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Aşağıda, GEICO araba kazası tazminat uzlaşmaları ile ilgili sık sorulan soruların yanıtları da dahil olmak üzere, bedensel yaralanma tazminatınızı en üst düzeye çıkarmak için GEICO eksperlerinin bilmenizi istemedikleri ipuçlarını ve sırları öğreneceksiniz.

GEICO Sigorta Firması Kimindir?

Berkshire Hathaway’in bir parçası olan GEICO, ABD’deki en büyük ikinci mülk ve hasar sigortası şirketidir.

GEICO benzersiz iş modeliyle başlangıçta yalnızca en düşük riskli sürücüleri sigortalayarak ve sigorta acenteleri olmadan çalışarak Warren Buffet’in en iyi yatırımı olduğunu kanıtladı.

GEICO, trafik kazası kurbanları için bir zamanlar daha iyi bir sigorta şirketiydi. Eksperlerinin anlaşma yapma yetkisi daha fazlaydı ve uzlaşma ortalamaları çok daha yüksekti.

Son 25 yılda GEICO ve diğer birçok sigorta şirketi hasar tazminatı süreçlerini daha etkin bir hale getirdi. “Makul ve gerekli” hastane faturalarını ve ayrıca bedensel yaralanmalarda acı ve ıstırap tazminatını hesaplamak için tazminat talebi yazılımı kullanmaya başladılar. Sonuçlar: Ciddi şekilde düşük değerde uzlaşma teklifleri ve gelecekteki bir dizi motorlu araç kazası davası.

Sigorta Şirketi Nezdindeki Talebinizin Düşük Değerlendirilmesini Önleyin

Sigorta tazminat talebinize GEICO’nun diğer birçok tazminat talebinde yaptığı gibi ciddi şekilde düşük bir değer biçmesini nasıl önleyebilirsiniz?

Aşağıdaki 10 ipucu, talebinizin, bir GEICO eksperinin masasındaki sonsuz talep yığınında gerçek değerinden çok daha az değer biçilen diğer bir araba kazası tazminat talebinden ayrılmasını sağlayacaktır:

1. Kayıtlı İfade Vermeyi Reddedin

Eğer GEICO kusurlu tarafın sigorta şirketiyse, onlara ASLA kayıtlı bir ifade vermemelisiniz. Kesinlikle, kayıtlı bir ifade vermek zorunda değilsiniz. Tazminat talebinizin geçerli olması için bunun gerekli olduğunu düşünmenizi neden olmalarına izin vermeyin.

GEICO eksperleri çoğu zaman size kayıtlı bir beyan olmadan kazadan kimin sorumlu olduğunu belirleyemeyeceklerini söyleyeceklerdir. Ancak, bu sadece süreyi uzatmak, zaman kazanmak ve sizi oyalamak içindir. Kendi sigortalıları iş birliği yapmadığı için kazada kimin sorumlu olduğu konusunda bir karar vermeleri çok uzun zaman alıyorsa, bir avukat tutmanızın zamanı gelmiş demektir.

Uzman Tavsiyesi: Aracınızda oluşan hasarınızı kendi sigortanızdaki “collision” coverage dediğimiz çarpışma teminatınızdan veya size sigortası olmayan bir sürücü çarptı ise ya da bir vur-kaç kazası söz konusu ise “uninsured motorist property damage coverage” dediğimiz sigortası olmayan sürücü araç hasarı teminatınızdan alabilirsiniz. Sizin sigortanız size daha iyi davranacak ve araç hasarınızı diğer tarafın sigorta şirketinin sorumluluk araştırması devam ederken ödeyecektir. Ayrıca, kazada kusurlu olan tarafın sigorta şirketinden de muafiyet tutarınızı geri almaya çalışacaktır.

2. Araç Kazasından Sonra Hemen Tıbbi Tedaviye Başlayın

Kazadan hemen sonra tıbbi tedavi görmeniz için çok önemli üç neden vardır:

Zararlarınızı En Üst Düzeye Çıkarın

“Zararlar”, sigorta şirketi nezdindeki talebinizin değerini belirleyen unsurlardandır. Çoğu durumda, bir bedensel yaralanmalı trafik kazasında tazminat tutarı belirlenirken dikkate alınan en önemli faktörlerden biri hastane faturalarınızın tutarıdır.

Bu nedenle, makul ve gerekli tıbbi tedaviyi almanız ve bu faturaları belgeleyip sigorta şirketine ibraz etmeniz çok önemlidir.

İhtiyacınız olduğunu düşünüyorsanız acil servise gidin. Ayrıca, gerekli olduğunu düşünüyorsanız, acil servise ambulansla gidin. Ambulansla gitmeniz bazen sizin durumunuz için daha iyi bile olabilir.

Tabii ki, sadece tedavi masraflarınızı artırmış olmak için tedaviye gitmeyin. Sigorta şirketleri aptal değildir. Yaralanmalarınızın sahte olup olmadığını anlamak konusunda çok iyidirler.

Yaralanmalarınızı Meşrulaştırın

Biri yaralandığında mümkün olan en kısa sürede bir doktora görünmek istemesi mantıklı, değil mi? Tabii ki mantıklı. Ve bunun tersi de doğrudur. Yani, yaralanmadıysanız doktora da gitmezsiniz.

Hemen bir doktora görünmek, bedensel yaralanmalarınızı kanıtlamak adına çok önemlidir. Zira, bedensel olarak yaralandığını iddia eden biri derhal tedaviye başlar ve düzenli olarak devam eder. Derhal tedavinize başlamanız, GEICO eksperi karşısında da yaralanmalarınızı meşrulaştıracaktır.

Elbette bazen trafik kazasından hemen sonra tedaviye gidilememesinin bazı geçerli sebepleri olabilir. Örneğin, sağlık sigortası olmaması veya hemen ağrı hissedilmemesi gibi. Bu tarz durumların sigorta şirketine dikkatlice açıklanması gerekir.

Zararlarınızı Azaltın

Hukuken, iddia sahibinin zararlarını en aza indirgeme yükümlülüğü vardır. Bu çerçevede, yaralanan kişinin de bedensel yaralanmalarını ihmal etmeyerek zararlarını daha da artırmama konusunda sorumluluğu bulunmaktadır.

Davalı, zarar gören tarafın gerekli önlemleri alarak önüne geçebileceği zararlardan sorumlu değildir.

Bu, GEICO’nun derhal tıbbi tedavi almadığınız ve durumunuzu daha da kötüleştirdiğiniz gerçeğini size karşı kullanabileceği anlamına gelmektedir.

3. GEICO Eksperinin Bedensel Yaralanmalarınızı Küçümsemesine İzin Vermeyin

GEICO sigorta eksperleri bedensel yaralanmalarınızı en aza indirgeme konusunda çok yeteneklidir. Yaralanmalarınız konusunda sizin bile kendinizi sorgulayacağınız sorular sorarlar ve bunları yalnızca birkaç hafta içinde iyileşecek yumuşak doku yaralanmaları olarak kategorize ederler.

