What’s a Reasonable Settlement for a Traffic Accident in Pennsylvania?

Whether or not you get what you are owed is the standard that injury settlements should be judged by.  It is important that the insurance company pay what is reasonable for any case, but how exactly that reasonableness is determined and whether reasonable damages are achievable in a settlement is always a question.

The only reasonable settlement is one that pays for all of the damages the other driver caused you: your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and vehicle damage.  Some expenses can only be claimed at their “reasonable” cost, compared to what you might have actually paid.  Otherwise, it is important to review any settlement offers with a lawyer, as insurance companies are often very unreasonable, and the only way to get a reasonable payout might be to go to trial.

Call The Reiff Law Firm’s Philadelphia car accident attorneys at (215) 709-6940 for a free case review.

How Much is Reasonable for My Car Accident Case?

It is hard to know what your specific case should be worth without examining the specific facts of your case.  Every case is unique, and the damages that one person faces can be drastically different than the damages another person faces, even for similar injuries.

We judge what is reasonable for your case against the total damages you faced.  These should include all of the following, at their full reasonable value:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Future lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Vehicle repair/replacement costs
• Lost vehicle value
• Incidental expenses for services you cannot perform because of your injury
• Other costs caused by the accident.

Some costs – like pain and suffering – depend heavily on who you are.  For example, a broken arm could cause a 55-year-old with a desk job to miss only a couple of days of work, but a 22-year-old factory worker might miss 6 weeks of wages.

Do Insurance Companies Pay Reasonable Damages?

Getting an insurance company to pay you reasonable damages can be difficult.  Insurance companies often start from the assumption that everyone is lying to them and trying to pass off fake claims, which makes it harder for everyone to get damages.

When you make your initial claim with the insurance company, they might not actually look at your damages and take them into account at the value you claimed.  Instead, they will look to see what they think they might have to pay if the case went to court, then offer you less than that as a “nuisance settlement.”

When they account for their bottom line instead of your actual damages, their offers are not reasonable.  You should have our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers review the settlement, reject it, and demand fair payment instead.

If negotiations cannot progress, we can take the insurance company to court instead of trying to settle with them.

How Are Reasonable Medical Bills and Vehicle Repairs Calculated?

Sometimes the cost actually charged for medical services and the cost you can recover in an injury case do not line up exactly.  When you file for damages, the defendant can be made to cover “reasonable” expenses, but people do not always charge “reasonable” fees.

Medical Costs

When it comes to medical care, treatment from an area hospital is likely going to be charged at a fair rate; that will usually be considered reasonable.  However, if you opt for additional, aggressive care or your doctors charged you for unreasonable services, the insurance company might be able to get out of covering those damages because they are unreasonable.

Vehicle Repairs

The same is true for covering the cost of vehicle repairs.  Reasonable repair costs can be covered, but that doesn’t necessarily allow you to go to a luxury mechanic who charges more than the going rate.

In many cases, you will actually end up getting the repairs from a mechanic the insurance company approves, making it hard for them to later claim they were unreasonable.

Other Costs

Some other costs can only be claimed at their reasonable value, too.  This often means their fair market value.

For example, if you are claiming damages because you cannot perform tasks around the house – like mowing the lawn – then we would usually claim the fair market value to hire someone else to do that task.

Can You Get a Reasonable Settlement Without Going to Court?

Our attorneys are often skeptical of insurance companies’ ability to settle for a fair or reasonable value.  As such, we often rely on a strong offense, taking the case to court instead of letting the insurance company control the decisions.  While some insurance companies in some cases will offer reasonable settlement values, our attorneys are not afraid to take the case to court when we need to.

Keep in mind, also, that filing your case in court gives you additional tools like discovery and subpoena power that you do not get when you are just informally negotiating with the insurance company.

Because of this, an aggressive strategy often means filing in court before the insurance company gets a chance to string you along.  In that case, we can still settle – we do not have to go to trial just because we filed in court.

The pressure of a looming trial can often push insurance companies into more reasonable settlements, and if they still refuse to pay what they owe you, we’ll see them in court.

Will I Get a More Reasonable Settlement from My Own Insurance Company?

Traffic accident cases can be confusing in Pennsylvania because of the choice we have on our insurance policies between a full tort or limited tort policy.  In either case, you have at least some coverage for your own injuries, but full tort policies often see drivers relying more heavily on their own insurance coverages.

However, your insurance usually does not cover everything.  Pain and suffering, for instance, is not available under your own policy.  This means you ultimately need to go after the other driver’s insurance to recover reasonable damages you won’t get from your own insurance, plus outstanding costs like deductibles.

Call Our Pennsylvania Car Accident Attorneys Today

For your free case evaluation, call the Ardmore, PA car accident lawyers at The Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940.