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If you’re involved in an auto accident in the Fort Worth, TX area, it’s extremely important to get your Texas Peace Officer Crash Report as soon as possible. This report will have crucial details about your auto accident including facts about the accident and parties involved. A crucial piece to this report is the portion where the officer writes his/her narrative about how the accident occurred. This may help or hurt your case.

Another portion which makes acquiring this report crucial is the section on who each party’s insurance company is. You’ll need this information in order to open your claim.

How To Get Your Fort Worth Police Department Accident Report Online

Fort Worth accident reports can be obtained online at the Fort Worth Police Department’s website for $11.00.

To order your online accident report, you will need to provide the following information:

• Report Number
• Incident Date
• Incident Location
• Intersecting Street (if applicable)
• Involved Last Name
• Involved Driver’s License#
• Insurance Company

You may also download your Fort Worth Crash Report on the the Texas Crash Records Information System website for either $6.39 or $8.44 for a certified copy.

How To Get Your Crash Report In-person

Fort Worth accident reports can be picked up in person at the Fort Worth Police Records Division located at:

1000 Calvert Street

Fort Worth, TX 76107

Their customer service hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

How To Get Your Crash Report By Mail

To request your crash report by mail, you will need to fill out a customer order form and send the form along with a money order in the amount of $6.00 (payable to the Forth Worth Police Department), along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, to:

Fort Worth Police Records Division

350 West Belknap St.

Fort Worth, Texas 76102-2004

If you choose to request an accident report through the mail there is an additional search fee of $6.00.

After You Get Your Fort Worth Accident Report, Get Help With Your Case

If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident, it is important that you get your Fort Worth Accident Report right away.

If you need help obtaining your report or filing your case, contact the Milano Legal Group today for a free case evaluation. Our Texas car accident lawyers are eager to help you get justice.

Below we will cover valuable tips and secrets Allstate adjusters don’t want you to know in order to get the most out of your bodily injury settlement, including answers to frequently asked questions regarding Allstate car accident settlements. Also, we will cover actual Allstate settlements, some of which are from our own clients’ cases.

Overview of Allstate Claims

Allstate is one of the largest insurance companies, ranked fifth largest insurance company in the United States (by direct premiums written). We’ve all seen their ads attempting to convince consumers that they’re in good hands if they ever buy a policy with Allstate. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Allstate’s Boxing Gloves

Allstate along with State Farm overhauled the handling of auto insurance claims with their internal company philosophy of the three D’s—DELAY, DENY, DEFEND. They would delay and deny paying on valid claims, as well as battle, putting on their “boxing gloves” on its “good hands” for those that insisted on going to court against them.

CNN led an 18-month investigation where it was found that Allstate (along with State Farm) employed a hardball scheme in minor-crash claims. The plan was to employ the three-D’s, including convincing juries that these claims were fraudulent, as well as treating claimants unfairly.

CNN obtained documents in this investigation highlighting that this scheme was not actually to crack down on fraudulent claims but was purely for profit.

Fighting Back Against Allstate

Don’t let Allstate’s Delay, Deny, Defend strategy intimidate you into settling for little to nothing. Following the 10 tips below will assist in providing you with a fighting chance against Allstate’s unfair claims strategy.

1. Do Not Admit Fault

The stress of an auto accident gives rise to a variety of mental, emotional, and physical responses, including an adrenaline rush, anxiety, and a feeling of disorientation. After an accident, you may not be in your best state of mind, but you should do your best to not admit fault. Now is not the time to say, “I’m sorry.”

The fact is things often happen so fast that it’s initially difficult to really know who or what caused an accident. As the dust settles, things may become clearer. Keep your communication with the other party to a minimum. You may ask them if they’re alright or need help.

If you decide to talk to either the other party’s insurance company or your own without consulting a lawyer, keep your conversation brief. Write down exactly what you’re going to say before you even dial the insurance company’s number.

You should only discuss facts and not presume anything. The better thing to do is not talk to the insurance company at all. Wait until you at least talk to a lawyer. The initial contact with an insurance company can be devastating to your case.

Also, absolutely NEVER give the other party’s insurance company a recorded statement!

2. Immediately Seek Medical Treatment

Going to the emergency room by ambulance is the best thing you can do to legitimize your case before Allstate or any insurance company. This shows that you were, in fact, injured, since most folks will not go through all the trouble of being transported by EMS to the emergency room. Of course, make sure you aren’t just doing so in order to get more money out of your case.

If you didn’t make it to the emergency room for some reason from the scene of the accident and some time has passed, don’t worry. If you feel the need to go to the hospital or urgent care a day or a week after your accident, you can still go. But make sure you at least see some medical provider as soon as possible to document your injuries and to establish that they are related to the accident. This can be your primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or chiropractor.

If you haven’t been seen by any doctor and some time has passed, you can still go. But make sure you have a good reason for why you didn’t go and don’t let too much time pass. If a month or more has passed since the accident and you only have soft tissue injuries, you will most likely have a difficult time proving to Allstate your injuries are related to the accident. Also, Allstate will bring up the defense of failure to mitigate your damages. Failing to mitigate your damages means you just sat and let your injuries persist or get worse. Remember—the defendant isn’t responsible for damages (i.e., injuries) that you could have prevented.

You should also make sure you receive consistent medical treatment. If you have muscle strains and sprains, you should be evaluated by a chiropractor and follow their treatment plan, even if you’ve already been seen by a doctor. It’s important that you go consistently and don’t miss appointments. These gaps will give Allstate a reason to not pay for some of your medical treatment and will delegitimize your injuries and your case.

3. Know How to Calculate Your Damages

First you should know what types of damages are available for your case against Allstate. Next, you should know how to calculate your damages.

Your damages are the legally recognizable losses that are recoverable in an auto accident. You need to prove these in order to recover any money from Allstate. They include:

Medical Expenses

You may recover your past and future medical expenses that were reasonable and necessary and were caused by the accident. This includes your ambulance bill, emergency room bill, pain medication costs, or any other related medical expenses in the past or future.

The future medical expenses need to be necessary medical care reasonably probable to be incurred in the future. Your treating doctor or a medical expert can provide an estimate of what this will be in the future.

Lost Wages / Loss of Earning Capacity

If you miss work as a result of your injuries, you are entitled to lost wages even if you used your sick or vacation time. You calculate your lost wages by taking the amount of time you lost at work multiplied by your hourly pay.

Loss of earning capacity is the income an injured person could have earned if they were not injured. In order to prove loss of earning capacity, you usually have to prove the existence of an impairment, the amount of the loss, and that the impairment was caused by the accident.

Physical Pain & Suffering

Compensation is available for past and future physical pain and suffering from the injuries sustained in an auto accident. This is the physical manifestation of pain that is caused by the injuries.

Mental Anguish / Emotional Distress

An injured party is entitled to past and future mental anguish or emotional distress compensation. This is the mental component that a physical injury has on an injured party. Proving mental anguish involves demonstrating that the injury has substantially disrupted the injured party’s daily routine or has caused a high degree of mental pain.

Physical Impairment

Past and future physical impairment compensates the injured party for the loss of the ability to perform physical activities that they had been able to do before the accident.

Disfigurement

You are entitled to compensation for your permanent scarring from your injuries. This can include scars from cuts, burns, surgical scars, or amputations.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Past and future loss of enjoyment of life compensates the injured party for the mental impact that the loss of the ability to perform physical activities has had on them.

Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium is a claim that piggybacks on the injured party’s claim and belongs to either their spouse or children. This compensates the injured party’s spouse or children for the loss of love, care, affection, and companionship that is suffered by them.

Calculating Your Case Value

Calculating your damages can get tricky pretty quickly. But here’s a quick way to get a general estimate of your case value. Please note that there are several factors involved in calculating your case value. This is only a starting point.

First, add up all your medical bills that were either paid by you or your health insurance plan or that are still outstanding. Next, add all your lost wages. Then, add a reasonable amount to this for your pain and suffering, mental anguish, and any other type of damages you’ve suffered. This number will be the full value of your case. You may need to adjust this number on several factors such as comparative fault. Here is an example to illustrate:

Case Value Calculation Example:

Paula Plaintiff has $10,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses that she paid for her injuries related to her accident she had that was caused by Dan Defendant. Her health insurance company also paid $2,000 for related medical treatment. Paula’s total medical damages are $12,000.

Paula also missed 80 hours of work at her job where she makes $25.00 per hour. Therefore, her total lost wages are $2,000.

Paula has suffered with pain in her neck and back from the time of the accident up until recently, a total of thirty days. She feels her pain was constant throughout the day, as if it were a full-time job. Therefore, she places a value on her pain equal to the pay she receives from her job—$25 per hour. Her pain affects her when she is on her feet during the day, which is eight hours per day. So, $25 x 8 hours x 30 days equals $6,000. $6,000 is the amount Paul thinks is fair compensation for her pain and suffering.

Now, for Paula’s full case value we add her medical damages, $12,000, plus her total lost wages, $2,000, plus her pain and suffering, $6,000. For a total of $20,000 in total damages.

If Paula was 50% at fault for the accident, her total damages would be reduced by the amount of her fault. So, her total case value would be $10,000.

4. Make Sure You’re Getting Fully Compensated

What do I mean when I say make sure you’re getting fully compensated for your accident with Allstate? I mean that you need to make sure you aren’t leaving any money on the table. You should be getting full value for both your bodily injury claim and property damage claim.

Bodily Injury Claim

For your bodily injury claim, make sure you follow the tips here, as well as those discussed here in this writing.

The most important tips for getting fully compensated in your bodily injury case is to make sure you do not settle your case prematurely. Allstate will try to offer you a “nuisance” offer of anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 and they may even agree to pay for some of your medical treatment. DO NOT take this offer. If they are offering to pay anything for your bodily injury claim, they most certainly will pay more if your case is handled correctly.

Just as discussed in Tip #2 make sure you’re getting medical treatment as soon as possible. This medical treatment should be reasonable and necessary. This means that it shouldn’t be excessive given the facts.

Important Note: Your condition should be stabilized before you think about settling your case because once you settle your case, you can’t go back and ask Allstate for more money for further medical treatment.

Property Damage Claim

If your car is repairable, take it to a shop of your choice. If it’s determined to be totaled, make sure Allstate is offering you the actual cash value. Their valuation report will have a set of comparable vehicles in your area and will have adjustments based on the differences between your vehicle and the comparables. Make sure the comparables are actually comparable and not just cherry-picked. You can do your own research on Kelly Blue Book and other sites to see what the value range is. Also, make sure there are no errors in the list of options, mileage, or condition of your vehicle.

If your car was repairable and it’s relatively new with low mileage, ask for diminished value compensation. This will compensate you for the loss of value that occurs when a vehicle is damaged and repaired. You may need to get an appraisal report to prove the loss in value.

If Allstate didn’t provide you with a rental car, ask for loss of use for the time you were without your vehicle. You are entitled to the reasonable rental rate of your vehicle for the time you were without it.

5. Know How Colossus Works

Colossus is claims adjusting software first used by Allstate in the 1990’s. Allstate was the first to use claims adjusting software on a wide-range basis mostly for soft tissue injury (e.g., whiplash) cases. They did this in order to save on paying full value for these types of claims that they felt were frivolous.