Yaralanmalarınızı en aza indirgemenin çok yaygın bir yolu, eksperin araç kazası mağduruna yalnızca birkaç haftalık tedavi için ödeme yapacaklarını ve bundan sonra kendi başına olduğunu söylemesidir. Onlara inanmayın! Gerçekten yaralandıysanız tamamen iyileşene kadar makul ve gerekli tıbbi tedaviyi almalısınız. Araç sigortası eksperleri doktor değildir. Durumunuzu teşhis edemezler.

4. Bir Kaza Avukatıyla Görüşmeden Önce Hiçbir Teklifi Kabul Etmeyin

Sigorta şirketi nezdindeki talebinizin başlangıcından itibaren bir kaza avukatı tutmazsanız davanızda kendinizi çoğu zaman dezavantajlı duruma sokarsınız.

Bir avukat tarafından temsil edilen trafik kazası mağdurlarının, avukatı olmayanlara göre %40 daha fazla tazminat aldığını gösteren araştırmalar bulunmaktadır.

Kendi deneyimlerimize istinaden şunu söyleyebilirim ki; sigorta şirketi nezdindeki taleplerini ilk başta kendileri halletmeye çalışan ve sonrasında bizimle çalışan müvekkillerimize GEICO tarafından daha önce sunulan uzlaşma tekliflerinin biz avukat olarak devreye girdikten sonraki tekliflerinden önemli ölçüde daha az olduğunu görüyoruz.

Ayrıca unutmayın; bedensel yaralanma avukatları önceden herhangi bir ücret talep etmez. Yani, sizi temsil etmeleri için asla kendi cebinizden ödeme yapmazsınız.

5. GEICO’nun İlk Teklifini Asla Kabul Etmeyin

GEICO’nun ilk teklifi asla en iyi teklifleri değildir ve büyük olasılıkla önemli ölçüde düşük bir teklif olacaktır. Talebinize atanan sigorta şirketi çalışanı ile muhakkak müzakere edin. Yüksekten başlayın. Müzakerelere çok düşükten başlayarak kendinizi köşeye sıkıştırmayın.

Örneğin, bedensel yaralanma talebinizi 20.000 dolar ile kapatmak istiyorsanız, talebinize 25.000 dolar ile başlamayın. Görüşmeye hedeflediğiniz tutarın çok üzerinde başlamalısınız.

Ayrıca, kendinize karşı teklif vermeyin. Kendi teklifinizi düşürmeden önce sigorta eksperinin teklifinde yukarı çıkmasını bekleyin.

GEICO eksperinin otoritesi dahilinde size verebileceği en yüksek teklife ulaşmadan önce en az dört ila beş tur teklifler konusunda gidip gelin. Size ilettikleri en iyi tekliflerinden memnun değilseniz, bir kaza avukatına başvurun.

6. Dava Açmanız Gerekebilir

GEICO sigortalısına karşı bir dava yoluyla önemli bir baskı uygulamazsanız, bedensel yaralanma talebiniz için makul bir rakam elde edemeyebilirsiniz.

Tabii ki, kazaya neden olan GEICO sigortalısını dava etmeye karar verirseniz büyük ihtimalle bir avukata ihtiyacınız olacaktır. Bir motorlu taşıt kazası davasını kendi başınıza ele almanız genellikle önerilmez.

7. GEICO’nun Tedavi Faturalarınız Konusunda Pazarlık Yapmasına İzin Vermeyin

Sigorta şirketi nezdindeki talebinizi tek başınıza halletmeye çalışıyorsanız, GEICO da dahil olmak üzere sigorta şirketleri tedavi faturalarınızı mümkün olduğunca düşürmek için ellerinden geleni yapacaklardır. Peki ama neden? Bunun GEICO’ya faydası nedir? Tedavi faturalarınızın düşürülmesi sizin özel zararlarınızı da önemli ölçüde azaltır. Dolayısıyla, alabileceğiniz tazminat tutarı da bundan olumsuz yönde etkilenir. Yani, tedavi faturalarınızın düşürülmesi uzlaşma miktarınızı da azaltacaktır.

Örneğin, 10.000 dolarlık acil servis faturanız olduğunu varsayalım. GEICO bu faturanın farkındadır ve hastanenin borcunu tamamen kapatmak için büyük bir indirim yapacağını bilmektedir. Hastaneyle sizin adınıza görüşerek bu faturayı en az %50 oranında azaltmaya çalışırlar. Bu durumda, sizin 10.000 dolar olan zararınız da yarıya indirilerek 5.000 dolara düşürülür. Peki bu ne demektir ve GEICO’ya ne fayda sağlamaktadır? Bu GEICO’nun tedavi faturalarınız ve kaza sebebiyle maruz kaldığınız acı ve ıstırabınızın karşılığı da dahil olmak üzere talebinizin tamamı için çok daha öz ödeme yapacağı anlamına gelir.

Uzman tavsiyesi: Önce GEICO nezdindeki talebinizi sonuçlandırın ve ardından tedavi faturalarınızda indirim almak için müzakerelerinize başlayın. Böylece cebinize daha çok para kalacaktır.

8. Sağlık Sigortası Kullanmak Talebinizin Değerini Etkileyebilir

Kazanızın hangi eyalette meydana geldiğine bağlı olarak, sağlık sigortası veya Medicaid/Medicare davanızın değerini önemli ölçüde etkileyebilir. Bu, eyaletinizin “Collateral Source Rule” denilen kuralı hala tanıyıp tanımadığına bağlıdır. Bu kural, kaza mağdurunun davalı dışındaki bir kaynaktan edindiği tazminatın, davalıdan alacağı nihai tazminattan mahsup edilemeyeceği anlamına gelir. Basitçe söylemek gerekirse; üçüncü bir kaynaktan edinilen kazanım, davalının sorumluluğunu azaltamaz. Yani, bu kural sağlık sigortanız tedavi faturalarınızı tamamıyla ödediyse veya önemli ölçüde düşürerek ödediyse, zararlarınızın miktarı belirlenirken halen orijinal tedavi faturanızın dikkate alınmasını gerektirir.

“Collateral Source” kuralının fiilen uygulanmadığı eyaletlerde, bu durum yalnızca uzlaşma miktarınızın “özel zararlar” (örneğin, tıbbi harcamalar) kısmını etkilemekle kalmaz; aynı zamanda “genel zararlar” (örneğin, acı ve ıstırap) kısmını da etkiler. Elbette iyi bir kaza avukatının bu engeli aşmak için uygulayacağı stratejiler vardır.

9. Yaralanmalarınızı Objektif Verilerle Kanıtlayın

Yaralanmalarınızı objektif verilerle kanıtlayabilirseniz, talebiniz GEICO eksperi karşısında daha değerli olacaktır. Bu, GEICO’ya X-Ray/MRI film ve raporlarınızı ve kesiklerinizin veya yara izlerinizin fotoğraflarını göndermenizi gerektirir.

Yalnızca acil serviste veya kayropraktik ofisinde yapılmış minimal tedavinize dair rapor ve faturalarınızı sunarsanız, GEICO sigorta eksperleri davanızı sadece bir yumuşak doku yaralanma vakası olarak kategorize eder. Bu durum ise alabileceğiniz tazminatın miktarını önemli ölçüde sınırlar.

