Posted on January 25, 2009 by Allen Rogers

MAXIMIZE YOUR AUTO INJURY CLAIM: Part 4

In order to get maximum value in an injury claim, a person needs to know the value of the claim.  But how are injury claims evaluated?  Properly evaluating a claim is more art than science. There is no Blue Book to consult for injury claims, like might be done in appraising a vehicle.  Experience goes a long way in determining a fair settlement value.  The best that can truly be done is to determine an acceptable range of values between the high end and the low end.  A settlement in that range would reflect the "fair value" of the claim.

Much depends on who is doing the evaluating.  Every aspect of the case will affect its value--either positively or negatively.  The insurance claims adjuster will focus on the negative aspects of the claim, such as any gaps in medical care,  poorly documented injuries, etc.  The injury victim and his lawyer will focus on the positive aspects of the claim, such as damage to the vehicles, medical diagnoses of injuries, treatment records, etc.

In order to pursuade the insurance claims adjuster to properly evaluate the claim and to pay maximum value, the claim file must be well-documented.  That means the accident report, witness statements, medical records, medical bills, photos of vehicles, photos of injuries, documentation of lost wages, medical articles explaining the injuries, and diagnostic films (x-rays, MRIs and CT scans).  It may also require reports from experts such as the treating medical doctor explaining the injuries in more detail and/or an accident reconstruction engineer  explaining what happened in the wreck.

Another vital aspect of evaluating injury claims is to know what other similar cases have settled for, as well as knowing about jury trial verdicts in similar cases in the county where the wreck occurred. Personal injury lawyers should keep informed of that information in order to confirm their own evaluation of a case.  Of course every case is different and must be evaluated on its own evidence. But comparisons to other cases can be very helpful because that information is heavily relied upon by insurance claims adjusters. Proper knowledge and preparation are esential to obtaining a fair settlement from an insurance company.

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Posted on January 11, 2009 by Allen Rogers

MAXIMIZE YOUR AUTO INJURY CLAIM: Part 1

Maximizing your injury claim just means getting a fair settlement.  The auto liability insurance company is already working on ways to defeat or at least minimize your claim.  Remember, insurance companies charge a lot of money for premiums from everybody.  But they get to keep all the money that they do not pay out for claims.  In order to do this, they will stop at nothing to cheat you out of every penny they can.  They spend millions of dollars "training" their claims adjusters in the methods of beating you!

That means you have to be smart.  People call lawyers everyday to say, "I just want a fair settlement.  I'm not trying to get rich off of this insurance claim."  If only insurance companies thought that way  injury lawyers would be out of business.  You can count on many things.  The sun will come up in the morning.  It will be hot in Texas in the summer.  And insurance companies will always try to do the wrong thing.

One of the first things the insurance claims adjuster will try to do is to take a tape recorded statement from you. They'll tell you they must have the statement in order to process the claim.  That's just a lie.  Most claimants with lawyers never give a statement.  The insurance adjuster has a list of "loaded" questions they want to ask to catch you off guard or to make you just say something that hurts your case later on.  For example, they often will ask you immediately after a car wreck to provide a complete description of your injuries; or they will ask you to provide precise details about the wreck.  As you'll see below, those questions may seem reasonable but they are really just a trap.

Insurance companies know that many times the symptoms of traumatic injuries do not appear for several days.  But they will use your own words to deny compensation for any injury you failed to describe completely at that time.  For example, hip and leg pain may be the result of a low back injury.  Sometimes the low back is immediately painful but the hip or leg does not begin to hurt for days or even weeks.  So when the claims adjuster asks for a list of injuries, the person with an injured back may have no idea their leg and/or hip will be in severe pain the next day.

With regard to giving a statement about the details of the wreck, most people are completely unprepared.  For one thing, wrecks are often confusing.   The insurance adjuster aims to take advantage of that fact.  They will ask questions about time, speed and distance--such as, how far away from the intersection were you when your light turned green?  How much time passed between the moment your light turned green and the actual crash? The truth is, you weren't using a stop watch.  The amount of time that passes in these instances is usually less than two or three seconds.  But most people will say "10 seconds" or "30 seconds" or "a minute or two."  The insurance adjuster will use the answers to those questions to say you were speeding, or that you were at fault.  End result--"claim denied."

The best way to maximize your injury claim is to start smart.  Never give a recorded statement to the insurance company until you have consulted an experienced injury lawyer.  Remember, a lawyer cannot un-do the harm you cause to your own case.  Get legal advice first, and then decide whether you should allow the insurance company to question you about the wreck.

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