Colossus takes away the human element in calculating the pain and suffering component of an injury claim. Instead, it utilizes an algorithm that was intended to streamline the claims process. The result were severely undervalued claims and a myriad of lawsuits being filed.

Colossus is just one of the tools that is used by Allstate to minimize how much they pay on each claim. It uses 720 different diagnoses factors as well as 12,500 other factors that help calculate the pain and suffering portion of a settlement. Colossus also factors into the settlement calculation which county the accident occurred in and what other similar cases have settled for in the area.

Another tool Allstate and other insurance companies use is Mitchell Decision Point. This software will help to analyze whether the medical bills that are submitted by the claimant are reasonable.

With both combined, this software used by Allstate effectively reduces the amount of money they are willing to pay you for your case.

So, what can be done?

First, talk to a lawyer about your case, even if you don’t decide to hire one. A car accident lawyer will know how to present your case the best way possible to get full value.

Second, use the tips here to your advantage to overcome Colossus.

Third, ask the adjuster for a breakdown of what they are considering in their offer to you; how much are they reimbursing you for each medical bill and how much are they paying you for general damages (i.e., pain and suffering).

Fourth, if Allstate still isn’t offering you a fair amount for your case, ask to talk to a supervisor to get a second set of eyes on your file. A supervisor may be able to put more money on your case.

Fifth, file a lawsuit. If you can’t get resolution on your case against Allstate, filing a lawsuit may be the only way to do it. However, litigation is very complex, and I do not recommend you handling your case on your own at this point. You’ll need the expertise of a lawyer here.

6. Know the Buzzwords

Allstate adjusters will look for certain buzzwords in your medical records and any written demands you send them. These buzzwords are qualitative (soft) factors entered into Colossus that Allstate adjusters use to add additional value to a claim. Some of these buzzwords that are value drivers are:

Limited Range of Motion

Having a limited range of motion signals to Allstate that your injuries may be more serious than just muscle sprains or strains. It may mean that you have a permanent impairment. Insurance companies typically take any claims of permanent impairment seriously. They would rather pay their policy limits now than to have to pay an excess verdict further down the road by underestimating a claimant’s injuries.

Muscle Spasms

Muscle spasms can be extremely painful. The inherent painful nature of muscle spasms adds to the pain and suffering component of your claim and to the overall value to your case.

Headaches

The root cause of persistent headaches after an accident can be many, from a concussion to a pinched nerve in your neck. In any case, chronic headaches can be debilitating. It’s clear the impact they can have on a claimant’s quality of life.

Radiating Pain / Numbness / Weakness

When a claimant is suffering from radiating pain/numbness/weakness, it’s usually a sign that the injuries are more severe than just muscle sprains or strains. These are what are called neurological symptoms. Many times, they are caused by either a bulging or herniated disc that is pressing on a nerve root or the spinal cord in the back or neck. Chiropractic treatment or physical therapy often isn’t enough. More invasive treatment is typically needed, such as a nerve block, epidural steroid injection, or even surgery.

Blurred Vision

Blurred vision is another sign of something that may be more serious such as a concussion or traumatic brain injury.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a common symptom after an auto accident. No one is expecting to get into an auto accident, and this definitely catches us off guard. The rush of adrenaline from our sympathetic nervous system adds to this. The stress that the actual event causes, coupled with the injury compounds the mental impact an auto accident can have on a human being. Sometimes the lasting effects that an auto accident can have on a person’s psyche is devastating. Allstate recognizes this fact.

Pain Medication

Being prescribed pain medication and muscle relaxers is evidence that you are in fact in pain. Allstate knows that if someone can deal with the often adverse side effects of pain medication, they must be in pain.

7. Avoid Allstate’s Low-Ball Offer

Allstate will do its best to avoid paying full value for a case using their three-D’s strategy. A common practice is to try to get you to settle before you have a chance to know what’s going on with your case.

A low-level adjuster will call you to attempt to settle your case before you talk to a lawyer. They usually will offer you something like $1,000 and will agree to pay for some of your initial medical treatment. DO NOT accept this offer. In fact, do not talk to the adjuster until you have discussed your case with a lawyer. Auto accident attorneys always give free consultations and you won’t be obligated to sign up with them.

8. Use Your No-Fault Insurance

What is no-fault insurance? Well, it’s additional auto insurance coverage that pays your medical bills and sometimes lost wages and other damages in some cases. To use this coverage, it doesn’t matter who is at fault in the accident. So, you can be 100% at fault for an accident and still use this coverage.

No-fault insurance is available in most states and in some states it’s actually required. If it’s not required, it’s always a good idea to purchase some from your own auto insurance carrier to help pay for your damages when you’ve been injured in an auto accident.

Having this extra compensation available can help when you’re dealing with Allstate in attempting to settle your case. If you end up settling your case against Allstate but it is not enough to fully compensate you for your injuries, no-fault insurance can help contribute to the settlement deficiency.

Many times, folks do not even know if they purchased this coverage since the insurance buying experience ends up being a blur. But it’s important to review your declarations page which will provide a summary of your coverage.

Arizona Medical Payments

In Arizona, Medical Payments (Med Pay) coverage provides coverage for necessary and reasonable medical and funeral expenses as a result of an auto accident. Coverage starts at $1,000 per covered person per accident and more can be purchased.

Arizona Med Pay will cover the named insured on the policy, the named insured’s spouse, the named insured’s resident relatives, and any person using the vehicle covered under the named insured’s policy.

Important Note: According to A.R.S. 20-259.01, when your insurance company makes a payment under the Med Pay coverage of your insurance policy, they may have a lien against any amount in excess of $5,000 that is paid to or on behalf of you under the medical payments coverage of the policy for that accident. But your insurer must compromise the lien in a fair and equitable manner. This means you can negotiate any amount that’s above $5,000 that they paid and sometimes even get them to waive it.

For example, if you have $7,500 in Arizona Med Pay with your insurance company that was paid to you for your accident and you settled your case with Allstate, your insurance company would have a lien of $2,500, which is the amount above the $5,000 that is not subject to the lien. You can then try to negotiate this $2,500 lien down with your insurance company.

California Medical Payments

In California, Med Pay coverage is similar to Arizona Med Pay. Coverage typically ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 but more coverage can be purchased.

Most policies have a reimbursement provision where your insurer will be entitled to recover what they paid from the settlement from the at-fault party.

Arguments can be made under California law where the insurer must reduce the amount of their claim for reimbursement.

The first argument can be based on the Made Whole Doctrine, which states that if the plaintiff isn’t made whole by the settlement, the insurer must take a pro-rata share of what they may be entitled under the Med Pay reimbursement provision in the policy.

The second argument can be based on the Common Fund Doctrine. This rule states that if you’re represented by an attorney, the insurer must pay a portion of their attorney’s fees in recovering the settlement funds subject to the claim for reimbursement.

The third argument can be based on whether you were partially at fault for your accident. If you were found partially at fault, then the settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance company likely was reduced to reflect this. Therefore, your insurance company should take this into account in their claim for reimbursement.

Florida Personal Injury Protection & Medical Payments

In Florida, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is required under Section 627.736, Florida Statutes. Every driver must carry at least $10,000 in PIP. Florida PIP covers 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages. In addition, you can choose to get Med Pay or Extended PIP to pay the remaining 20% of medical bills.

To qualify for full PIP benefits, you must receive an emergency medical condition from a qualified physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, physician’s assistant, or advanced registered nurse practitioner.

Florida Med Pay may be used to pay the 20% of medical bills that PIP doesn’t pay. Certain types of Med Pay may also be used to pay your deductible, if you have one under your policy (a deductible is common).

Like Med Pay in other states, as discussed above, your insurer may be entitled to be paid back if you recover a settlement from a third-party. But there are exceptions. One of the exceptions is if they do not ask to be reimbursed in writing. Also, the Common Fund Doctrine (explained above) is an argument you can make, if you’re represented by a lawyer, to reduce the amount you would need to pay your insurer back.

Texas Personal Injury Protection & Medical Payments

In Texas, both PIP and Med Pay are optional. However, PIP must be offered with every auto insurance policy issued in Texas and if you don’t want it, it must be waived in writing (pursuant to Texas Insurance Code § 1952.152). Later, if your insurance company can’t produce the waiver you signed, you automatically are entitled to $2,500 in PIP coverage by operation of law.

PIP in Texas starts at $2,500 per person per accident and can go up to $10,000 or even more. This coverage covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses, funeral expenses, 80% of your lost wages, and essential services for a non-wage earner (e.g., house-cleaning). Your insurance company can’t ask to be reimbursed for what they pay you for PIP if you receive a settlement from the at-fault party.

Texas Med Pay is similar to Med Pay in other states in that it covers the same damages—only medical expenses, and it is usually subject to a claim for reimbursement if your policy says so. However, you can make similar arguments above to try to reduce or get the Med Pay lien waived.

9. Know About Bad Faith Claims

Under the law, it is assumed that parties to a contract act in good faith in carrying out the obligations within that contract. If a party to a contract does not act in good faith in carrying out such obligations, they are said to be acting in bad faith and subject to legal penalties such as paying the other party damages.

An insurance policy is a contact between the insurance company and the insured. When the insurance company doesn’t pay or fails to live up to their end of the deal, they may be violating this implied duty of good faith and fair dealing.

Most states have statutes or some case law (judge made law) that recognizes a cause of action for bad faith against an insurance company.

Bad faith claims usually arise when a claim is not investigated timely; payment of the claim is unreasonably delayed, is unfairly denied; or the claim is not resolved fairly.

Being able to recognize when an insurance company is acting in bad faith will add to your arsenal when trying to resolve your underlying injury case. First, you’ll need to see what type of bad faith case you may have: First-Party Bad Faith or Third-Party Bad Faith.

First-Party Bad Faith

If Allstate is your own insurance company and you’re trying to get them to pay you under your uninsured, underinsured, no-fault insurance, or some other coverage under your policy, and they’re treating you unfairly, you may have a first-party bad faith case against them.

Third-Party Bad Faith

If Allstate is the at-fault driver’s insurance company and you’ve been unable to settle with them, you may have a third-party bad faith case against them. Most states do not recognize a third-party bad faith claim, meaning you can’t directly sue the at-fault party’s insurance company.

Once you’ve identified which type of bad faith case you have (1^st Party or 3^rd Party), then you’ll need to see whether an actual bad faith claim exists under your state’s laws.

Bad faith claims can be extremely complex. If you think you may have a bad faith case, it’s important to consult with an attorney to make sure you do not lose your rights.

10. Don’t Agree to Anything without Speaking to a Lawyer

This tip may seem self-interested, but it only makes sense. We are all fortunate that attorneys are allowed to work on personal injury cases on a pure contingency fee basis. This allows folks to get the justice they deserve without having to fork out thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and legal costs. Litigation can get extremely expensive, and most folks wouldn’t be able to pay an attorney out-of-pocket to pursue their case in court.

Take advantage of this. Before you even talk to an Allstate adjuster on the phone, call a lawyer, preferably one that focuses on auto accidents, to discuss your case. You have no obligation to hire them and no auto accident attorney I know charges for a consultation.

If you end up hiring an attorney on a contingency fee basis and they can’t get you a settlement, you will not need to pay them for their work. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Is Allstate Good at Settling Claims?