Kollarınızda veya bacaklarınızda yayılan ağrı, uyuşukluk veya güçsüzlük gibi yumuşak doku yaralanmalarının ötesinde olan belirtiler hissediyorsanız yapabileceğiniz en iyi şey bir MRI çektirmek ve raporlarınızı ekspere iletmektir. Sinir veya omurilik sıkışmasına sebep olan fıtıklaşmış bir diskiniz varsa talebiniz genellikle daha değerlidir.

10. Kalıcı Yaralanmalarınızı Kanıtlayın

Kalıcı bir yaralanmanın kanıtlanması talebinizin değerini önemli ölçüde artıracaktır. Peki, kalıcı yaralanma nedir? Genel olarak, kalıcı bir yaralanma, zamanla tamamen iyileşmeyecek bir yaralanmadır. Kalıcı bir yaralanmaya iyi bir örnek bel fıtığıdır. Kayropraktik tedavi veya fizik tedavi ile bile bel fıtığı iyileşmez. Ciddi ve kalıcı yara izi veya şekil bozukluğu veya önemli bir bedensel fonksiyonun kaybı da kalıcı yaralanmaya iyi birer örnek teşkil ederler.

Peki kalıcı olmayan yaralanma nedir? Bunlar kas gerilmeleri ve burkulmaları, morluklar, boyun incinmesi ve küçük kesikler veya çizikler gibi zamanla iyileşecek yaralanmalardır.

Kalıcı bir yaralanma, talebinizin veya davanızın değerini artırmaya yardımcı olur.

GEICO’nun Bir Talebi Sonuçlandırması Ne Kadar Sürer?

Deneyimlerimize göre, çoğu GEICO araba kazası vakası altı ay içinde çözülür. Ancak, bu durum yaralanmalarınıza ve tüm tedavi sürecinizin bitiş tarihine göre değişiklik gösterir.

Tedavi süreciniz tamamıyla sonlanmadan sigorta şirketi nezdindeki talebiniz ile ilgili olarak müzakerelere başlamayın ve talebiniz konusunda uzlaşmayın. Mutlaka %100 emin olmak zorunda değilsiniz; ancak, en azından gelecekte ihtiyaç duyabileceğiniz tıbbi tedavinin kapsamının ne olacağını bilin.

GEICO, eğer bir avukat tarafından temsil edilmiyorsanız, siz bedensel yaralanmalarınızın derecesini bile bilmeden veya doktora gitme şansınız dahi olmadan talebinizi mümkün olduğunca çabuk bir şekilde sonuçlandırmaya çalışacaktır. Yaralandıysanız, en azından bir kaza avukatına danışana kadar talebiniz ile ilgili olarak uzlaşma sağlamayın. Bir kaza avukatı sizden kendisine soru sorduğunuz için herhangi bir ücret talep etmeyecektir.

GEICO eksperleri genellikle talepleri en kısa süre içinde sonlandırmaya ve çözmeye motive durumdadır. Genelde tazminat taleplerinize yapay son tarihler koymaya çalışırlar. Unutmayın; taleplerinizle ilgili olarak zamanaşımı sürelerini GEICO eksperlerinin keyfi verdikleri tarihler değil, kazanın olduğu eyaletin zamanaşımı sürelerine dair olan kurallar belirler.

GEICO Sizin Araba Kazası ile ilgili Tazminat Talebinizi Nasıl Hesaplar?

Deneyimli bir trafik kazası avukatı veya sigorta ekspertizi değilseniz, GEICO nezdindeki talebinizin doğru değerini hesaplamak zor olacaktır.

Geçmiş ve gelecekteki hastane ve doktor faturalarınızı, ücret/maaş kaybınızı, acı ve ıstırabınızı ve belgelerle ispatı mümkün diğer zararlarınızı hesaplamanıza dahil etmeniz gerektiğini bilin. Tahmin ettiğiniz üzere, bu unsurlardan bazılarının hesaplanması diğerlerinden daha kolaydır.

GEICO’nun kaza sebebiyle uğradığınız acıyı ve ıstırabı nasıl hesapladığını merak ediyorsanız, bunun, zararlarınızın miktarı hesaplanırken hesaplanması en zor olan unsurlardan biri olacağını söyleyebiliriz. Acı ve ıstırap hesabı için özel bir formül yoktur ve jüriler de sigorta eksperleri de belirli formüller kullanmazlar.

GEICO genellikle, uzlaşma tekliflerini hesaplamak için bir tür talep / hasar yazılımı kullanır. Bu nedenle, eksperlerin tazminat taleplerini müzakere ederken özgürlüğü kısıtlanmış durumdadır. Bir zamanlar sahip oldukları uzlaşma yetkisine şu an sahip değillerdir.

GEICO sigorta eksperleri, araç sigortası tazminat talepleri ile ilgili çeşitli faktörleri ilgili yazılımlarına girer ve yazılım, eksperin talebi çözebileceği uzlaşma aralığını söyler. Uzlaşma aralığının en üst sınırını geçmek istiyorsanız, yaralanmalarınız hakkında yeni bilgiler sunmanız veya dava açmanız gerekir.

GEICO Sigorta Taleplerini Çözmede iyi mi?

Kısaca HAYIR. GEICO en kötüsü değil, ama kesinlikle en iyisi de değil. State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Farmers ve USAA gibi büyük sigorta şirketlerinin arasında taleplerinizi adil bir değerle çözme konusunda muhtemelen ortada bir yerdeler.

GEICO, özellikle de bir avukat tarafından temsil edilmiyorsanız, talebinizi mümkün olduğunca az bir değerle çözmeye çalışacaktır. Tecrübelerimize göre, GEICO genellikle tipik bir yumuşak doku yaralanması durumunda (örneğin boyun incinmesi) tedavi faturanızın toplamının yaklaşık %50’sini önererek müzakerelere başlar. Yaralanmalarınız kırık kemikler gibi daha şiddetli ise, genellikle daha fazlasını sunarlar.

Çoğu vakada GEICO dava açıldıktan sonra daha fazlasını teklif eder. Dava açtığınızda, talebinize bakan sigorta eksperi değişir ve yerine talebinizi çözmek için daha fazla yetkiye sahip daha tecrübeli bir eksper atanır.

GEICO’ya Karşı Talebim Güçlü mü?

Güçlü bir talebe sahip olmak, aşağıdakiler de dahil olmak üzere, çeşitli faktörlere bağlı olacaktır:

Faktör #1: Sorumluluk

Trafik kazasında kusurlu taraf siz değilseniz ve GEICO sorumluluğu tamamıyla kabul ettiyse bu kesinlikle sizin lehinize olup elinizi güçlendirecektir. Bununla birlikte, kazada size tam veya kısmi sorumluluk yüklediler ise bu durumda eliniz bir önceki cümlede belirttiğimiz kadar güçlü olmayacaktır. Size kaza ile ilgili sorumluluk yüklendiği durumlarda, GEICO’nun sorumluluk ile ilgili kararının nasıl üstesinden gelebileceğinizi bir avukata danışmak en iyisi olacaktır.

