QuestionMy husband was rear ended while sitting at a red light. The F-150's frame was bent and the vehicle was damaged. In the accident my husband's left arm was injured. It is a soft tissue injury and he has been to 12 physical therapy appointments and seen by an orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon tells him the injury could take 6 months or two years to heal. It has been since May and the injury is better but not healed. Any lifting or pulling seems to make it flare again so there are things he cannot do that we have found we need to hire out. The insurance company wants to close out the case for $2,000. We are concerned that it may take another year before it heals or the doctors may decide they need to do surgery. $2,000 will not begin to cover that expense. We don't want to be unreasonable but feel maybe we should insist on more money or keep the case open until the arm is healed. What is a reasonable amount to ask for in these cases or should we insist on keeping the case open?
Thank you,
Lynn
AnswerHi Lynn,
That seems like a very low offer, given the facts of injury as you state them. I think you are right to sniff out something wrong with closing out this claim for suce a small sum. My suspicion is that there are FOUR reasons for this poor offer.
FIRST, the insurance adjuster is trying to settle the claim early, BEFORE the injury brings big money. Six months from now, if your husband is still suffering as he is now, then the value of the claim increases. I would not bet on this serious injury improving on its own in the next six months. If he can get the victim to settle early, before that injury drags on into one year or more, he can save a lot of 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
SECOND, it sounds like you have done little work on making sure that the adjuster has adequate medical records that will give in clear language the troubling prognosis. Have you seen the records that were sent to the adjuster? Does the doctor discuss in a narrative format all that he told to you and your husband?
If not, then consider using a narrative letter from the doctor. We have a lot of free legal tips on insurance claims settlements using doctor narrative reports http://www.settlementcentral.com/page8003.htm You can get information there as to how to ask for a narrative letter and what it might cost. Talk to the doctor's office manager about it. This is also a good way to boost the value of the claim. And whatever you pay will be repaid to you from her settlement. BTW, you will want to wait for that narrative report until AFTER the next six months, so you can provide the doctor with all of the information I will discuss below.
THIRD, it sounds like your submission to the adjuster was pretty light. Did you give a lot of information as to how your husband was suffering? For example what about using lay witness statements from family, friends, and co-workers. Some of these people do have relevant evidence to document what he is going through. List those things that he cannot do. And be sure to include those things that he CAN do, but for which he will suffer that night or for the next few days. Witness Statements Settle Personal Injury Insurance Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0196.htm
FOURTH, you need to TAKE THE INITIATIVE, not the adjuster. By getting his figure out there first, he is trying to define the size of the ballpark that you will play in. You cannot trust him to be fair.
All of that insurance advertising regarding being "in good hands" and "like a good neighbor" has convinced a majority of us that the insurance industry will be fair. Hence, we sit back and wait for them to take the initiative. They have brainwashed us to be against plaintiffs and trial attorneys and lawsuits. Hence, when we say all we want is to be reasonable, we are also playing into the trap of belief that the insurance industry will be reasonable.
No, they will not: they want to take advantage of each victim in the most abusive way they can. If you had agreed to their $2,000 offer, do you think that adjuster would lie in bed worrying about cheating you? NO—he would be the toast of the office, and his quarterly review would cite the abusive settlement as a great accomplishment.
Take the initiative: a quick settlement of a serious injury IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. As for who should make an offer first, YOU should take the initiative. Take the initiative and DO NOT LET THE ADJUSTER DICTATE THE SIZE OF THE BALLPARK you are going to play in: Get your demand letter out there.
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You asked: “What can I expect for a settlement?”" Unless you take the initiative in this claim, what you "can expect" is to become another success story for an adjuster who has run over uninformed claimants and denied them a fair settlement award.
You should be commended for having the initiative to seek out a website such as this and to ask for help, but the most important part of achieving a successful personal injury claim HAS TO START WITH YOU, NOT THE ADJUSTER.
Do NOT let the adjuster set the parameters of the negotiation: get your demand letter out there, but ONLY after your husband has some more accurate and thorough description in the medical records and hence, a more definite prognosis, having lived with this serious injury another six months or so. Make sure that during those months you keep those records for the doctor to know about, and go in and see him is six months and ask what can be done. That may bring some medical ideas or new treatments, but it most certainly will also bring upgraded medical reports that will substantially increase the value of your husband's claim. Keep your eye on your state statute of limitations http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0452.htm
It is not all that hard or mysterious to put together an Effective Personal Injury Insurance Demand Letter http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0170.htm It does not have to be "fancy" or complex; just hit the main points and get it out to the adjuster soon after you get that updated history of additional suffering and new prognosis.
If I were you, what I would do right now is to become as fully informed about the insurance injury claims process as you can, with the objective of seizing the initiative in prosecuting my claim, instead of taking a passive, reactive role. Can you see the difference in postures and how one works to your advantage and the other to your disadvantage? What you and your husband can do in the meantime is to learn how to submit your own personal injury insurance claim.
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Learn about how to handle your husband's injury claim: DO IT YOURSELF INSURANCE CLAIM SETTLEMENTS OK, Lynn, Let’s Look at self-help methods of resolving your daughter's claim. Learn how to settle his personal injury insurance claim AND DO IT YOURSELF.
Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
Just skim this one and don't spend much time on it: overview Tort Law Personal Injury Legal Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3000.htm
Managing Medical Care After Auto Accident: http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0203.htm
Medical Care Documentation-the Key to Successful Personal Injury Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0217.htm
Keys to a MAXIMUM INSURANCE INJURY CLAIM SETTLEMENT http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0089.htm
Use a Confidential Personal Injury Diary for TOP DOLLAR Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0208.htm
Outline of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0190.htm
Detailed listing of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm
It will be the insurance adjuster who usually wants to settle early, so just be glad that he was not hounding you all along to get this thing done. That usually plays right into the strategy of the insurance company. 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
Responding to Settlement Offer From Insurance Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0244.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
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WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE EXISTING OFFER? Write him back and respectfully decline. Tell him that you and your husband feel it is too early to settle inasmuch as he is still having a lot of pain, especially after any physical use of his arm. DO NOT INVITE A PHONE CALL. Tell him you are not interested in discussing settlement until you have some idea of when this might heal.
FINAL TOPIC, Lynn: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
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