No. In fact, they are one of the worst out of the five large auto insurance companies. They are cheap, especially on soft tissue injury cases. On soft tissue injuries, they will typically offer to pay a fraction of your past medical bills and $1,000 to $5,000 for pain and suffering.

As we discussed above, Allstate was instrumental in creating the Three-D’s strategy and still digs their heels in on most soft tissue injury cases. They have their own in-house attorneys that handle their litigation. So, the threat of litigation doesn’t scare them too much.

There is hope, however. You don’t need to accept their lowball offers. Use the strategies here and consult with a lawyer before you decide to settle your case.

Should You Hire an Attorney for Your Allstate Case?

It will depend. If there are no injuries and you only have minor property damage, then it’s likely you won’t need an attorney to handle your case.

However, if you were injured, even just whiplash, you should at least discuss your case with an attorney. You can ultimately make the decision to hire an attorney after your consultation.

The fact is Allstate will almost always pay you more if you hire a lawyer and even with considering the attorney’s fees you’ll pay. There are studies by the Insurance Research Counsel that show claimants received 40% more when they were represented by an attorney.

How Long Does It Take Allstate to Pay Out on a Claim?

It depends. If you’ve agreed to a settlement with Allstate, it typically takes one to three weeks to receive the settlement check.

If you’re not ready to settle your case, the time it takes to resolve a case with Allstate will depend on when you’ll be released from all medical treatment or when your condition is stabilized and have a good idea of what your future medical treatment will cost.

Most soft tissue injury cases resolve in three to six months. Some cases can resolve in days. Some take years.

If you have a serious injury or need surgery and the Allstate policy limits are low, you can likely settle your case quickly. But if you only have strains or sprains and there’s a large policy, it can take some time to settle and may require a lawsuit.

How Much is My Allstate Case Worth?

The value of your case will depend on several factors, including, but not limited to:

• Extent of property damage to the vehicles involved.
• Extent of your injuries.
• Whether you immediately went to the emergency room by ambulance from the scene.
• Whether you were partially at fault.
• How much medical treatment you received.
• Allstate liability coverage policy limits.
• Whether you have uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage.
• Whether you have PIP or Med Pay coverage.
• Did health insurance / Medicaid / Medicare pay for some or all of your medical bills.
• Whether you have a permanent injury or impairment.
• Your age, gender, occupation, marital status.
• Whether the defendant was a business.
• Whether the at-fault driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
• Whether the at-fault driver was distracted by texting or by some other distraction.
• The county and state where the accident occurred.

In our experience, most Allstate cases settle somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000. Now, keep in mind most auto accident cases in the U.S. involve soft tissue injuries. So, the average reflects this. If your injuries are more severe, like broken bones, or you need surgery, your case could be worth over $100,000 or more. Case value is extremely fact specific.

Research conducted by the Insurance Information Institute confirms similar figures. It showed that the average bodily injury claim paid was $22,734 and the average property damage claim paid was $5,314.

Will Allstate Settle Before Trial?

Most likely, yes. Most auto accident cases settle prior to trial. The decision to settle a case is entirely up to the claimant. If you’re represented by a lawyer, they can only advise you how to proceed in your case, but the decision to settle is ultimately up to you.

If you’re happy with what Allstate is offering you, either before a lawsuit is filed or in litigation, the case will settle. 95% or more cases settle prior to trial. Those 5% or less of cases may settle before a jury returns their verdict.

The specific reasons why a claimant would want to settle instead of going to trial would be that they don’t want to risk the jury siding with the defendant and getting nothing. Additionally, the claimant may not want to wait two to three years or however long it would take for a jury to hear their case.

Another reason a claimant would want to settle with Allstate prior to trial is pure economics. Expert witness fees, court costs, and other litigation expenses can make an auto accident case economically unfeasible to take to trial. This can happen most often in cases where the injuries are relatively minor.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit Against Allstate?

This will depend on which state the accident occurred:

In Arizona, generally you have two years from the date of accident to file a lawsuit if your case is against the other driver who caused the accident. If your case is against Allstate, your insurance company, for not paying on an uninsured/underinsured claim, you’ll have three years to do so.

In California, you have two years from the date of accident to settle your case or file a lawsuit against the at-fault party or if it’s a case directly against Allstate for uninsured motorist benefits. Underinsured cases are a bit more complex.

In Florida, you have four years from the date of accident to settle or file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. For cases against Allstate directly, you’ll have five years to settle or file a lawsuit.

In Texas, you have two years from the date of accident to settle your case or file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. You’ll generally have four years to settle or file a lawsuit against Allstate if they are your insurance company.

There are other claims that can be brought in Texas against your insurance company that have different time limits, such as Bad Faith claims, Texas Insurance Code violations, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Important Note: There may be exceptions to the statute of limitations in each state. Also, there may be other claims that can be brought against your own carrier that have shorter time limits. So, it’s important you discuss your case as soon as possible with an attorney to avoid losing your rights.

Allstate Car Accident Settlements

Below are some our own Allstate case settlements, as well as some pulled from Verdict Search, a database of jury verdicts and settlements.

Case Study #1: Client v. Allstate (Pima County, Arizona)

Our client was entering the intersection on a green light on the south side of Tucson, Arizona, when the defendant, attempted to turn left in front her, crashing into the front of her vehicle.

Our client was taken to the hospital by ambulance and had a fractured ankle, concussion, and back and neck sprains and strains.

After demanding the policy limits, the defendant’s insurance company, United Auto Insurance Company, tendered their policy limits of $15,000. Our client had two underinsured motorist policies, one with GEICO for $15,000 and one with Allstate for $50,000. After we demanded the policy limits from both underinsured carriers, they both tendered the policy limits for a total of $80,000 in total settlement funds.

Case Study #2: Client v. Allstate Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client was driving westbound on Humble Westfield Road in Houston, Texas, when the defendant, an Allstate insured, was exiting a private drive attempting to cross all lanes of traffic and struck our client’s front end with his vehicle’s right fender. Humble police arrived at the scene and the defendant was cited for failure to yield the right of way from a private drive.

She treated with a physical therapist for 15 visits, received MRIs of her lumbar and cervical spine. The radiologist noted a 1.3 mm disc herniation at the C5-C6 level of her cervical spine indenting the ventral cervical cord and a 1.7 mm disc herniation at the L5-S1 level of her lumbar spine extending into the epidural fat.

Our client was referred out to a pain doctor where she received Medial Branch Block injections for facet levels L4-L5 and L5-S1 of her lumbar spine.

We demanded that Allstate pay their policy limits and Allstate responded with an initial offer of $16,008.69. We eventually settled our client’s case for Allstate’s $50,000 policy limits. In addition, we recovered our client’s $2,500 in personal injury protection from her policy, for a total of $52,500 in total compensation.

Case Study #3: Client v. Allstate Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client was traveling northbound on Aldine Westfield in Houston, Texas, when defendant, an Allstate insured, heading southbound attempted to make a left-hand turn in front of him at an intersection, t-boning our client’s vehicle on the driver’s side door. A Harris County Constable arrived on scene and cited the defendant for failing to yield the right of way when turning left.

Our client was transported to the emergency room by ambulance. He presented to the emergency room with complaints of dizziness, memory loss, right forearm pain, and neck pain. He was diagnosed with a concussion, neck and back sprains and strains, and an abrasion on his right forearm from the airbag deployment.

He later treated with a chiropractor for 16 visits. Due to persistent pain in his neck and lower back, he was referred out for MRIs of his lumbar and cervical spine. The radiologist noted several 1 mm disc herniations in his cervical spine and a 2 mm disc herniation at the L5-S1 level of his lumbar spine. He later received two lumbar facet injections.

We sent our demand for policy limits to Allstate, and they eventually tendered their policy limits of $50,000. Additionally, we sought additional compensation through our client’s underinsured motorist policy with State Farm. We ended up settling his underinsured claim for an additional $15,000, for a total of $65,000 in total compensation.

Case Study #4: Client v. Allstate Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client was traveling eastbound on Tidwell Road in Houston, Texas, when defendant, an Allstate insured, failed to yield to a stop sign from a side street. Houston Police arrived on scene and the defendant was cited for failing to yield the right of way to a stop sign.

Our client presented to the chiropractor four days after the accident complaining of right shoulder pain, and neck and back pain. Due to persistent pain in her neck and right shoulder, she was referred out for an MRI of both her right shoulder and cervical spine. The radiologist noted a tear of the supraspinatus tendon, which he associated with the accident. In addition, he noted 2 mm herniations at C3-C4, C5-C6, and C6-C7.

She was referred out to a pain doctor for her neck pain. She later received an epidural steroid injection for her neck pain.

She also was referred out to an orthopedic surgeon for her shoulder injury. The doctor recommended arthroscopic surgery to repair the supraspinatus tendon tear, which was later performed.

We sent our demand to Allstate asking for their policy limits of $30,000, which they tendered. We later sent a demand to our client’s underinsured carrier, Progressive, for their policy limits of $60,000, for a total of $90,000 in total compensation.

Case Study #5: Client v. Allstate (Pima County, Arizona)

Our client was attempting to make a left-hand turn on a green arrow at the intersection of Golf Links and Pantano Parkway in Tucson, Arizona, when the defendant ran the red light, t-boning our client’s vehicle on the passenger side door.

Tucson Police arrived on scene and cited the defendant with running a red light.

Our client was transported to the emergency room by ambulance. He complained of neck and back pain and left shoulder pain.

He later presented to a chiropractor and treated there for 20 visits. Our client was later referred out for an MRI of his left upper extremity. The radiologist noted a SLAP (Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior) tear and was later referred to an orthopedic surgeon. The doctor recommended surgery to repair the SLAP tear, but our client opted to let it heal on its own.

We demanded the policy limits of $15,000 from the defendant’s insurance company, Safe Auto, which they tendered. We later sent a demand to Allstate, our client’s underinsured carrier, demanding their policy limits of $50,000, which they paid, for a total of $65,000 in total compensation.

Case Study #6: Shankhour v. Markum, Allstate Insured (San Diego County, California)

Plaintiff, Mr. Shankhour, was driving in a parking lot in Poway, California, when he was rear-ended by defendant, Mr. Markum. Mr. Shankhour suffered injuries to his back and hip.

Eight days later plaintiff sought treatment with a chiropractor and underwent epidural steroid injections for his pain. He also underwent a labrum repair surgery, which was unsuccessful. He then underwent fusion surgery at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels of his lumbar spine.

Mr. Shankhour demanded $1,250,000. Allstate counter-offered $25,000. Days before trial the parties settled the case for $850,000.

Case Study #7: Tuomi v. Stewart, Allstate Insured (San Diego County, California)

Plaintiff, Mr. Tuomi, was driving in heavy traffic on I-5 in San Diego near Solana Beach, when he was rear-ended by defendant as traffic slowed.

Plaintiff presented to urgent care the day after the accident with complaints of middle and lower back pain. He was diagnosed with a compression fracture at the L4-L5 level of his lumbar spine and later sought treatment with an orthopedist.

Mr. Tuomi later settled his case with Allstate for $200,000.

Case Study #8: Diaz v. Bahman, Allstate Insured (Los Angeles County, California)

Plaintiff, Ms. Diaz, was driving westbound on Calvert Street near Tyrone Avenue in Los Angeles, California, when she was t-boned by defendant’s vehicle.

