QuestionMy moms 99 escort was blasted this labor day and looks to be totaled. They took her to the hospital and she checked out ok.Now progressive has offered her 300 pain and suffering and hasn't even seen the car yet. This car was a previously rebuilt total and I trying to intercede on her behalf to get as much as I can. Any tips?
AnswerHi again, Dave,
Thank you for the nice feedback. I appreciate that.
Yes, by all means DO settle the property damage aspect and reserve the personal injury. Here are some pages dealing with the right of your Mother to have a rental car until the time they make a ballpark fair market value offer on her total loss. Usually they will give a few days to get out and purchase a replacement car.
http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0458.htm
Best wishes,
Doctor Settlement, J.D.
www.settlementcentral.com
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Hi Dave,
I am sorry to hear about your Mother being hurt in such a serious accident. I presume that you meant Memorial Day, which is yesterday, and not Labor Day, which was nine months ago.
Dr. Settlement represented auto accident injury victims in their later years, and they are a special class of clients for a number of reasons, as I will address below.
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#1. ASAP you need to get TOTALLY AND EXCLUSIVELY INVOLVED and DO NOT LET THE ADJUSTER EVER EVER EVER SPEAK WITH YOUR MOTHER.
You MUST take IMMEDIATE measures to remove the communication link between the adjuster and your Mother. Show her my answer and led her to understand that she is likely going to be a victim of insurance abuse unless she lets you take over discussions of her claim with the adjuster.
Have your mother write a note in which she tells the adjuster to deal EXCLUSIVELY WITH YOU. Her version of the accident can be put into a demand letter. NO, HER RECORDED STATEMENT IS NOT NOT NOT NOT EVER a formal requirement to settle the claim versus the tortfeasor.
All the recorded statements will do is to show your Mother as being confused and not so much interested in pursuing any claim for injuries, not to mention that she will make light of her injuries. That is the way they do it at age 80, even if they are injured badly.
Dr. Settlement's trial attorney experience is that 80 year old victims want to make light of their injuries, even when they are suffering. Hence, I want to make sure you get her into the doctor's office to handle her pains. She cannot have been in an accident in which her car was totaled and not come away injury-free.
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#2. Do NOT entertain settlement discussions for at least six months.
Your Mother was injured in an accident that totaled out her car. One day later she is still in shock. Doctor Settlement knows auto accident injuries and I am willing to bet a lot that your Mother's injuries will cause a lot of pain in the coming weeks.
These injuries may not show for few days, but believe me they will be there.
Could this be a bit early to be thinking about making a claim? NOT if you are the adjuster trying to put a lid on a potentially expensive claim.
In the first place, do you think it is OK to settle a few days after the wreck? Is your Mother's back and neck completely healed such that after a full day's activities she will have no residual pains at night or soreness the next morning?
I am willing to bet that even after initial treatments, once your Mother starts to get more active this Spring & Summer, she will notice pains once again. Mark my words that at first she will have a dull ache, and that ache will become a nagging pain with your Mother's increased physical activity if it is not treated.
Tell her: "Listen to your body and to get medical attention when you feel any aches or pains that continue for a day or more. GET MEDICAL CARE FOR YOUR INJURIES—if you have any aches. DO IT NOW; there is no reason why you should suffer."
DO NOT SETTLE YOUR MOTHER'S CLAIM UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT SOFT TISSUE INJURIES WILL NOT REAPPEAR ONCE SHE STRESSES HER BODY WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES OR JUST DAILY LIVING. That Plays Right Into an Insurance Tactic Regarding Inducing Early Settlement of Injury Claims.
Let's just finish up this topic of early settlements Dave, so you get the full picture of the advantage to them and the risks to your Motrher.
As witnessed by this inane early and pitiful offer from the adjuster, insurance companies like to settle early because the general damages—claims for pain and suffering—are always minimal, but continue to grow with continued medical/therapeutic care over the months.
Therefore, the insurance adjuster will try to settle before the claim merits a larger pain and suffering element. This makes good sense for the insurance company. A claim that is still active after 12 months, with an injured claimant still undergoing treatment, will settle for a lot more pain and suffering money than a claim that is settled after two or three months of treatment.
In soft tissue cases such as this, the full extent of most injuries is not known immediately after finishing early rounds of treatment, because the injured person has to undergo some of the wear and tear of everyday life, including the pounding her body will receive from a day's normal activities. Even little tasks that your Mother might do that appear not to be physically demanding can be hard on an injured body.
Plus, who will pay for your mother's medical care incurred AFTER you settle? What if you were to settle now and nine months later when she is suffering and the pain starts to become too much, and she returns for treatment only to discover that she can expect a course of treatment that will cost a lot of money? After you settle your Mother's claim, all further treatment is HER responsibility. Except in specific, unusual situations, you cannot go back and re-open a settlement.
Here is page from my website that shows in detail why you should never make an early personal injury insurance claims settlement http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0211.htm
And, of course, once you settle, THAT IS IT: your mother will never see another dime in pain and suffering money. By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
I know that you think this is going on too far with this one topic, Dave, but I HAVE TO TELL YOU that this is a REAL danger that I have seen many times. So just have patience a bit longer and commit yourself to read the following to your Mother since that adjuster is likely going to try again:
There may be a dull ache at night following a day's normal activities, or some physical activity or pain the next morning. DO NOT LET LITTLE PAINS GO UNATTENDED SINCE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THEY WILL CONTINUE OR GO AWAY. We all hope and believe that such little pains will disappear soon. But on the other hand, we have no way of knowing since this is the way serious fractures and soft tissue injuries can behave.
So, when this happens, even if a couple months or more post-treatment, do not hesitate to SEE A DOCTOR AND ATTRIBUTE THE PAIN TO THE ACCIDENT WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION. It is NEVER TOO LATE TO REPORT PERSONAL INJURIES FROM A FALL ACCIDENT http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0104.htm
"No medicine: no money"; medical costs increase worth of personal injury insurance claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0045.htm
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#3. Let's help Mom understand that we need to REFUSE THE OFFER and NOT EVEN RESPOND with a counter offer.
First off, do not let her talk to that adjuster again. Use writing only, as I will suggest below. Second, make a written response to the adjuster, in which you recite EVERYTHING she talked about. Tell her that the offer is wholly inadequate and that some more time should pass while your Mother has a chance to see how her body has been impacted by this trauma. And ONLY THEN will you respond to her offer.
You can send it via e-mail, and ask her to respond via e-mail.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE EXISTING OFFER? Write her back and respectfully decline. Tell her that you and your Mother feel it is too early to settle inasmuch as she is just starting to have more pain. DO NOT INVITE A PHONE CALL. Tell her you are not interested in discussing settlement until you have some idea of when this might heal.
There should be no worry about offending the adjuster since her offer already amounts to a slap in the face, ASSUMING that there is some kind of residual problem with your Mother from those injuries she surely sustained in such a serious accident. This is my assumption based upon what I have experienced with clients with similar injuries.
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#4. Write me again once your Mother has undergone treatments and you think she is ready to settle. At that time I will pass along some free pages of information on insurance claim settlements from www.SettlementCentral.Com
OK, Dave, that is about it. I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
