties to seek compensation for both current and future damages. If you settle early and later discover you need surgery or ongoing care, you won’t be able to go back and ask for more. That’s a serious risk when accepting a first offer that seems straightforward on the surface. A Cheyenne car accident lawyer can help you understand where you are in your recovery and whether the timing of an offer is working against your interests.
What A Fair Settlement Actually Covers
A fair settlement should account for more than just your immediate medical bills. Many people don’t realize how much a serious accident can affect their life financially over the long term. A thorough settlement should factor in:
- Emergency room visits and hospitalization
- Specialist care and rehabilitative therapy
- Prescription medications and medical equipment
- Income lost during recovery
- Reduced earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
When an insurer’s offer doesn’t address these areas, it’s worth asking why. The answer is almost always that they’re trying to close the claim cheaply.
When Negotiation Makes More Sense Than Rejection
Rejecting an offer outright isn’t always the right move. Sometimes the better path is a counteroffer backed by solid documentation. Medical records, wage statements, expert opinions, and a clear accounting of your losses can shift the conversation significantly. Insurance adjusters expect some negotiation. Coming to the table with evidence rather than just a number gives the process more weight and often produces better results than either immediate acceptance or flat rejection. At Davis & Johnson Law Office, the approach to settlement negotiations is straightforward: don’t accept less than what the case is actually worth, and don’t reject an offer without understanding the full value of the claim first.
How Long You Have To Decide
Wyoming’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally four years from the date of the accident. That gives you time to make a considered decision rather than a pressured one. Don’t let an adjuster convince you that the offer expires in 48 hours or that you have no other options. If you’ve received a settlement offer after a car accident in Cheyenne and aren’t sure whether to accept it, a Cheyenne car accident lawyer can review the offer, evaluate your damages, and give you an honest assessment of whether it reflects fair value. Reach out to Davis & Johnson Law Office today to get a clearer picture of where your case actually stands.