Ms. Diaz presented to her primary care physician two days later with complaints of neck pain. She later treated with a chiropractor and later with a pain doctor due to worsening pain. She received cervical trigger point injections. She continued treatment with her pain doctor for approximately two years.

Ms. Diaz and Allstate agreed to settle her case for $80,000.

Case Study #9: McDaniel v. Smith, Allstate Insured (San Diego County, California)

Plaintiff, Ms. McDaniel, was driving on I-805 in San Diego, California, when she was sideswiped by a vehicle driven by defendant, Mr. Smith.

Ms. McDaniel complained of neck and back pain at the scene of the accident but did not seek medical treatment until six months after the accident. She later started to experience radiating pain and numbness down her leg. She then went to her doctor who prescribed pain medication and referred her out for an MRI. She was then referred out for physical therapy and to an orthopedic specialist. Later, she underwent pain injections.

Her orthopedic doctor recommended decompression surgery at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels of her lumbar spine. She underwent the surgery after receiving a second opinion.

Prior to trial, Ms. McDaniel and Allstate agreed to settle her case for their policy limits of $100,000.

Case Study #10: Hernandez v. Ohman & Bonomolo, Allstate Insured (Palm Beach County, Florida)

Plaintiff, Ms. Hernandez, was driving westbound on Lake Worth Road in West Palm Beach, Florida, when defendant, Mr. Bonomolo, rear-ended her as she turned into a business.

Ms. Hernandez suffered injuries to her lumbar spine, with a L4-L5 paracentral herniated disc with stenosis, radiculitis at L4-L5, and a bulging disc at L5-S1.

She underwent epidural steroid injections and a needle rhizotomy. Later, she underwent a discectomy at the L4-L5 level of her lumbar spine.

Ms. Hernandez demanded Allstate’s policy limits of $300,000, which they later tendered prior to trial.

Allstate Contact Information

Website: https://www.allstate.com/help-support/claims

Property and casualty insurance claims address:

Allstate Insurance Company

PO Box 660636

Dallas, TX 75266

Claims Phone Number: 800-255-7828

Contact Our Experienced Car Accident Lawyers to Handle Your Allstate Claim

Call us today for a FREE consultation regarding your Allstate bodily injury claim. Our car accident injury lawyers can investigate your accident, determine the at-fault party, and help you present the best case possible to Allstate. Call (855) 545-1777 to speak to our personal injury attorneys directly.

Accidents happen every hour around the country. Those unlucky enough to come into contact with a drunk driver may have even more reason to be frustrated and concerned about what to do next.

One of the first things you should do is seek thorough medical attention. See a doctor you trust and explain your concerns or where you are experiencing pain. Some injuries don’t always show up immediately due to adrenaline from the accident’s aftermath or other reasons. It is imperative to get checked out and ensure you handle your treatment as directed.

Keep Records of Everything

It may seem straightforward to some, but it is worth noting to document everything. Each doctor’s appointment, medical recommendation, prescription, and any notes on your medical file (request these from medical records) are essential to have on hand.

If referrals are necessary, keep track of these and the findings from any additional tests that were done. It can be helpful to keep a journal of your pain levels and how the injuries are healing (with photos) as you progress on your healing journey. Recalling information after it has occurred can be difficult. Keeping a short daily journal of how you feel can help you to stay current and accurate in your details.

What Other Expenses Should I Keep Track of?

As you continue to see doctors or physical therapists for your injuries, you may need to miss work often to do so. Keep track of the time you have missed and calculate how much you have missed out on based on what you earn per hour.

Transportation costs back and forth or travels to specialists can also be recorded. Keep receipts for gas and other expenses while traveling to necessary appointments.

How Does an Accident with a Drunk Driver Differ From an Accident With a Driver Who is Not Under the Influence?

Establishing fault is the first and most crucial step to determining your chances of obtaining compensation for damages. In most cases, proving fault requires a review of the accident site, accident recreation, proving distracted driving, or other information. If the other driver were under the influence, this would prove their negligence.

Typical damages, such as costs for medical bills or repairs to your vehicle, are expected in almost any accident if you can prove the other driver’s fault. Punitive damages may also be awarded if it is established that the other driver was under the influence. Punitive damages are meant to punish the offender for their careless or negligent actions. They can result in a significant amount of damages awarded in addition to other damages that may be awarded.

Other Damages That May Be Awarded

In some cases, other damages can be sought following most accidents and can be especially prevalent in drunk driving accidents. These are damages for pain and suffering. PTSD or related anxiety or depression issues can result from an accident based on the trauma experienced. It can be challenging to place a dollar amount on these damages, but an experienced attorney can help you calculate a reasonable amount.

The loss of future wages is sometimes overlooked following an accident. If you can no longer perform at work the way you were before the accident due to the injuries sustained, you can typically factor in the difference in your future income as a result.

If a loved one lost their life due to the accident, there could be more damages that you could pursue, such as funeral expenses. The loss of future wages due to their untimely death may also be an option to pursue.

Who Else May Be Liable in a Drunk Driving Accident?

In some cases, you or your loved ones can pursue damages through the establishment that overserved the drunk driver. Each accident can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with an experienced attorney.

Your lawyer may determine that it is best to pursue the drunk driver personally and their insurance company to cover the costs you require to regain financial stability.

What Else Can an Experienced Attorney Help Me With?

If you are attending to your medical care and injuries sustained, chances are you aren’t going to have extra time to handle some of the details associated with an accident. One of the most essential issues is correctly communicating with insurance companies and handling negotiations when necessary. It is not uncommon for most of us not to have experience in navigating conversations or negotiations with insurance companies. It is something that experienced attorneys will have a vast knowledge of and will make sure you aren’t settling for far less than you deserve.

Skilled and compassionate attorneys can also provide guidance on preferred medical care facilities, communicating with police, and more. Gathering evidence, as discussed above, can be less involved with a drunk driving case, as there is typically less to prove, but attorneys can assist in this faculty as well.

It is stressful to put the pieces back together regardless of the severity of injuries or death that may result from an accident with a drunk driver. Don’t let the situation allow you and your family to experience unnecessary financial distress. Contact our office at (855) 545-1777 to discuss your questions and work with one of our determined and compassionate attorneys to form a strategy that gets you the compensation you deserve.

Below we will cover important tips and tactics to help you maximize your bodily injury settlement, including answers to frequently asked questions regarding Progressive car accident settlements.

Overview of Progressive Claims

Progressive is the third largest insurance company in the United States (by direct premiums written). We’ve all seen their ads featuring their well-known mascot, Flo, their fictional salesperson. Flo, like the GEICO gecko and Allstate mayhem character, is used by marketing companies to soften the image of insurance companies and to appeal to the general public using humor. Without that it would be almost impossible to market a product like insurance in a way that would be appealing to the masses.

The fact is the car insurance business is anything but humorous. It’s a business where massive amounts of money are collected from people with only a small part of it being paid out in claims. The large majority of this money is invested in the stock market and other investments. Insurance companies like Progressive make huge profits as a result.

Progressive serves a certain segment of the market just as GEICO does. It offers low-cost insurance to all types of drivers. Most of the policies sold by Progressive are on the low end. This is good and bad news. The good news is Progressive is more likely to pay their policy limits on a claim if, in their opinion, the damages justify doing so. The bad news is if you have serious injuries, it’s likely there won’t be enough insurance to cover all your damages.

Progressive’s Unfair Claims System

Progressive is known for being cheap. They will do everything they can to avoid paying fair value for a claim. How do they do it? First, they will deny liability on claims for a myriad of reasons. Even if they do accept fault for the accident, they will substantially discount the amount that they pay for your medical bills by using an internal arbitrary amount they consider “usual and customary.” Then, they will flat out reject paying some of your medical bills with the excuse that the treatment was unnecessary or excessive. Next, they will insult you further by paying only a fraction of your pain and suffering and other general damages (e.g., emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.). Finally, they will fight you tooth and nail in litigation if you file a lawsuit against their insured.

Fight Progressive’s Unfair System with Knowledge

Don’t be a casualty to Progressive’s unfair claims system. Knowing your rights and being a well-informed claimant will help in leveling the playing field against this massive insurance company. The following 10 tips will help in overcoming Progressive’s unfair claims system:

1. Avoid Talking to Progressive

Limit your contact with Progressive as much as possible. Once their adjusters get you on the phone, be brief and try not to get cornered by their questions on the facts of the accident or your injuries. In fact, I would avoid talking to Progressive completely if they want a recorded statement. If Progressive is the at-fault party’s insurance company, there is no requirement that they take a recorded statement from you. If Progressive is your insurance company, you may need to give them a recorded statement. In either scenario, do not give a recorded statement to Progressive until you’ve consulted with a car accident lawyer.

2. Provide Evidence

Document the accident the best you can. This means gather as much evidence as possible just in case Progressive attempts to place some or all of the fault on you. This is very common in intersection accidents, left-hand turn accidents, and head-on collisions where there are no independent witnesses. Many times, Progressive will gamble and take the side of their insured even though there’s no clear evidence that would absolve their insured from liability.

Use Your Smartphone

Gather any evidence you can with one of the best tools we all carry everywhere we go—our smartphones. Use your camera and notes apps to document everything you can. Take pictures and videos of the vehicles involved, parties involved, driver’s licenses, license plates, insurance cards, road conditions, weather, traffic signs/lights, road debris, lighting, and any other physical piece of evidence you can that might be relevant.

Crash Report

A critical piece of evidence that you’ll want to get is the crash report. Either download a copy of the crash report online or pick up a copy from the appropriate police substation. A crash report is prepared by the officer that arrives on scene of an accident. Most of the time, if there are injuries or substantial property damage the officer must write a crash report.

What’s in a crash report? Well, it’ll have the who, what, where of the accident, including parties and witnesses’ names, time and place, and facts about how the accident occurred. In the report the officer may assign fault to one or both parties based on his/her opinion. This typically carries significant weight with Progressive and other insurance companies since the officer is not only an independent witness but can be considered an expert witness if your case goes to trial. Also, the crash report itself can come into evidence at trial but there will be certain parts of it that may not come in since they are considered hearsay evidence.

Independent Witnesses

Having an independent witness can be crucial to your case. An independent witness is someone who witnesses the accident with their own eyes or ears but doesn’t have any interest in the outcome. This will usually be another driver or pedestrian that witnessed the accident as it happened. In addition, a police officer that arrives on scene of an accident is also considered an independent witness, as mentioned above.

What isn’t an independent witness? That would be someone like a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the crash or anyone that has a financial interest in the outcome of the case, including a spouse or family member of a party to the accident, even if they witnessed the accident themselves.

Event Data Recorder (EDR)

If your accident involved significant property damage and/or injuries and Progressive is denying liability, downloading the data from your Event Data Recorder may be useful.

What is an Event Data Recorder (EDR)? An EDR is a device installed in vehicles by auto manufacturers that record certain data before and during a crash. Most vehicles on the road have some version of an EDR. Federal law mandates that certain data be recorded by the EDR, including vehicle speed, acceleration, braking, airbag deployment, seat-belt status, and other important data.

You’ll need an expert such as an accident reconstruction expert to download and interpret the raw data from the EDR. This can be expensive. So, it may only be worth it if your crash was serious.

Keep in mind, if you intend to seek the other party’s EDR data, you’ll likely need a court order to access it and that usually requires a lawsuit be filed.