GEICO’nun, kazada kısmi sorumluluğu kabul etse bile, eğer ciddi bedensel yaralanmalar ve minimum poliçe söz konusu ise tüm poliçe limitlerini teklif ettikleri vakaları gördük. Ancak, yaralanmalar yumuşak doku yaralanmalarından ibaret ise ve poliçe 100.000$/300.000$ veya 250.000$/500.000$ gibi daha yüksek limitlere sahip ise size poliçe limitlerini ve hatta adil bir tazminat tutarını dahi önermeleri pek olası değildir.

Faktör #2: Teminat

Trafik kazasına neden olan sürücü sigorta primlerini zamanında ödemediyse veya başkasının aracını izni olmadan kullanıyorsa, GEICO zararlarınızı karşılamak adına herhangi bir ödeme yapmayı reddedebilir.

Bu tarz durumlarda, yani sigorta primleri ödenmediği için kaza esnasında aktif bir sigorta poliçesinin olmadığı veya sigorta poliçesi kapsamı dışındaki bir kişinin kazaya sebep olduğu durumlarda, sizin kendi poliçenizde “sigortası olmayan sürücü teminatınızın (“uninsured motorist coverage”) olması zararlarınızın tazmini anlamında size çok yardımcı olacaktır. Aynı zamanda, potansiyel davalılar ile ilgili kapsamlı bir araştırmanın yapılması da çok önemli ve gereklidir.

Teminat sorunları, Fred Loya, American Access Casualty Company, National General veya United Auto Insurance Company gibi standart dışı sigorta şirketlerinde daha çok karşımıza çıkmaktadır. GEICO, tazminat ödemesinden kaçınmak için etik olmayan teknikleri kullanarak poliçe yazma yoluna genellikle gitmez.

Faktör #3: Yaralanmalarınızın Ciddiyeti

Yaralanmalarınız ne kadar ciddi ise GEICO’ya karşı olan talepleriniz de o kadar güçlü olur. Bununla birlikte, GEICO minimum limitli poliçeler düzenleme eğilimindedir ve GEICO sigortalılarının çok azı önemli ve büyük kayıpları karşılamak için geniş kapsamlı bir poliçeye sahiptir.

Poliçe limitleri zararlarınızı karşılamak için yetersiz kaldığında, GEICO gibi sigorta şirketleri kendilerine yöneltilebilecek herhangi bir kötü niyet iddiası ile karşılaşmamak adına genellikle poliçe limitlerini hemen ödeme eğilimindedir.

Faktör #4: Tıbbi Tedavi

Eğer çok az tedavi gördüyseniz ve yaralanmalarınız da hafif ise GEICO’dan beş basamaklı (veya daha fazla) bir tazminat almanız imkânsız değilse bile zor olacaktır.

Ancak, örneğin, kazadan sonra ambulansla acil servise gitmeniz, vücudunuzda kırık kemiklerin veya çatlakların oluşması ya da ameliyat olmanız bedensel yaralanmalarınızın ciddiyetini göstereceğinden ve tedavi miktarınızı artıracağından GEICO nezdindeki tazminat taleplerinizi güçlendirecektir.

Faktör #5: Araç Hasarı

GEICO sigorta eksperleri, bir yaralanma mekanizması olup olmadığını görmek için her zaman kazaya karışan tüm araçların maddi hasarına bakar. Örneğin, araçlarda sadece ufak çizikler varsa ve çarpışmanın etkisi ufaksa, yaralanmalarınızın kazadan kaynaklandığını kanıtlamakta sorun yaşayabilirsiniz.

Faktör #6: Yetkili Mahkeme – Kazanın Olduğu Yer

Trafik kazasının nerede meydana geldiği önemlidir. Politik olarak daha muhafazakâr olma eğiliminde olan bir şehirdeyseniz, taleplerinizin değeri GEICO nezdinde daha liberal olan şehirlere göre biraz daha düşük olma eğiliminde olabilir.

GEICO’ya Karşı Sigorta Tazminat Talebimde Avukata İhtiyacım Var mı?

Yalnızca araç hasarınız varsa ve yaralanmadıysanız, GEICO’ya karşı sigorta tazminat talebinizle ilgilenmek için muhtemelen bir avukata ihtiyacınız olmayacaktır.

Ancak yaralandıysanız, unutmayın kas burkulmaları ve incinmeleri, boynunuzda, sırtınızda ve belinizde meydana gelen ağrılar da sizin bedensel olarak yaralandığınız anlamına geleceğinden, haklarınızı tehlikeye atmadığınızdan emin olmak için bir trafik kazası avukatından ücretsiz danışmanlık almak her zaman iyi bir fikirdir. Kaza avukatları danışmanlık için ücret almazlar. Onların tavsiyelerini almakla bir kaybınız olmaz.

GEICO Çektiğiniz Acı ve Istırap İçin Ne Kadar Öder?

Yumuşak doku yaralanmalarınız varsa GEICO acı ve ıstırabınızı telafi etmek için tedavi masraflarınıza genellikle 1.500 ila 5.000 dolar arasında bir ekleme yapacaktır.

Vücudunuzda kırık kemiklerin veya çatlakların oluştuğu daha ciddi yaralanmalar için GEICO’nun sunduğu acı ve ıstırap tazminatı genellikle 5.000 dolardan fazla olacaktır.

Acı ve ıstırabı hesaplamak, avukatlar ve hasar eksperleri için bile asla kolay değildir. Tahmin edebileceğiniz gibi bu takdire bağlıdır. Acı ve ıstırap için ödenebilecek tutarı maksimize etmek için yapabileceğiniz en iyi şey bedensel yaralanmalarınızı objektif verilerle kanıtlamaktır. Örneğin, MRI’lar, X-Ray’ler, CT taramaları gibi tanısal testler veya yaralanmalarınızın fotoğrafları gibi.

GEICO’ya (GEICO Sigortalısına) Karşı Dava Açmam Gerekir mi?

GEICO nezdindeki taleplerinizin karşılığı olarak maksimum tazminatı almak istiyorsanız dava açmanız gerekebilir. GEICO, sigortalılarına karşı dava açtığınızda genellikle tekliflerini artırır.

Bununla birlikte, zararlarınızın karşılığı olarak dava açmadan da somut durumunuz çerçevesinde en yüksek tazminatı alabilirsiniz. Bu, elbette taleplerinizin değeri ve bedensel yaralanmalarınızın ciddiyetine bağlıdır.

GEICO Aleyhindeki Araba Kazası Tazminat Davamın Sonuçlanması İçin Jürinin Önüne Çıkmayı Bekleyecek miyim?

Muhtemelen hayır. GEICO’ya karşı dava açtıysanız çoğu dava jürinin önüne çıkmadan önce çözülür. Dava açıldıktan sonra jürinin önüne çıkana kadar yani duruşma tarihine kadar birçok aşama mevcuttur. Davanızın bu aşamalardan birinde çözülmesi kuvvetle muhtemeldir.

