QuestionI was involved in a car accident on Jan. 21st 2006, and was not at fault. The other driver t-boned the passenger side of my car and was found liable for failure to yield. The damage to my car was over $4,000.00 and I sustained injury to my back and neck, which I saw my doctor for a day later. I have been in physical therapy for a couple months and stopped a few weeks ago to try and see if I could continue daily life without the therapy. I still have muscle pain in my back though. I want to settle but do not want to be taken advantage of by the other insurance company, which I'm sure they'll try to do. They already paid for the repairs of my car, but my insurance company has been paying my medical costs through a PIP claim. What sort of settlement would be reasonable, considering my injury and diminished value of my car? I have a 1998 Subaru Legacy GT with mileage under 90,000. My car is in great condition, now.
Answer
Dear Angela S,
I am sorry to hear that your pains have continued after stopping your course of treatment. That is a sure sign of a chronic soft tissue injury that will need a lot more treatment.
Because you have this condition but you are asking about settling NOW, I am going to put in some extra time on your question to set you straight on the advantages of waiting to settle.
My answer therefore will involve four sections, as follows
1. Why the insurance companies want you to settle early
2. Chronic soft tissue injury—continued care required
3. Valuation of your claim
4. Diminished value??
1. DO NOT SETTLE YOUR CLAIM WHEN YOU ARE STILL SYMPTOMATIC AND YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR PROGNOSIS: That Plays Right Into an Insurance Tactic Regarding Inducing Early Settlement of Injury Claims.
I am starting with the topic that really bugs me: injured persons settling their claims early, either because they feel the need to close the matter, or because insurance adjusters try to scam injured persons by inducing a quickie settlement when the injuries have not yet become fully known.
Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
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 your 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 a month or two of treatment.
In chronic soft tissue cases such as yours, Angela, the full extent of most injuries is not known immediately after finishing one early round 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 work. Even jobs that appear not to be physically demanding can be hard on an injured body.
For example, have you ever stood all day with few breaks, as a store checkout clerk or a jewelry salesperson does? Or sat all day at a computer, as a secretary or phone service center employee does? Many jobs will interfere with healing, and you have no way to know how your body will respond until you have experienced sufficient physical exposure to load-test the scar tissue as you heal.
Plus, who will pay for your medical care incurred AFTER you settle? What if you were to settle now and three weeks later when the pain starts to become too much, you go to a chiropractor only to discover that you can expect a course of treatment that will cost a lot of money? After you settle your claim, all further treatment is your responsibility. Except in specific, unusual situations, you cannot go back and re-open a settlement: when you cash the check, you agree to close your claim in all aspects. Check with your PIP adjuster to find out whether they will pay anything once you close the claim against the tortfeasor.
Here is another page from my website that shows in detail why you should never make an early settlement of personal injury insurance claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0211.htm
2. CONTINUED CARE REQUIRED FOR CHRONIC SOFT TISSUE INJURY
You gave it a good try to see if you were healed, but now is the time to return to treatment ASAP. Simply report back to the doctor who sent you to physical therapy and see what she has in mind for the next course of treatment.
If physical therapy was helpful, then return there, or you could suggest another course of treatment. If you want to see a chiropractor, you don't have to get your medical doctor's permission, but it does help if she would be so informed and make an annotation to that effect in her notes. That is helpful since it shows that you and the doctor communicated on the next course of treatment.
Our members at www.SettlementCentral.Com report that chiropractic is best for healing soft tissue injuries.
Car Accident Severe Whiplash Treated Most Effectively by Chiropractors http://www.settlementcentral.com/page8010.htm
Chiropractors Assist in Personal Injury Insurance Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0050.htm
3. NO VALUATION OF CLAIM IS POSSIBLE WITH SO LITTLE INFORMATION
It is WAY TOO EARLY TO BE THINKING ABOUT VALUATION OF YOUR CLAIM. What if you go through a course of chiropractic treatment and then get better, only to have aggravation a month later and end up at a pain clinic eventually? THAT kind of chronic soft tissue injury I would not wish on anyone, but I have handled a number of soft tissue injuries that would just not go away, either because of the initial severity or because of the load put on the body by the daily work of the injured person.
Valuation is not like going to a drive-in for a fast food meal. It takes time and study of many factors, including liability and medical records. The "rule of thumb" is just that: a gross estimate.
So, I have a short answer and I promise to give you the full longer more detailed answer if you ask me later, when you are ready to settle.
SHORT ANSWER: A common theme among those who still think a formula will put you in the valuation ballpark is to multiply the medical specials times a number from TWO to FIVE (depending upon factors, some of which I will give you later—or all of which are listed in the members' side of my website, www.SettlementCentral.Com). Then that figure is the total value of the personal injury portion of the claim. Of course there is a long list of factors to consider for adding or deducting from the total.
4. DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIM??
You mentioned two things that lead me to wonder how you will make a diminished value claim. First, you did settle with the tortfeasor on property damage already, did you not? In other words, didn't their check state that it was in full payment of property damage claims? If I were the adjuster, I would tell you that you already signed of on property damage.
Next, you state that your vehicle "is in great condition, now." If that is the case, what is the diminished value? One could see making a diminished value claim if most of the $4,000 was spent on structural damage, which is the kind of thing the next buyer does not like to hear.
On the other hand, $4,000 does not go too far these days in auto body repairs even if only for sheet metal and paint. Thus, if you had no real structural damage, it would be a hard sell to show that an eight year old car lost any value in having cosmetic repairs done.
Finally, I want you to be an effective communicator of your demand for settlement. Don't just call up the adjuster and start discussing your demands. Instead take the time to make your own demand letter—that is one step that will really pay dividends for you..
Personal Injury Demand Letter Samples http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0170.htm
Use a Confidential Diary for TOP Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0208.htm
Communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is fine to meet with him or her, but have your 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 respectfully request that you locate the feedback form on this site and leave me some feedback.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D.
www.SettlementCentral.Com