Security Camera / Residential Doorbell Camera Footage

If the accident occurred near a busy road or street where there are surrounding businesses with security cameras, it’s possible that one or more of those security cameras caught footage of the accident.

Additionally, if your accident occurred in direct view of a residential home equipped with a doorbell camera, it’s possible there may be footage that can help your case.

The challenge with both the security camera and doorbell camera footage is that it might be difficult to obtain from the owner. This footage is private property, and the business owner or homeowner doesn’t have to turn it over to you unless you get a court order. This may take time and the more time that passes, the greater chance that the footage will be erased.

If the accident was a hit-and-run or involved a serious injury or death, the police may be able to acquire this footage during their investigation. So, it’s important to follow up with the investigating officer and ask if they were able to find such footage.

Traffic Light Camera Footage

If you can actually access traffic light camera footage, do it. But accessing it may be more difficult than you think.

Most people think there are traffic cameras installed at most major intersections throughout their city. This isn’t true. There may be cameras on some traffic lights but most of the time these are only used for monitoring traffic flow and aren’t actually recording. There may be some cameras that do record but this footage may be difficult to access. You’ll need to go through the appropriate channels and fill out records request forms or need a court order, which takes time.

Dash Camera Footage

Nowadays, with the advancement of inexpensive technology such as a dash camera, many drivers now have these installed in their vehicles. As you can imagine, this footage can be invaluable when you’re involved in an accident where Progressive is denying liability.

Important note: don’t voluntarily provide this footage to Progressive or any insurance company unless you have to. They may try to interpret this footage against you by saying you took faulty evasive action or did something wrong that contributed to the accident.

Social Media Accounts / Cell Phone Records

If you’re fighting with Progressive over liability and think their insured was on their cellphone right before the accident, you may be able to get access to their social media accounts or cell phone records.

If their insured was texting or posting something on their social media account immediately before the accident, they can not only be found liable for the accident, but also liable for punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded to an injured party when the at-fault party does something egregious, like texting and driving. These damages are awarded in addition to regular compensatory damages (e.g., medical expenses, lost wages, pain & suffering). They are intended to punish the at-fault party for their conduct.

Getting access to the Progressive driver’s social media accounts or cell phone records will almost always require a court order or that a lawsuit be filed. But you can always do your own investigating by searching their social media accounts and looking to see if they posted anything at around the time of the accident.

3. Mitigate Your Damages

Under the law, an injured party has a duty to mitigate their damages. What exactly does that mean? Mitigate means to make less severe. So, you have a duty to minimize the costs and damages associated with your accident. You can’t just sit back and let your injuries get worse or let your car sit at a storage lot and expect Progressive to pay for it all.

Failure to mitigate your damages is a common defense that Progressive uses in cases where the injured party fails to go to the doctor as soon as possible. They will argue that your injuries were made worse because of your own neglect.

The lesson here is to get medical treatment immediately and if your car was not drivable after the accident, make sure it’s parked somewhere it won’t accrue excessive storage fees. Also, if your car is totaled, don’t expect Progressive to pay for your rental car for an indefinite time. They will only usually provide a rental car for a few days after they’ve made an offer on your totaled vehicle. So, act fast when you think your car may be totaled and start shopping for another vehicle immediately.

4. Recover ALL Your Damages

Make sure Progressive is aware of ALL your damages that occurred as a result of your accident. Some claimants aren’t aware of all the recognizable damages that are recoverable under the law. These include:

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses such as your emergency room bill or pain medication prescription expenses are recognizable damages under the law. These are typically the largest part of most auto accident injury case’s damages. Not only is Progressive on the hook to pay your past medical expenses but they are also obligated to pay any medical treatment that is reasonably certain to occur in the future. Usually, you’ll need your doctor or a medical expert to provide proof that you will need future medical treatment.

Lost Wages / Lost Earning Capacity

A claim for lost wages is compensation for any missed time at work when you weren’t paid or had to use sick or vacation time. The best way to prove lost wages is to have your doctor write an excuse for you showing that you’ll need to miss work as a result of your injuries. You’ll also need proof from your employer that you missed work and what your rate of pay is. You can usually use pay stubs, tax returns, or bank statements for proof.

Lost earning capacity is compensation for severe injuries that cause permanent impairment to the point where the injured party will no longer be able to perform the job he/she did before. A claim for lost earning capacity will usually require an estimate from an expert such as an economist.

Physical Pain and Suffering

Most people are aware of this category of damages. But what exactly is it? Physical pain and suffering are the negative physical sensations experienced by an injured person. For example, it’s the stabbing, burning, throbbing, or aching felt by someone with a skin, bone, or soft tissue injury.

You can recover physical pain and suffering for the past and the future.

Mental / Emotional Distress

Mental or emotional distress damages compensates the injured party for the mental impact an injury has on their mind. This may include anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In most cases you’ll need a physical impact to claim mental or emotional distress. So, if only your vehicle was damaged and it stressed you out, you won’t qualify for mental or emotional distress.

You can also recover for mental or emotional distress in the past and the future.

Physical Impairment

You can recover compensation where your accident injured you to the point that you now have a permanent disability. A way to prove physical impairment damages would be to show Progressive that you can’t do the activities that you once did prior to the accident. For example, if you could no longer pick up your children due to your back injury, you may be able to qualify for physical impairment damages.

Scarring / Disfigurement

If you have scars, burns, or permanent marks on your body from your auto accident, you may be entitled to scaring or disfigurement damages. The best way to prove these types of damages is by providing Progressive with photos of your scars.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Loss of enjoyment of life damages compensates you for the loss of participation of life’s activities to the quality and extent normally enjoyed before the injury.  You can recover for both past and future loss of enjoyment of life. An example of loss of enjoyment of life would be where the injury resulted in not being able to play with your children as you once did prior to the accident.

Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium compensates your spouse or children for the loss of love, care, affection, companionship, and other pleasure of the relationship that may occur from your injuries. This category of damages is only for the spouses and children of accident victims. Proving these damages will usually require establishing that the relationship before the accident was stable and loving.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party for their intentional, reckless, or grossly negligent conduct. Punitive damages are awarded in addition to compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are all the other previous types of damages discussed above. An example of where you may be able to get punitive damages is a case where a drunk driver caused your accident.

5. Prove Your Injuries are Severe

Progressive will place a larger value on your case if your injuries are more severe than, say, a soft tissue injury case (e.g., whiplash). Which injuries are more severe and worth more than a soft tissue injury case? Herniated discs, fractures/broken bones, traumatic brain injuries (even mild case), or tendon/ligament tears. All of these types of injuries usually require substantial medical treatment or surgery and therefore increase your medical damages and the value of your case. In addition, more serious injuries also drive the general damages portion of your case value since it is presumed that more serious injuries cause more pain and suffering.

So, how do you prove your injuries are severe? Your medical records, including MRI or X-Ray results is the best way. For example, if your MRI shows that you have a large, herniated disc (>3mm), that is causing moderate to severe spinal stenosis, that is proof that your injuries are severe and likely causing significant pain and suffering.

6. Discuss Your Case with a Lawyer

Discussing and hiring a car accident lawyer for your case is probably the best advice I can give to you. There are four main reasons why this is the case:

Free Advice

Personal injury attorneys all give free consultations. This means that no matter what you will get FREE advice from them even if you don’t end up hiring them. There is no downside. If you want to get their advice and try to settle your case on your own, you have that option.

They Only Get Paid If They Win

Personal injury attorneys always work on a contingency fee arrangement. That is, they only get paid if they are able to get you a settlement. So, they have an incentive to do the absolute best for you and get you the most money possible from the insurance company. Also, you don’t need to pay them anything out of pocket to start working on your case.

Your Case Will Be Worth More

When Progressive knows you don’t have a lawyer, they will assign the case to a low-level adjuster that only handles non-represented claimants. These adjusters are usually the least experienced and have very little settlement authority. They will try to settle your case for a nuisance amount. In other words, they will try to offer you $1,000 to $2,000 and pay for some of your initial medical treatment.  But once you hire a lawyer, the case will be transferred to a more seasoned adjuster with more settlement authority. So, just by hiring a lawyer, your potential case value increases automatically.

And don’t forget that your attorney will build your case properly, present the best case possible to Progressive, and negotiate your case aggressively with the adjuster.

More Money in Your Pocket

Even though you’ll be paying a portion of your settlement to your lawyer, you will most likely end up with more money than you could if you handled the case on your own. There are studies that show that claimants that had an attorney handle their case received two to three times more of a settlement than those that handled their own case.

7. Be Familiar with Common Legal Doctrines

It’s not important for you to know the names of these legal doctrines but an understanding of these doctrines will help in your negotiations with Progressive.

Negligence

Car accidents are analyzed under the doctrine of Negligence. Most of us have an idea of the meaning of negligence. It seems relatively straight-forward. But under the law, it’s a bit more complex. Negligence is a whole body of tort law that deals with determining whether someone is liable for causing harm to another.

We’re only talking civil liability here, not criminal. More specifically, Negligence law deals with those acts that were not intended by the actor, but those that were done without using due care. The law uses a reasonable person standard to analyze whether someone should be liable for causing harm to another.

The plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant acted carelessly and as a result caused his/her damages. There are elements that the plaintiff will need to prove, including:

1. Duty – We all owe a duty to each other not to cause harm to one another. For example, you should pay attention to the vehicle traveling in front of you so that you will have enough time to stop without rear ending them.
2. Breach of Duty – The breach of duty occurs when the defendant fails to meet the reasonable person standard. For example, a breach would occur where you fail to pay attention to the vehicle in front of you and cause a rear-end accident.
3. Causation – The breach of duty has to be the cause of the damages. There are two types of causation that need to be proved here:
   1. Cause-in-Fact – Was there a cause-and-effect relationship between the breach (i.e., not paying attention) and the damages (i.e., personal injury and property damage)?
   2. Proximate Cause – Was the harm foreseeable? In other words, are the damages caused by something that could be expected from the defendant’s carelessness? For example, were the injuries and damages to the rear-ended driver, let’s say whiplash and damage to the rear bumper, foreseeable when you failed to pay attention to the car in front of you?
4. Damages – Damages are recognizable losses caused as a result of the defendant’s carelessness. These can be injuries, property damage, emotional distress, etc.

Why is knowing the doctrine of Negligence important in negotiating your case with Progressive? Knowing the concept can help you avoid having your case undervalued by the Progressive adjuster. Progressive is notorious for extending nuisance offers to claimants. They even had adjusters show up to the scene of the accident attempting to settle the case with the claimant. They know that in most cases (i.e., soft tissue injury cases), the bodily injury damages are nominal at that point. The claimant has not received any medical treatment, hasn’t been diagnosed with an injury, and hasn’t suffered any recognizable damages. Therefore, the claimant’s Negligence case is weak. This is the reason Progressive adjusters try so hard to settle your case immediately. They know if the case matures, and you hire an attorney, they will be paying an exponential amount on the claim.

Negligence Per Se

Negligence Per Se is a doctrine that says if the defendant that caused the accident also broke a statute, ordinance, or some other law, negligence is presumed. Depending on how Negligence Per Se is applied in your state, you may only need to prove Causation and Damages in your case. This makes it a lot easier to prove your case to the Progressive adjuster or to a jury if it ever gets to a jury trial.