Dava açtıktan sonraki tüm aşamaları tamamlamak bazen zararlarınızın karşılığını tam olarak almanız için gerekli olabilir. Ancak, dava süreci uzun, yorucu ve pahalıdır. Bu nedenle, bazen somut durumunuz çerçevesinde davanın tüm aşamalarını tamamlamak ekonomik anlamda mantıklı olmayabilir.

Adil bir değerle daha erken bir sürede karara bağlanabilecek bir davada, her iki tarafın da yargılama giderleri ve yargılama süresini hesaba katarak çözüme ulaşmak için uzlaşma yolunu tercih etmeleri muhtemeldir.

Here we will cover settlement negotiating tips and secrets State Farm adjusters don’t want you to know in order to maximize your bodily injury settlement, including answers to frequently asked questions regarding State Farm car accident settlements.

Overview of State Farm Claims

State Farm is the largest insurance company in the United States (by direct premiums written). With their massive marketing budget, they’ve attempted to convince consumers that like a good neighbor, State Farm is there if you ever need them. However, the over the years, their policyholders would likely disagree with their well-known tagline.

Playing Hardball

State Farm leads the charge in overhauling the handling of auto insurance claims with their internal company philosophy of the Three D’s—DELAY, DENY, DEFEND.

Even when presented with valid claims, they decided to unnecessarily delay the handling of these claims by taking their time in investigating and ultimately determining liability on those that were valid.

They’d also deny valid claims, leaving the claimant with the only choice of going to court.

And they’d aggressively defend these cases throughout litigation.

What this all meant for State Farm was more time to hold the premiums in their hands so that they could maximize the investment income on this money. What this meant for their insureds and claimants was frustration, wasted time, and countless lawsuits filed.

In an 18-month CNN investigation, it was found that State Farm (along with Allstate) employed a hardball scheme in minor-crash claims, including employing the Three-D’s, convincing juries that these claims were fraudulent, and treating claimants unfairly.

Documents CNN obtained in the investigation highlighted that this scheme was purely for profit and was not to crack down on fraud, as State Farm had claimed.

Fighting State Farm’s Delay, Deny, Defend Strategy

You don’t need to fall victim to State Farm’s strategy to avoid paying or undervaluing your auto accident injury claim. The following 10 tips will help in fighting back and avoid being a casualty to State Farm’s Three-D’s strategy:

1. Get Medical Treatment Immediately

If you’re injured, you need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Preferably go to the emergency room by ambulance. Now is not the time to be cheap. Of course, you only want to seek medical treatment if you’re injured. Don’t go faking your injuries. State Farm will find you out (see #7 below).

If you’re not initially in pain immediately after the accident, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not injured. When your adrenaline is rushing through your body after an auto accident, many times you are numb to pain. You may wake up the next day or several days later stiff, sore, or with limited range of motion in your back, neck, or limps.

You can go to an emergency room or urgent care later down the road but as time passes, it’ll be more difficult to prove that your injuries were caused by the accident. State Farm certainly gives claimants a hard time if there are substantial gaps in medical treatment. Don’t let this happen. Get to the doctor (this includes the chiropractor)!

2. Do Not Give State Farm A Recorded Statement

State Farm is notorious for asking for a recorded statement from claimants. DO NOT GIVE A RECORDED STATEMENT! There is no requirement under the law that you give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company.

I will preface this by saying do not give a recorded statement to State Farm if they are the insurance carrier of the at-fault party.

If they are your insurer and you’re making a claim under your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, PIP, Medical Payments, Collision, or Comprehensive coverages, then you’ll need to talk to them. But be very careful in talking to them. Although they are your insurance company, this is where things become adversarial. It’s probably best in this scenario to discuss your case with a car accident lawyer prior to talking with State Farm.

3. Reject State Farm’s “Nuisance” Offer

A “nuisance” offer is an offer made by an insurance company to quickly settle a case for an absurdly low amount to make the claimant go away. These offers range anywhere from the low hundreds to low thousands. Sometimes they may even offer to pay your emergency room bill or a few visits to the chiropractor, at a reduced amount, of course. Reject these types of offers!

If State Farm is offering you any money for your bodily injury claim, they likely have more to offer, if you can prove your case’s damages to them. By “damages,” I mean medical expenses, lost wages, and any general damages, including pain and suffering.

On many injury claims, specifically those with soft tissue injuries, State Farm assigns the claim to a team. This means State Farm is placing a low value on your case. These team adjusters typically have very low settlement authority and will try to get the case resolved as quickly as possible before the claimant gets a lawyer involved.

Before any offer is accepted in writing or over the phone, make sure you at least talk to a car accident lawyer. They always give free consultations and if you hire one, you will not have to pay them anything up front. They’ll only get paid if they are able to win your case.

One more thing: if you settle your case by signing a release or accepting an offer orally, it will be extremely difficult to get out of it. Remember a settlement is final! Trying to get State Farm to pay you more money after you’ve settled with them will be futile.

4. Know The “Eggshell Skull Plaintiff” Doctrine

State Farm, like the vast majority of insurance companies, ignore this important legal doctrine. Not only do they ignore it, but they try to turn the tables on the claimant when it comes to preexisting conditions or injuries.

So, what is the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff doctrine? It’s a common law (judge created) doctrine that says the defendant takes the plaintiff as he finds him when he makes the plaintiff’s condition worse. This means the defendant is liable for an exasperation or aggravation of a preexisting injury or condition.

Here’s an example: an at-fault driver causes a minor fender-bender with a little old lady that has bones as brittle as glass and shatters her hip. Here, the at-fault driver is responsible for making the little old lady’s condition worse. It doesn’t matter that this little fender-bender wouldn’t have caused this type of injury to most people.

Another example of this is with a claimant with an asymptomatic (i.e., no symptoms) herniated disc in his lower back that now becomes symptomatic as a result of a careless driver rear-ending him at a red light. It doesn’t matter that the careless driver didn’t cause the herniated disc. All that matters is that the careless driver aggravated a preexisting injury, for which he/she is responsible under the Eggshell Skull Plaintiff doctrine.

State Farm will try to use a preexisting injury or condition against you, claiming that you have failed to establish your case against their driver. They’ll claim that it’s almost impossible to sort out a prior injury from a potentially new or aggravated one. This is not true.

A good place to start in proving an exasperation or aggravation is with your prior medical history. You may be able to provide State Farm with medical records that document the lack of any issues with the particular body part in question. Most people see their primary care physicians at least once a year for a checkup. If you had any complaints, you most certainly would express them to your doctor.

Proving an exasperation or aggravation to a preexisting injury or condition can get quire complex. So, it’s important to consult with a lawyer before you start sending your prior medical records to State Farm. Keep in mind, you absolutely have no obligation to provide them with your prior medical history. If they do not get your permission by having you sign a medical release before acquiring your medical records on their own, they are violating HIPAA.

By the way, you should not provide a signed medical release to the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

5. Know The Factors Affecting Your Case Value

There are many factors that affect the value of an auto accident injury case. Some factors are more important than others, including:

Facts of Your Case

Obviously, facts matter. But what facts are most relevant in an auto accident injury case? Well, a few include the extent of the property damage of all vehicles involved in the collision; the county where the accident occurred; independent witnesses, and the road conditions. These facts all play into valuation.

