At what point is a lawsuit best in a car accident case?

A car accident lawsuit is permitted for any car accident in a fault state in which the defendant being sued is responsible for the accident. It is also permitted in some instances in no-fault states if the injuries in the accident reach a certain threshold of seriousness. As such, if you are injured in a car accident, at some point you may need to decide if filing a suit is appropriate or not. 

In general, filing a lawsuit in a car accident case becomes appropriate when it is clear that settlement talks are not going to lead to a resolution. This may happen in the following instances:

• The potential defendant is not willing to accept fault. If fault is not accepted, then you probably aren't going to get any settlement offer at all because the defendant will believe that you won't win your case. If you file a suit, you will, of course, have to prove that the defendant is responsible for the accident before you can get compensation. 
• If the other party is not willing to make a reasonable and fair offer. You should be compensated for medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress and pain and suffering. If a death results from the car accident, compensation should be for wrongful death damages. If a fair settlement offer that encompasses all damages to which you are entitled is not made, you may have no choice but to try to collect them in court. 

When deciding whether to sue or not, make sure to think about how strong of a case you have. If you turn down a settlement offer because you do not think it is a good one and then you lose your case, you will get nothing. Therefore, a person with a strong case can afford to negotiate a bit more than a person with a weak case, since the individual with the strong case has a better chance of winning. 

You also must make sure you file a claim within the statute of limitations, even if negotiations are still going on. If your claim becomes expired, you aren't going to get anything because the defendant will know you no longer have the legal recourse available. 

You should strongly consider getting legal help when considering whether to file a lawsuit, as your lawyer will help to ensure you don't do anything to jeopardize your claim and can help you to assess when it is the right time to sue.