Keep in mind that the statute or ordinance needs to be one that is intended to discourage the particular harm that was caused, and the defendant must not have an excuse for his failure to abide by the statute.

An example of Negligence Per Se is where a speeding driver causes a car accident. If the speeding driver was cited for driving 15 miles over the posted speed limit, he has violated a state law or city ordinance. The purpose of the speed limit statute or ordinance was to protect other drivers from harm caused by auto accidents. If there are no legal excuses for the speeding driver to be exceeding the speed limit, then he/she would be “per se” (Latin for in and of itself) negligent. In this case, if the speeding driver caused an accident that injured another driver, the injured driver would have a stronger case against the speeding driver.

Therefore, it’s crucial in your case against Progressive to download your crash report and see whether the at-fault driver was cited for a traffic violation when he/she caused your accident. If they were given a ticket for a traffic violation and caused the accident as a result, you need to stress that to the Progressive adjuster.

Eggshell Skull Plaintiff

The Eggshell Skull Plaintiff doctrine says that the defendant is responsible for making your delicate condition worse. If you have a preexisting condition or injury that is exasperated or aggravated by an auto accident caused by a careless driver, they are responsible for making it worse. This is true even if a normal person wouldn’t be affected by it.

An example of this would be where an elderly woman was severely injured in a very minor fender-bender accident where there is little visible damage to either car. But she sustained fractures due to Osteoporosis, her preexisting condition. It doesn’t matter that anyone else wouldn’t be injured to this degree. What matters is SHE was injured to this degree. The law says the defendant takes the plaintiff as he/she finds him.

If Progressive tries to use your preexisting condition or injury against you to say that your case isn’t worth as much, tell them you know about the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff rule.

Collateral Source Rule

The Collateral Source Rule says that if someone other than the one who causes your injuries pays your medical bills or you receive some other benefit from them, the at-fault party isn’t given a break in compensating you fully for your damages. This means if your health insurance company pays for your medical bills, the amount paid doesn’t reduce the amount the at-fault party is on the hook to pay.

The idea behind this rule is to not give the defendant a windfall in the event that the plaintiff, or someone acting on their behalf, was responsible enough to purchase health insurance.

Progressive may try to ignore this rule and minimize your case value if your health insurance or Medicaid/Medicare reduced or paid your medical bills. Don’t let them do this. Depending on your state, there may be exceptions or limitations to this rule. The best thing to do is talk to an attorney as soon as possible if Progressive tries to disregard the Collateral Source Rule.

Vicarious Liability

Vicarious liability places fault on someone other than the at-fault party due to a special relationship. The most common special relationship under vicarious liability is the employer-employee relationship. This is known as the Respondeat Superior doctrine. An employer is responsible for the negligent acts of their employees under certain circumstances.

Progressive is one of the largest commercial auto insurance carriers in the U.S. It is likely if you’re ever involved in an auto accident with a rideshare vehicle, van, box truck, or large truck, Progressive will be the commercial vehicle’s insurance carrier.

In Florida, another common type of vicarious liability is under the Dangerous Instrumentalities doctrine. This doctrine places fault on the owner of a vehicle when someone else is driving it and causes an accident.

Comparative Fault

If you’re partially to blame for your auto accident, it’s likely Progressive will reduce the amount of your recoverable damages. In some states like Texas, if you’re more than 50% at fault for your accident, you’re completely barred from recovering any of your damages. Other states like Arizona, California, and Florida are more forgiving in that you can still technically recover some of your damages even if you’re 99% at fault.

8. Know How Preexisting Conditions Affect Your Case

As previously mentioned above, the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff rule enables recovery of an exasperated or aggravated preexisting injury or condition. Although this rule is well established common law, in practice there are two likely scenarios when you have a case with a preexisting injury or condition:

Preexisting Injury/Condition Helps You

Progressive may fully acknowledge the existence of the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff rule and apply it to your case. By doing so, they may accept all medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages on your case. However, this is a less likely scenario.

Preexisting Injury/Condition Hurts You

The most likely scenario is that Progressive will ignore the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff rule completely. They will argue that it is impossible to distinguish the preexisting injury or condition from the new injury. This is very common with spinal injuries, especially when the claimant is older. They will claim that the complaints of pain are all due to a degenerative condition (i.e., ageing) and not the accident itself. In essence, they are trying to rebut the third element of your Negligence case—Causation.

9. Know the Progressive Policy Limits

Progressive largely serves a market of folks that are looking for a bargain on their auto insurance rates. As a result, you end up with many Progressive policies sold with state minimums. Each state has different liability insurance limits requirements. Some are:

• Arizona
  • Bodily Injury: $25,000 per person and $50,000 total per accident
  • Property Damage: $15,000
• California
  • Bodily Injury: $15,000 per person and $30,000 total per accident
  • Property Damage: $5,000
• Florida
  • Bodily Injury: Not required
  • Personal Injury Protection: $10,000
  • Property Damage: $10,000
• Texas
  • Bodily Injury: $30,000 per person and $60,000 total per accident
  • Property Damage: $25,000

In many cases, your compensation will be limited to the amount of the at-fault party’s insurance policy limits. Knowing the policy limits early in your case will be useful in figuring out how to proceed.

In most states, insurance companies are not required to disclose their policy limits in third-party claims. Some states, like Florida, do require it on written request. If you’re in a state where disclosure is not required, you can always request that Progressive ask their insured permission to disclose their policy limits. Sometimes this works. If not, it’s likely you’ll need to get an attorney involved to get this information.

If you have substantial medical bills and there’s a minimum policy, you may be better off immediately settling for policy limits instead of drawing out your case only to find out that you won’t be fully compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Remember: money now is worth more than money in the future. Of course, always perform a thorough investigation on any potentially liable parties and check whether you have underinsured motorist coverage first before you settle with Progressive. Most underinsured motorist policies require permission from the underinsured carrier before you can settle with the at-fault party’s insurance company.

Another scenario where policy limits may affect your case is where there is a large Progressive insurance policy and you have minor injuries (e.g., whiplash). In these cases, Progressive may low-ball you since they aren’t worried about defending a case where, if presented to a jury, the risk of an excess verdict is unlikely. Insurance companies hate paying one penny above their policy limits. But if there is a very low chance that will happen if your case goes to trial, there is no pressure for them to settle.

10. Use Your Un/Under-insured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

If Progressive denied your claim due to their insured’s policy lapsing or some other coverage issue, you may be able to recover your damages through your own insurance company. This will depend on whether you purchased uninsured motorist coverage or if you are a resident-relative to someone that has an active uninsured motorist policy.

When you use your uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company steps into the shoes of the at-fault party. Even though you are dealing with your own insurance company in an uninsured motorist claim, don’t think they will be purely altruistic. It’s at this point your relationship with your insurance company becomes adversarial. You’ll want to use the same caution as you would with the at-fault party’s insurance company.

The good news is your own insurance company has certain duties under the law that the at-fault party’s insurance company doesn’t have. Number one: they must act in good faith in handling and resolving your claim. This is due to the fact that there is a contractual relationship with you and your insurance company; and in every contract, there is an implied duty of good faith. If they violate that duty, they could be subject to additional claims known as Bad Faith.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage

If the at-fault party’s Progressive policy limits are insufficient to cover your damages, you have some options. Hopefully, you’ve purchased underinsured motorist coverage. This is usually bundled with uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage provides additional protection in the event that you’re injured by a driver with insufficient insurance coverage. If you have an underinsured claim, your insurance company will also step into the shoes of the at-fault driver. So, again, don’t get too comfortable in dealing with your own insurance company in these types of cases. Your insurance company will also be subject to the same Bad Faith claims that are available in uninsured motorist claims, if they do not handle or resolve your claim fairly.

How Long Does It Take Progressive to Settle a Claim?

In our experience most cases with Progressive settle within six months. However, be aware that the length of time it will take for Progressive to settle a claim will depend on several factors, including:

Severity of Injury and Policy Limits

If your injuries were severe and the Progressive policy limits are low, you can likely settle your case quickly. Progressive doesn’t want to risk an excess verdict in this type of scenario. If your injuries are minor (i.e., soft tissue injuries) or the Progressive policy limits are large, Progressive will be less motivated to quickly settle your case for full value.

Pre-Litigation vs. Litigation

Cases usually settle faster before a lawsuit is filed, and usually a lawsuit is filed because the case couldn’t be resolved in pre-litigation. If a lawsuit is filed, your case may take some time to settle. Progressive attorneys may want to take your deposition and/or learn more about the strength of your case through written discovery in litigation. If you’re not able to settle your case before trial, you may need to wait all the way until your case is heard before a jury to get resolution. Depending on how crowded the court docket is your jurisdiction, litigation can sometimes take years.

Medical Treatment

You shouldn’t settle your case until you have been released from treating with your doctors or at least know the extent of any future medical expenses. If you settle your case prematurely, you can’t go back to Progressive and ask them for more money. Settlements are final.

Can Progressive Deny My Claim?

Yes, of course they can. The most common reasons for a denial are based on liability, coverage issues, or if your claim is categorized as a Minor-Impact-Soft-Tissue-Injury (M.I.S.T.) claim.

Liability Denial

If Progressive thinks that you were at fault for your accident, then they may deny liability on your claim altogether. In this case, they may not make any offers to settle your case at all. You will either need some good evidence or file a lawsuit in order to get them to change their position. See Tip #2 above for pointers on presenting evidence to Progressive.

Coverage Denial

Coverage denials can be for many different reasons. The most common of which are for either a lapse in coverage (e.g., insured didn’t pay their bill) or when the at-fault driver was not a permissive user (i.e., car was stolen). There may be ways around coverage issues, but you’ll likely need a lawyer to evaluate your own situation.

Minor-Impact-Soft-Tissue-Injury (M.I.S.T.)

M.I.S.T. cases are those where there is little visible property damage to the vehicles involved in the collision and the injuries are minor (e.g., whiplash). If your claim gets categorized as a M.I.S.T. case, Progressive will argue that there is no mechanism of injury and won’t pay for any of your injuries. These cases can be difficult and may require that you hire a lawyer. Litigating a M.I.S.T. case can be tricky since the costs to litigate may outweigh the benefits since you may need to pay experts such as a Biomedical Engineer to prove your case.

Is Progressive Good at Paying Claims?

Just like the rest of the large auto insurance companies, Progressive is not good at paying claims. Out of all the top five largest insurance companies in the U.S., I’d say they are not the worst and not the best. Nevertheless, they use similar tricks and tactics to avoid paying claims. As mentioned above, they will use a wide variety of excuses to either undervalue your claim or deny it outright. The best thing you can do is get the free advice of an experienced auto accident attorney.

Does Progressive Offer Low-Ball Settlements?

There is no question that they do. This is especially true with soft tissue injury cases. Low-ball offers is a common trick with all insurance companies. They know that a low-ball offer will discourage the average claimant from fully pursuing their case or even hiring a lawyer. Don’t let Progressive discourage you from receiving full compensation on your claim. Use as many of the tips in this article to deal with them and if that still doesn’t work, hire a lawyer.

Progressive Car Accident Settlements

Below are some our own Progressive auto accident case settlements and some pulled from Verdict Search, a database of jury verdicts and settlements.

Case Study #1: Client v. Progressive Insured (Volusia County, Florida)

Client was traveling southbound on North Causeway near Middle Way in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, when she was rear ended by a Progressive insured.