The extent of property damage matters because the more property damage, the more likely there are to be serious injuries. The county where the accident occurred matters since State Farm may pay more in a more plaintiff-friendly venue. There being independent witnesses that saw the accident matter when liability is being questioned by State Farm in a word against word accident. And road conditions matter since it may affect how State Farm places fault on each party.

Severity of Injuries

State Farm pays more money on more serious injuries, as you may have guessed. Soft tissue injuries, such as whiplash, are worth less than a broken bone or fracture. However, keep in mind that just because you have a soft tissue injury doesn’t mean your injuries aren’t serious. Claimants with soft tissue injuries, such as a herniated disc, can recover more than a minimal amount from State Farm. Proper and consistent medical treatment are crucial in these types of cases.

Medical Treatment

As mentioned above, proper and consistent medical treatment is crucial in proving up your injury case. Fundamentally, it is the plaintiff’s burden in proving their case against the defendant. This includes proving their damages. Typically, the largest driver in most personal injury cases is the medical bills. Without proper and consistent medical treatment, you can end up only being offered a nuisance offer, especially if your injuries are not apparent (e.g., soft tissue injuries).

Comparative Fault

Any fault placed on you can be devastating to your claim against State Farm. For example, if they determine that you are 50% at fault for your intersection accident, you have effectively cut your potential maximum compensation in half.

The state in which the accident occurred will determine whether you may be barred from recovering some or all of your damages.

In some states like Arizona and California, you can technically still recover some of your damages even if you’re 99% at fault.

In other states like Florida and Texas, if you are more than 50% at fault for your accident, you are completely barred from recovering any of your damages.

Policy Limits

In many cases against State Farm, your potential compensation will be limited to the amount of the at-fault party’s policy limits.

For example, if the at-fault driver only has a $30,000/$60,000 liability policy, that is the maximum you can receive from State Farm. However, if you have your own underinsured motorist coverage or MedPay/PIP, you may be entitled to more than the State Farm policy limits.

Another important note on State Farm policy limits: If the State Farm insured has a large policy and your injuries are minor (e.g., soft tissue injuries), they will do their best to low-ball you. More on this below.

Insurance Company

An important factor in valuing any auto accident case is knowing who the at-fault party’s insurance company is. Some pay more than others. We’re discussing State Farm here. They are the largest insurance carrier in the United States. That doesn’t mean they are the best quality insurance company though.

If I had to assess their quality, out of the big five insurance companies, I’d put them near dead last. They’re cheap, they use unfair tactics in negotiating claims, they undervalue claims, and they would push every case to litigation if they had their choice.

However, they are not invincible. Every insurance company has an Achilles heel. That Achilles heel is a well-informed claimant, an experienced car accident lawyer, and justice herself. They can’t dodge a lawsuit and avoid paying a judgment. Remember that. The law is on your side in these cases if they are handled correctly.

Aggravating Factor

An aggravating factor is one where the at-fault party acts beyond just regular negligence.

Remember, in a personal injury case based in negligence, all that you must prove is that the defendant failed to meet the reasonable person standard and as a result the plaintiff suffered recognizable damages.

If the defendant acts with either gross negligence or recklessness, both of which are elevated levels of culpability above regular negligence, they may be liable for punitive damages.

Punitive damages are awarded in addition to compensatory damages (e.g., medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering) and are intended to punish the defendant for their conduct. In effect, an aggravating factor can increase the value of a claim.

An example of this is an accident that was caused by a drunk driver.

Defendant’s Profile

Who the defendant is matters. If the defendant is a corporation whose driver caused the accident, the corporation will be responsible for the damages under the Respondeat Superior doctrine. Juries and State Farm adjusters tend to award more money to the plaintiff in cases where there is a corporate defendant that caused the accident.

There are two main reasons for this: (1) juries think corporations have deeper pockets to compensate the injured party, and (2) they are less sympathetic to a huge company with tons of assets.

The defendant’s profile is also relevant to value where the defendant has a substantial criminal history or has a bad driving record. The defendant’s background doesn’t usually come into evidence at trial to show the defendant is a bad person or bad driver but may come in as evidence to show their propensity towards truthfulness when testifying. This still has the same effect as it being offered as “bad character” evidence before the jury. In effect, this evidence most likely will increase the value of your claim against State Farm.

6. Negotiate Your Case Properly

You should always start your negotiations with State Farm high—a number that you know they won’t pay, but one based in reality. For example, you don’t want to start negotiations at $500,000 when you have whiplash and only sought medical treatment at a chiropractor. But you don’t want to start off too low either and paint yourself into a corner.

Know the number you would take to settle your claim before you start negotiations. With each round of offers, see if it’ll be beneficial to match the movement of the adjuster as they come up from their previous offer. Also, don’t ever bid against yourself by lowering your offer if the adjuster doesn’t increase their offer. Wait for them to come up before you come down.

Typically, State Farm will low-ball you on their first offer, especially if you are claiming soft tissue injuries. This offer will most likely be based only on medical bills that they have considered reasonable with adjustments for what they claim is usual and customary within your particular geographic location. They will then add in a nominal amount for general damages (e.g., pain and suffering).

Usually, State Farm adjusters will move from their initial offer anywhere from three to five times. If you hit a wall in negotiating, see if you can provide the adjuster with any new information that might give them a reason to increase their offer.

Go over each line item of your medical bills with the adjuster. Ask them how much of each bill they are considering and whether they are considering ALL of your bills. State Farm is notorious for discounting the medical bills based on their arbitrary usual and customary rate.

Remember that adjusters are just people like you and me, performing a job. They have families and bills to pay. Treat them like people. They will not cower down to disrespectful or aggressive negotiation tactics, or foul language. That will get you nowhere. Be kind and firm. Use facts. Don’t bad mouth State Farm to them.

Most State Farm adjusters ultimately have little power and must go through the bureaucratic nonsense that’s required in a large corporation to get more settlement authority on a claim.

You should build a rapport with them. Make them want to help you. Being courteous and professional will more easily get them to their top offer than being belligerent and combative. If you can’t get to a number you think is fair, it’s time to lawyer up!

Pro tip: If you’re dealing with a large policy like $100,000/$300,000 or $250,000/$500,000, and your injuries are minor, expect a fight. State Farm has no incentive to settle your case for top dollar since, even if the case goes to trial, an excess verdict is unlikely. There’s only one thing that insurance companies hate more than paying claims and that is paying above the policy limits as a result of an excess jury verdict.

7. Avoid Special Investigative Unit (If You Can Help It)

The Special Investigative Unit (SIU) is the insurance company’s fraud department. Cases are thrown into SIU when there is suspicion of fraud or impropriety. Usually this is occurs because State Farm thinks the injuries or damages were fraudulent, or the injured party is a serial claimant.

I have seen two types of cases more often go into State Farm SIU. Claims where: (1) the claimant’s statements about facts or injuries that don’t line up with other evidence; or (2) the claimant has treated with a medical provider that is on State Farm’s red flag list. These medical providers overtreat, overcharge, or conduct business unscrupulously according to State Farm.

