I have been offered a settlement of factory fall injury compensation after breaking both legs when a walkway collapsed. How can I tell if I have received a fair offer?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
Question:
I have been offered a settlement of factory fall injury compensation after breaking both legs when a walkway collapsed. How can I tell if I have received a fair offer?
Answer:
Due to the nature of the accident and the severity of the injuries you have sustained, it is likely that the level of factory fall injury compensation that you will be eligible to claim will be substantial. It is not unusual in such circumstances for insurance companies to take the proactive step of contacting an accident victim directly with an offer of compensation for a factory fall injury. It is becoming increasingly common for insurance companies to take this approach as a method of saving costs and boosting company profits.
Although accident victims can certainly benefit from accepting insurance company offers, it is the insurance company that really stands to benefit the most. In exchange for a quick payment of compensation, accident victims are usually offered a particularly low settlement and such offers rarely take the full extent of the injuries into consideration. It is rare for such offers to factor in out of pocket expenses which have been incurred such as medical treatment costs and loss of earnings.
These offers usually come at a time when a victim is suffering financial pressure from being unable to work and, when faced with medical bills, it can be tempting to accept such an offer. However offers of compensation for a factory fall injury should be thoroughly assessed before being accepted. Only once the full extent of injuries are know will it be possible to calculate an accurate value of compensation; what at first glance appears to be an adequate factory injury fall compensation settlement may turn out to be grossly insufficient when injuries and their implications have been assessed.
It is not possible to provide you with an accurate figure of how much compensation you would be entitled to claim without further information about the nature and extent of your injuries. In order to determine whether your offer of compensation is fair, you should discuss your case with a personal injury solicitor. After assessing your injuries you will be advised whether the offer is reasonable and whether you should consider rejecting the offer and claiming factory fall injury compensation through the Injuries Board Ireland.