The following day our client went to urgent care with complaints of headaches and back pain. Our client followed up with a chiropractor and was referred out for MRIs of her cervical and lumbar spine. The MRIs revealed bulges at C2-C3, C4-C5, C6-C7, L2-L3, and L3-L4 and disc herniations at C3-C4, C5-C6, and L4-L5. She was later referred to an orthopedic surgeon where she received epidural steroid injections and a medial branch radio-frequency ablation.

We later send a demand to Progressive for $300,000. Their first offer was $69,000. We later settled our client’s case for $125,000.

Case Study #2: Client v. Progressive Insured (Pinal County, Arizona)

Our client was driving his Chevrolet pickup westbound on Interstate 10, near mile post 217 in Picacho, Arizona, when he was rear-ended by a Progressive insured while traveling approximately 70 miles per hour.  Due to the differing ride heights of each vehicle, the Progressive insured’s front end went under our client’s truck rear end.  The impact from the Progressive insured’s vehicle caused our client’s vehicle to spin around 180 degrees, ultimately resting opposite of traffic, on the unpaved shoulder of the highway.

Our client’s airbags did not deploy, and his face struck a hard surface in his vehicle, causing significant facial injuries. He was then transported from the scene of the accident, by ambulance, to the emergency room.  He sustained multiple serious injuries, including nasal bone fracture, septal hematoma, facial fractures, closed head injury, and an intracerebral hemorrhage.  A CT scan of the Maxillofacial Area (face and jaw) was taken at the emergency room and the findings included displaced bilateral nasal bone fractures. On the right there was an extension of fracture into the nasolacrimal duct and minimally into the lamina papyracea (skull fracture).  Also, there was a mildly comminuted nasal septum fracture.

Our client later presented to a plastic surgeon for evaluation and discussion on his facial injuries’ treatment options. The doctor ordered surgery on our client’s facial injuries, including a closed reduction of the nasal bone and nasal septal fracture.

We demanded Progressive pay their policy limits immediately and they tendered their $15,000 policy limits. Due to the insufficiency of the Progressive insurance policy, we sought recovery from our client’s underinsured motorist policy. We settled with his underinsured carrier for $60,000, for a total settlement amount of $75,000.

Case Study #3: Clients v. Progressive Insured (Travis County, Texas)

Our clients were traveling in the rear seat of a rideshare vehicle heading westbound on East Braker Lane toward the I-35 service road intersection when a Progressive insured turned left in front of their vehicle causing a collision. The Progressive insured then proceeded to flee from the scene of the accident. The police later caught him, and he was cited for failure to stop and render aid.

Both of our clients presented to the emergency room three days after the accident. Client #1 complained of chest wall and left shoulder pain. He then later presented to a chiropractor for treatment of his injuries. He was later referred out for an MRI of the cervical spine and left-sided brachial plexus. The radiologist noted a 1mm disc bulge at C5-C6 and C6-C7, as well as a subtle fracture in the left upper sternum. Due to persisting pain in his neck, he was referred out to a pain doctor where he received a cervical epidural steroid injection.

Client #2 complained of pain in her hips and right lower leg. She followed up with a chiropractor and received an MRI of her pelvis and X-Ray of her lumbar spine. The radiologist noted soft tissue edema in the right buttock region and a potential labral tear.

We sent demands for policy limits for both clients and received initial offers of policy limits of $30,007 for Client #1 and $12,900 for Client #2. We later settled Client #2’s case with Progressive for $17,000. Client #1 received a total of $67,500 in settlements, including underinsured motorist benefits and Personal Injury Protection from his own carrier. Client #2 received a total of $19,500, including $2,500 in Personal Injury Protection from her own carrier.

Case Study #4: Client v. Progressive Insured (Hood County, Texas)

As our client was entering her vehicle in a hospital parking lot in Granbury, Texas, a Progressive insured rear-ended her vehicle. As a result, she hit her head against the A-pillar of her vehicle.

Our client then immediately presented to the emergency room with complaints of headache and neck pain. She was given pain medication and discharged later that night.

She then presented to a chiropractor the next day for her headaches and neck pain. The chiropractor referred her out for MRIs of her brain, and cervical and lumbar spine. The radiologist noted minimal spondylosis in her neck and an aneurysm in her brain. As a result of her severe headaches and the positive finding of her brain MRI, she was rushed to the emergency room by Life Flight.

We immediately sent Progressive a demand for policy limits. They quickly responded by tendering their policy limits of $50,055.

Case Study #5: Clients v. Progressive Insured (Fort Bend County, Texas)

Our clients, a mother with her two young children, all pedestrians, were crossing the street in a residential area of Sugar Land, Texas. A Progressive insured was traveling northbound in her SUV and was stopped at the stop sign.  As our clients attempted to cross the street in the crosswalk, the Progressive insured failed to yield the right of way to our clients, striking one of the children, causing her to fall to the concrete and hit her head. Police arrived at the scene, statements were taken, including a statement from the Progressive insured stating that she was being distracted by her phone at the time of the accident.

Immediately from the scene of the accident, our client was rushed to the emergency room by ambulance. She presented to the emergency room doctor with complaints of head trauma and injuries to her face, hips, thighs, and extremities. The doctor ordered the following imaging to be performed, including CT scan of the brain, chest X-Ray, abdomen/pelvis CT scan, facial bones CT scan, X-Ray of the right foot, X-Ray of the left humerus, X-Ray of pelvis, CT scan of the cervical spine, and X-Ray of the tibia fibula. The diagnosis included facial contusion, hematoma of the scalp, multiple contusions, musculoskeletal pain, and nasal swelling. Upon release, instructions were given to follow up with pediatric surgery within one week, to follow up with a primary care provider within three to five days, and to return to the emergency department if needed.

Days later, due to swelling and bruising of our client’s nose and the worsening of her head contusion, she presented to the emergency room. Facial bones CT scans were ordered. Abnormalities were discovered and the doctor prescribed antibiotics to treat the swelling. The emergency room doctor instructed our client’s parents to follow up with a pediatric ENT as soon as possible.

Our client later presented to a pediatric ENT complaining of a possible broken nose due to significant bruising and swelling. The ENT evaluated our client’s nasal injury, ordered an X-Ray for further treatment, and prescribed medication to help reduce swelling.

Subsequently, our client presented to a pediatric neurologist seeking an evaluation of the abnormal bump on her head. She had been experiencing neurological irregularities including movements of the face. In addition, she complained of headaches for the first month after the accident. The neurologist ordered an MRI of the brain and prescribed medication to alleviate her symptoms.

We later sent Progressive a demand for their policy limits of $250,000. Their first offer was $108,000. We then proceeded to file a lawsuit against their insured. We ultimately settled our client’s case for $220,000.

Case Study #6: Client v. Progressive (Harris County, Texas)

Our client, a ride-share driver, was traveling eastbound on Tidwell Road in Houston, Texas, when an Allstate insured ran a stop sign and t-boned her on the front right fender of her vehicle. Houston Police arrived on the scene and determined the Allstate insured was at fault for the accident.

Four days later, our client presented to a chiropractor complaining of extreme pain in her left shoulder, and back and neck pain. Due to her persistent pain, our client was referred out for MRIs of her shoulder, cervical spine, and lumbar spine. The radiologist noted a high-grade partial tear of the supraspinatus tendon in her left shoulder. She was later referred out to an orthopedic for an evaluation on her torn tendon. The orthopedic surgeon recommended arthroscopy surgery to repair the tendon. Our client proceeded with the surgery.

We sent a demand to Allstate for their policy limits of $30,000, which they tendered. We sought underinsured motorist benefits from our client’s insurance carrier, Progressive. We demanded her policy limits of $60,000, which they later tendered. In total our client received $93,615.07 in total settlement funds, which included $3,615.07 in lost ride-share revenue.

Case Study #7: Dizon v. Nichols (Kern County, California)

Plaintiff, while riding her bike in a crosswalk, in Bakersfield, California, was struck by defendant, and thrown on her hood, later falling onto the street. Her injuries included pelvic fracture, rib cage contusions, leg contusions, and neck and shoulder sprains.

Plaintiff was transported to the emergency room by ambulance. She later underwent 12 weeks of physical therapy, as well as several lumbar epidural steroid injections.

She later settled with Progressive for $95,000 of their $100,000 policy limits prior to trial.

Case Study #8: Donovan v. Hedges (Orange County, California)

Plaintiff was driving eastbound through the intersection of Alton Parkway and Armstrong Avenue in Irvine, California, when defendant made a left-hand turn in front of her, causing the collision.

Plaintiff was rushed to the hospital from the scene of the accident by ambulance. She suffered nose and eye socket fractures, as well as abrasions to her face, elbow, and knee. She underwent surgery to repair her orbital floor and nasal fracture.

Progressive later tendered their policy limits of $250,000.

Case Study #9: Peled v. Hartmayer (Santa Clara County, California)

Plaintiff was driving her vehicle southbound on San Antonio Road in Santa Clara, California, when she was T-boned on the left side by the defendant while she ran a stop sign.

The plaintiff presented to the hospital after the accident and was diagnosed with traumatic ulnar nerve damage to her right (dominant) wrist. She missed two weeks of work suffered with loss of enjoyment of life from the injury.

Plaintiff sued the defendant and following an arbitration hearing, Progressive agreed to settle her case for their policy limits of $50,000.

Case Study #10: Murphy v. Ganz, Ridge Stone Financial (Los Angeles County, California)

Sean Murphy, a pedestrian, was struck by a vehicle driven by Mr. Ganz as he had veered onto the sidewalk on Elm Street in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Murphy was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Mr. Ganz attempted to flee the scene of the accident but was later captured by police. He had a .20 blood alcohol level. He also had prior felony D.U.I convictions.

The case later settled for $1,000,000, $250,000 of which was paid by Progressive, their policy limits.

Progressive Contact Information

Website: https://www.progressive.com/

Claims: 800-776-4737

Progressive Campus Locations: https://www.progressive.com/locations/

Claims Locations: https://www.progressive.com/careers/locations/claims-offices/

Contact Our Experienced Car Accident Lawyers to Handle Your Progressive Claim

Call us today for a FREE consultation regarding your Progressive bodily injury claim. Our car accident injury lawyers can investigate your accident, determine the at-fault party, and help you present the best case possible to Progressive. Call (855) 545-1777 to speak to our personal injury attorneys directly.

The answer to this question will almost always be “NO.” Throughout this article, we will discuss why that is the case.

Accidents are such a common occurrence that it is rare at this point that you haven’t been involved in one than if you had. That doesn’t make them or the aftermath any less frustrating to deal with. The questions that arise can make anyone’s head spin.

What do I do next? Who is liable? How will I pay for the medical bills or costs to repair my vehicle? These are common and relevant questions you may have after an accident.

What Do I Do Next?

The first important detail that you should attend to is yourself. If you have an injury, you must seek adequate medical care for your injuries. Once you have begun that process, you will likely hear from insurance companies over the near future that will offer you a settlement for your injuries or the damages to your vehicle, or both.

It can feel like an instinct for most of us to want to settle this portion of the process quickly so we can get back to life as we know it and stop stressing over an accident. What can occur, however, by us settling too soon is that we inhibit ourselves from getting the total amount that we deserve after an accident, leaving us in unnecessary financial duress.