So, how do you avoid SIU? The best way to avoid SIU is to be 100% honest with the facts that you know and the injuries with which you are certain. This doesn’t mean you need to volunteer information to them or attempt to diagnose your condition to satisfy their demands. But don’t fabricate a story or fake an injury. That’s unethical and it’s a crime. They will find you out.

Sometimes State Farm gets it wrong. They may send a claim to SIU that doesn’t belong there. Ask the adjuster why your claim is in SIU. If it’s something you can remedy, do it. Otherwise, they may severely undervalue your claim or deny your claim altogether.

8. Talk To A Supervisor

State Farm adjusters operate under an organizational hierarchy just as most large corporations, with lower-level employees, middle management, and upper management. The adjusters handling the vast majority of claims at State Farm, especially at the team level, do not have much settlement authority. They must strictly adhere to the adjusting software they use in evaluating claims and stick to the State Farm script in extending offers to settle.

Sometimes you can sidetrack this process by discussing the claim with the assigned adjuster’s supervisor, if you had no luck in negotiating a fair settlement with the assigned adjuster. A State Farm supervisor may be willing to take a second look at the claim to see if the adjuster missed something.

Keep in mind: you may get pushback from the assigned adjuster or their supervisor when requesting a supervisor re-review of your file. They may say the supervisor is not able to add any value to the claim. I would continue to push them. Also, if you have any additional information to give them that may increase the value of your claim, send it to them. This includes additional medical bills, photos of your injuries, photos of pain medication you’ve been prescribed, or how the accident has affected your daily routine or impaired a bodily function.

9. Consult With An Attorney

Claimants are only doing themselves a huge disservice by trying to handle their car accident injury case on their own. We have taken cases over for clients that tried to handle State Farm on their own countless times. I can tell you it’s never good. Sometimes it’s at a point where it’s too late and they’ve settled their case by signing a release or accepting a State Farm low-ball offer over the phone.

Talk to a personal injury lawyer immediately after a car accident if there are injuries. It’s always free to discuss your case and you won’t have to pay anything unless they win your case.

If you’re hesitating and think you will make more money in your pocket by not hiring a lawyer, that is simply not the case. A study by the Insurance Research Council showed that attorney represented claimants received two to three times more of a settlement than those without a lawyer. Even with taking attorney’s fees into account, you’ll end up with more money in your pocket.

10. File A Lawsuit

If you’ve done everything you can to increase the value of your case by negotiating resolutely, providing the adjuster with evidence of your injuries and all damages, requested to discuss your claim with a supervisor, and provided them with any new information about your case, filing a lawsuit may be the only option.

Preferably at this point you’ve consulted with an attorney and hired him/her to pursue the State Farm insured in court. Many times, the only way to get State Farm to move is to sue their insured and make their attorneys work.

Keep in mind you’ll most likely settle your case once it’s reached the litigation phase since more than 90% of all auto accident cases don’t ever make it to trial.

How Long Does It Take State Farm to Settle?

In our experience, most cases settle in three to six months. Of course, this will all depend on how much medical treatment you will need.

Soft tissue injuries usually heal in about six to eight weeks and need about that much time of chiropractic treatment and/or physical therapy.

A broken bone or fracture can take anywhere from six to 20 weeks to heal completely. But you may be able to resolve these types of cases quickly with State Farm since your injuries are apparent, especially if the State Farm bodily injury policy limits is under $100,000/$300,000.

Other more catastrophic injuries or wrongful death cases may be able to resolve immediately with State Farm, assuming liability is clear, and the policy limits are under $250,000/$500,000 or $500,000/$1,000,000. It will depend on the seriousness of the injury, impairment, scarring, and other general damages elements.

How Much Does State Farm Pay for Spinal Injuries?

The value of your spinal injury will depend on the several factors, including the extent of your spinal injury, policy limits, and medical treatment.

The more severe and permanent your injury, the more your claim will be worth. Your claim may be limited by the amount of the State Farm policy limits that the defendant has. Medical treatment is a huge factor in determining how much your case is worth with State Farm. If you need surgery, your case will be worth more than a case where you only sought minimal treatment with a chiropractor.

The most common type of spinal injuries in an auto accident are sprains and strains to the muscles and tendons surrounding the spine. State Farm pays the least on these types of spinal injuries since they are not permanent and usually heal in six to eight weeks with minimal treatment. State Farm can pay anywhere from the low hundreds to several thousands of dollars for back/neck sprains or strains.

Herniated discs are also a common spinal injury in an auto accident. A herniated disc can be worth much more than just a sprains and strains case since this injury is permanent and can be debilitating. These can settle anywhere from the low five-figures to several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The higher end settlements for a herniated disc injury usually involved surgery.

More serious injuries like spinal fractures are obviously worth more than a sprains/strains case and can be worth more than a herniated disc case. However, that will depend on what sort of medical treatment is required and whether there will be any impairment. Surgical cases involving fractures can be worth millions of dollars if the injury is life-altering (e.g., paralysis).

How Does State Farm Calculate Settlement Values?

State Farm uses claim adjustment software to calculate most of their auto accident claims. The basic calculation is to add the medical expenses, lost wages, and general damages (e.g., pain and suffering, emotional distress, etc.) and adjusting for any comparative fault on the claimant.

However, State Farm may reject paying all the medical bills if they don’t think the medical treatment was reasonable or if the provider overcharged for their services.

The calculation of the pain and suffering and other general damages components is less straight forward. Several soft factors will be entered into their software including whether there is any objective proof of pain such as MRI film/reports and photos of the injuries, orthopedic devices, or surgical hardware (e.g., screws, plates, pins).

Is State Farm Good at Paying Out Claims?

Generally, State Farm is very cheap in paying claims, especially with soft tissue injury cases. So, the answer is NO. Out of the top five insurance companies by premiums written (i.e., State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Allstate, Liberty Mutual), they are close to last, if not dead last for how good they are at paying claims.

Usually, if you want top dollar on your case with State Farm, you’ll need to file a lawsuit against their insured. Not only do you need to file a lawsuit, but you’ll likely need to go a bit farther in litigation to get fair value for your case. Some insurance companies will immediately increase their offer once you file a lawsuit.

State Farm usually doesn’t increase their offer much immediately after the suit is filed and their insured is served with notice of the lawsuit.

Is State Farm Known for Denying Claims?

The short answer to this question is, YES. It’s part of the Three-D’s strategy to Delay, Deny, Defend, as you recall.

There are three main reasons why State Farm would deny a claim: suspected fraud, coverage issues, or it’s a Minor-Impact-Soft-Tissue-Injury claim.

Suspected Fraud

We discussed in detail above in Tip #7 what SIU is and how you can do your best to avoid it. If you get a letter like the one below, call a lawyer immediately. It will be difficult to overcome this on your own.

