While it is not unheard of for slip and fall lawsuits to progress to a civil courtroom, most of these claims conclude outside of court with a private settlement agreement between the parties involved. Settlement agreements can often mutually benefit all sides, provided the injured person knows and effectively enforces their rights during the negotiation process.
Not all Memphis slip and fall settlements are antagonistic processes, but you should be prepared to fight for the compensation you need, and that can be difficult for anyone to accomplish alone. Fortunately, you have help available from the seasoned slip and fall attorneys at Reaves Law Firm, PLLC, with building the strongest possible claim, negotiating for every cent you deserve for your damages, and navigating around common legal and procedural roadblocks along the way.
Most of the time, someone pursuing a settlement for a slip and fall accident in Memphis will negotiate with their named defendant’s insurance providers rather than the person themselves since the former will likely have a much greater financial ability to cover the injured person’s losses than the latter. Depending on how cooperative the insurance company is and what circumstances the accident occurred under the settlement process may be finished in just a few weeks, or it may take several months, involve multiple rounds of negotiations, and even require assistance from a third-party mediator.
It is generally not possible to get an insurance provider, defendant, or the person who is being sued, to agree to a settlement more than one year after an injury first occurs because that is the deadline for filing suit over a slip and fall set by the statute of limitations for injury claims. However, the parties involved in a formal lawsuit can stop the litigation process and agree to a settlement at any point before a court hands down a final verdict so that the one-year time limit for settlement negotiations is not always set in stone.
Much like there is no set amount of time it may take to agree on a settlement following a Memphis slip and fall, there is also no average value for a settlement that will be useful for any injured person bringing a claim. What would constitute a fair value for a slip and fall settlement depends entirely on the injuries and losses the individual pursuing that settlement sustained, which means a fair settlement could range from thousands to millions of dollars in value based on the circumstances.
When negotiating for a fair settlement, it is essential to account for expected future damages that a slip and fall injury will cause and past damages that already occurred before negotiations started. For example, beyond just emergency medical expenses, a comprehensive settlement demand should account for expected costs of future treatment like physical therapy and details like assistive equipment needed to account for long-term disability.
Settlement out of court is a common outcome for a slip and fall claim, and it can be a good decision. However, you should not go into settlement negotiations assuming that everyone will have your best interests in mind because, more often than not, insurance providers and the opposing party will do everything they can to protect their own best interests at your expense.
Having a skilled lawyer from Reaves Law Firm, PLLC, on your side could be crucial to getting the best outcome possible from your Memphis slip and fall settlement. Call today to set up an initial consultation.