Why Do Insurance Companies Want to Settle Quickly?

Remind yourself of their objective when insurance companies contact you to offer you a settlement for the damages. They are hired to protect the best interest of the company they work for and their clients. You can see in that sentence where your needs or your best interest isn’t in the equation. That’s because it isn’t.

Insurance companies want to try and close files as quickly as possible for efficiency purposes (accidents happen every hour, on the hour) and to help mitigate further compensation being requested. In some cases, the full extent of your injuries may have yet to present themselves, or the issues with your vehicle may have yet to be entirely determined. By rushing to a settlement, an insurance company can try to get you to agree to a settlement, absolving themselves from any additional compensation before you fully establish what you’re owed.

You may not know that when you agree to a settlement, it almost always means that you have no further recourse to obtain additional compensation for damages. By agreeing to the settlement it releases the other parties involved from further liability. So if you uncover further or more extensive treatment is needed for your injuries, you won’t be able to go back to the insurance and ask for more compensation.

What are other Reasons for Companies to Rush a Settlement?

Insurance companies also know that everyday people aren’t typically skilled in negotiations. If they give individuals more time, they have time to prepare or consult an attorney qualified in negotiations, requiring more of the insurance company in most cases and won’t settle.

Experienced attorneys are well-versed in negotiations and the tactics that insurance companies often use to get people to settle for less than what is deserved after an accident. This skill set can be of great benefit to you to have them help you with negotiations and communication in general, so you aren’t selling yourself short and leaving yourself open to financial stress.

When Does Settling Make Sense?

It may be a good time to settle if you have taken the time to assess your injuries adequately, completed your proposed treatment, and consulted an attorney.

These steps must occur before settlement to avoid the difference between you obtaining total damages and being left to pay for them out of pocket.

This patience can be challenging to achieve with time away from work and mounting medical bills, but it is in your best interest to take your time and allow all details to be covered before settling. Speak with an experienced attorney that can help you understand the process and next steps.

How Can an Attorney Help?

There are several ways in which a qualified attorney can help you after an accident. A lawyer will work to obtain the necessary evidence to help you establish fault, help you to organize your medical bills and police records, and more. 

They can also help you negotiate with insurance agencies, work with medical facilities to ensure that you have all the documentation before settling the case, and work with doctors to ensure all essential treatment is stipulated. 

They can help to protect you from yourself in a sense as well. What we mean by this is similar to what we discussed above. In your rush to get back to life as you know it and put the car accident behind you, you may accidentally say something to an insurance adjuster that can sway the fault for the accident to be placed on you, interfering with your chances at obtaining total compensation that you are owed. Or by accepting a settlement that doesn’t cover the costs, you acquired throughout the accident and the aftermath. 

Don’t allow yourself to be put in this situation. Contact our office at 855-545-1777 to learn more about how we can help you. Our team is qualified and skilled in handling car accident cases, and we are confident we can help you, too. 

Accidents are so common that you’ll have a more challenging time finding someone who hasn’t been involved in one than you will be finding someone who has. They can range from an inconvenience to a crash with devastating circumstances for you and your family.

Suppose you were partially at fault for the accident occurring. For example, you were trying to avoid being crashed into by a distracted driver, and you were slightly distracted and made a lapse in judgment. Where does that leave you in the state of Texas? Read below to learn more.

What is Comparative Negligence?

You may have heard as some states are referred to as “fault states” or “no-fault states.” Texas follows a comparative negligence rule. What does this mean for you? Comparative negligence or fault implies that more than one driver can be found at fault for the accident. In some states, this may mean that you have no grounds to file for damages against the other driver since you were partially at fault. 

In Texas, even if you were partially at fault, you may still be able to pursue damages successfully. Each party involved will have a certain percentage of “fault” they are responsible for after a thorough investigation. Once determined, the damages awarded to you are lessened by the portion determined to be your fault. 

For example, if two people are involved in an accident and it is determined that you are 30% at fault for the accident, you would receive 70% of the total damages awarded in the case as your compensation. On the contrary, if you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident, you may not receive compensation.

How is Fault Determined in Texas?

If you’ve been caught up in the aftermath of an accident, you likely recognize how hectic the situation is. It can be challenging to determine who you think was at fault and why. There can be circumstances you were unaware of, weather or other factors that contributed to the accident, and more.

The facts of the case will be reviewed, and together with an accident investigation as well as any eyewitness statements, crash reconstruction, police reports, photo or video evidence, and more, fault can be determined.

What are Some Examples of Partial Fault?

In some cases, you may feel strongly that you had no fault in the accident and feel you are entitled to 100% of the damages.

If, however, you were speeding, failing to yield to the right-of-way, driving while impaired or distracted, or failing to obey traffic signs, these can all be examples of partial fault. A thorough investigation of the crash site and reconstruction may prove that you were partially at fault due to one of these common errors. If that is the case, a percentage of your fault will be assigned, and you may still receive compensation, but that percentage will lessen it.

What Are Some Steps I Should Take After an Accident?

You can take several steps to protect yourself after an accident. If you have never experienced one before, it can be easy to make mistakes that can damage your ability to pursue compensation in the future.

First things first, document as much as you can regarding the accident while it is still fresh in your mind. Not only the location, but the weather conditions, road conditions, traffic flow, and the time of the accident. A police report will typically encompass these items, but you can help yourself by confirming all of these details were collected.

Seeking medical attention can also be a crucial step after an accident. In some cases, injuries don’t show up immediately, and something that can be assumed to be minor may result in issues in the future. Have a thorough exam, and relay the details of the accident to the medical staff so they can thoroughly check you over. This also provides a record of any issues immediately following the accident.

Photograph any damages to your vehicle, have a mechanic or body shop review the damage, and provide you with a full report. As with medical issues, some mechanical issues may not present themselves immediately and can cause problems down the road if not addressed.

Seek experienced legal guidance. This step can be crucial before discussing any details with insurance companies. This is because insurance companies typically don’t have your best interest at heart and are hoping to settle, in most cases, for less than what is deserved. Your attorney, however, will be a trusted advocate for you, have your best interest at heart, and ensure that if you are entitled to compensation, you receive what is rightfully yours and don’t settle for less.

Why Work With an Attorney?

As discussed above, it can be invaluable to have someone with your specific interests at heart in accident cases. Your trusted attorney is well-versed in accidents, as they are a daily occurrence. They know what to look for, what costly mistakes to avoid, and how to assist you best so you can get the compensation you and your family deserve.

Contact our office at (855) 545-1777 to speak with an experienced and compassionate attorney regarding your accident and learn more about how we can best assist you moving forward. We look forward to working with you.

Selecting the right car seat and securing it properly are critical to keeping your child safe in a vehicle. Not only will a car seat help protect your child in an accident, but they are also mandated by Texas law.

What are Texas’s Car Seat Laws? 

Any child who is younger than eight years old must ride in a child passenger safety seat system when traveling in a motor vehicle. The only exception is if the child is taller than 4 feet, 9 inches. An approved child passenger safety seat system is one that is in accordance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and is:

• Appropriate for the size and weight of the child; and
• Installed within and attached safely and securely to the motor vehicle, either:
  • In accordance with the instructions for installation and attachment provided by the manufacturer of the child restraint system; or,
  • In another manner that is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Car Seat Recommendations by Age

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) specifies the following seat recommendations by age, in order to keep children safe in vehicles:

All Children: Keep children in the back seat for as long as possible, or at least until age 12. It’s always the safest way to ride.

Birth – 1 Year Old: Infants should be seated in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits, typically around age one.

1 – 3 Years Old: Children should continue using a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible. Then a child can use a forward-facing car seat with a harness until the child has reached the seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits, which could be anywhere from 65 to 90 pounds.

4 – 8 Years Old: After outgrowing the car seat with a harness, children can use a booster seat that raises them, so the car’s seat belt fits correctly and until they’ve grown tall enough, which is typically around 4 feet 9 inches.

8 – 12 Years Old: Once they fit correctly, children must wear a seatbelt. The lap belt should lie across the thighs, not the stomach. Additionally, the shoulder belt should not come across the face or neck.

Seat Belt Tips: Children sitting in booster seats designed for shoulder belts should not use only a lap belt. At no time should items such as books, towels, or pillows be used to boost a child.  Shoulder belts should always lie across the chest and never behind a person’s arm or back since it will eliminate any protection for the upper body in an accident.

Get Assistance with Installing and Inspecting Your Car Seat

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a directory of inspection stations that can connect you to a certified technician in your area. The certified technician will perform a car seat inspection for free and will demonstrate how to install and use your car seat correctly.

Have You Been Involved in a Car Accident? 

If you or someone you love has been involved in a severe car accident, speak to a skilled Houston car accident lawyer who can help. We offer free consultations.

A helmet is by far the most critical piece of safety gear when it comes to riding a motorcycle. Helmets saved 1,859 lives in 2016 and reduce the overall risk of dying in an accident by 37 percent. That is why many states, including Texas, have helmet laws in place to promote safety.

Current Helmet Laws in Texas

For most motorcycle riders, helmets are a requirement. They protect your safety, and they can drastically reduce the possibility of a brain injury or death from an accident. But, some people in Texas have the option not to wear a helmet under certain circumstances.

First, motorcyclists must be older than 21 before helmets are an option. After that, riders must complete an approved motorcycle operator safety and training course, as well as carry proof of the appropriate health insurance coverage to be allowed to ride without a helmet. This insurance of at least $10,000 worth of coverage is intended to take care of medical expenses in the event of an accident. It also shows that the motorcyclist accepts the risks that come with riding without a helmet.

Helmet Requirements 

Motorcycle helmets must meet the following safety standards set by the U.S. Department of Transportation:

• It must weigh at least three pounds. Unsafe helmets usually weigh only one pound or less.
• An inner liner that has a layer of firm polystyrene foam at least one inch thick. This may not be visible, but its thickness can be felt.
• Sturdy chin straps with rivets.
• Any external components or decorations do not extend further than two-tenths of an inch from the helmet’s surface.
• The helmet has a manufacturer’s label with the name, model, size, month and year it was manufactured, and the type of materials used.
• A “DOT” sticker is on the back of the helmet, certifying compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards. Novelty helmet sellers may give motorcyclists counterfeit DOT stickers to place on a non-compliant helmet, which is why all the other standards must be observed to distinguish if a helmet is safe.

The Impact of Helmets on Liability

If you are injured in a motorcycle accident while not wearing a helmet, it can be extremely challenging to recover full and fair compensation, particularly if you were required by law to wear one. The reason being that victims have the burden of proving another party’s negligence caused the accident before receiving compensation. The at-fault party may deny liability or fight your claim by suggesting your negligence in choosing not to wear a helmet was the actual cause of your injuries.

Texas courts follow the rule of modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. This rule can dramatically reduce or eliminate your compensation if you are also responsible for your accident. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your motorcycle accident, you are barred from financial recovery. If less than 51 percent of the blame is placed on you, you can recover compensation, but it will lower it. For example, if you are awarded $10,000 and found 40 percent at fault, you will receive $6,000. If you are awarded $10,000 and found 51 percent at fault, you won’t receive anything.

Speak to a Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

For more information on Texas state laws regarding motorcycle helmets, or if you believe you have an injury claim, speak to a Houston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer at Milano Legal Group. We offer free consultations; call (713) 489-4270 or reach us online today.