Coverage Issues

Coverage issue denials occur for several reasons, including:

• Their insured forgot to pay their premiums
• Their insured was doing rideshare without adding a rideshare endorsement to their policy
• The crash was the result of an intentional act (road rage)
• The covered vehicle wasn’t being driven by a permissive user (it was stolen)

Minor-Impact-Soft-Tissue-Injury

M.I.S.T. cases are those where there may be little visible damage to the vehicles involved and the claimant is only claiming soft tissue injuries.

State Farm will argue that there is no way there could be an injury since there is no real damage to the vehicles involved in the crash, and therefore, no “mechanism of injury.” Makes sense, huh? Not really. Human beings get injured in low impact auto accidents all the time and there are studies showing this to be true. State Farm only hopes that when they go to trial on these cases that they can plaster a large photo of the vehicles in front of the jury and argue, “How can there be any injuries here?” So, if you get a letter from State Farm like the one below, call an attorney.

Do I Need a Lawyer in My Case Against State Farm?

This will depend on if you have injuries. If you have only minor property damage and aren’t sore, stiff, or have limited range of motion after a sufficient time after your accident, then you likely can handle the case on your own.

But if there is moderate damage to either your vehicle or the other party’s and you are experiencing any symptoms of injury, I would at least get the opinion of a car accident lawyer. It can’t hurt. Every personal injury attorney I’ve ever seen offers FREE consultations and you won’t need to pay them anything up front to start working on your case.

Will My Case Against State Farm Go to Trial?

The odds of your case going to trial are less than 5%. Most cases, even those against State Farm, settle before trial. You may need to file a lawsuit to get fair value for your case but that doesn’t mean you will ever see the inside of a courtroom.

State Farm Car Accident Settlement Examples

Below are some of our own State Farm case settlements and some pulled from Verdict Search, a database of jury verdicts and settlements.

Case Study #1: Client v. State Farm Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client was heading eastbound on Woodforest Boulevard in Houston, Texas, when a State Farm insured attempted to make a left-hand turn from a private drive and caused our client to crash into the side of his vehicle. The State Farm driver was cited for Failing to Yield the Right-of-Way at an Open Intersection.

Our client later went to the emergency room complaining of neck pain and back pain with pain radiating down his legs.

Our client treated with a chiropractor 16 times and received MRIs of his middle and lower back. The radiologist noted a 2mm disc herniation at level L5-S1 of his lower back, indenting the thecal sac.

We demanded State Farm pay us their insured’s policy limits. State Farm’s initial settlement offer was $78,500. After several rounds of negotiations with State Farm, we settled our client’s case for $89,473.

Case Study #2: Client v. State Farm Insured (Montgomery County, Texas)

Our client was traveling southbound on Kuykendahl Road in The Woodlands, Texas, when she was rear-ended by a State Farm insured as he attempted to change lanes unsafely. He was cited for Failure to Control Speed.

Our client presented to urgent care two days later complaining of wrist and shoulder pain, pain in her back with numbness and tingling radiating down her back and legs.

She treated with a chiropractor for three months, received an MRI of her lower back. The radiologist noted a posterior central 2.2mm disc herniation at the L5-S1 level, indenting the thecal sac.

Due to subsisting pain, our client was then referred to pain management where she received trigger point injections and an epidural steroid injection in her lower back. The pain doctor recommended another round of the epidural steroid injection, but our client declined.

We sent State Farm a demand to pay their insured’s policy limits. Our client ultimately settled with State Farm for $25,000, in addition to $2,500 in personal injury protection from her own carrier.

Case Study #3: Client v. State Farm Insured (Fort Bend County, Texas)

Our client was traveling northbound on US Highway 59 in Stafford, Texas, when a State Farm driver failed to control his speed and rear-ended him.

Our client presented to a chiropractic clinic three days after the accident complaining of pain in his neck, and middle and lower back.

He treated with the chiropractor for 19 visits, received MRIs of his neck and lower back. The radiologist noted several herniations in his cervical and lumbar spine, with mild to severe canal and foraminal stenosis. Later, due to persisting pain, our client was referred out to pain management. The pain doctor recommended continued conservative treatment with the chiropractor, and if his pain levels increased, to return to his office.

We later demanded State Farm pay their policy limits and they countered with an initial offer of $15,200. Through several rounds of negotiations, we were able to settle our client’s case for $19,875.

Case Study #4: Client v. State Farm Insured (Bay County, Florida)

Our client was traveling eastbound on Country Road 388 in Panama City, Florida, when the State Farm driver crashed into the rear-end of her vehicle.

A few days following the accident, our client presented to the emergency room complaining of neck and back pain. She later treated with a chiropractor and received MRIs of her neck and lower back. She had a positive finding of disc herniations in both her neck and back.

Due to persisting pain, she was referred to pain management. She underwent several rounds of trigger point injections with no relief. Then, she was referred to an orthopedic surgeon for evaluation. The orthopedic surgeon performed a laser neuro-ablation and facet joint injections.

Our client later settled her case with State Farm for $100,000, their policy limits, as well as $10,000 in underinsured benefits from her own insurance carrier.

Case Study #5: Client v. State Farm Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client was traveling on 610 Loop when she was rear-ended by a State Farm driver. The State Farm driver was cited for Failing to Control Speed.

Our client was taken to the emergency room by ambulance. She complained of neck, back, and left knee pain. She was later released from the emergency room the same day, instructed to follow up with her primary care physician, if pain persisted.

She then presented to a chiropractic clinic for relief of her neck and back pain. She treated with the chiropractor for 19 visits. She received MRIs of her neck, back, and left knee. The radiologist noted 1.3mm – 1.5mm disc herniations in her lower back and a 2mm disc herniation, indenting the ventral cervical cord with moderate canal stenosis in her neck.

Our client was referred out to a pain doctor due to persisting pain in her neck and back. The doctor recommended an Interlaminar epidural steroid injection at L4-5 with cervical paraspinal muscle trigger point injections. She declined to have the procedures.

We demanded the policy limits and State Farm responded with an initial offer of $17,792.21. We later settled our client’s case for $27,500.

Case Study #6: Clients v. State Farm Insured (Maricopa County, Arizona)

Four of our clients were traveling in a van on Interstate 10 in Goodyear, Arizona. The State Farm insured failed to secure a load in his pickup truck and a large item fell out of the truck causing our clients to crash.

Three of our clients suffered soft tissue injuries and one suffered a fractured middle back vertebra, which required a disc fusion surgery.

We sent a demand for policy limits and State Farm immediately tendered their policy limits of $50,000 for all four clients.

Case Study #7: Irby v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Palm Beach County, Florida)

Plaintiff was driving through an intersection in Riviera Beach, Florida, when she was struck by a vehicle driven by an underinsured driver. She sued State Farm, her insurer, seeking underinsured motorist benefits.

Plaintiff went to the emergency room by ambulance. She complained of ankle, arm, back, knee, wrist, and shoulder injuries. She underwent treatment at a chiropractor, pain management, and psychological counseling for anxiety and depression.

The case settled for $75,000, $50,000 of which from her underinsured motorist coverage.

Case Study #8: Estate Of K.S. v. State Farm Insurance Company (Palm Beach County, Florida)

Decedent, a pedestrian, was struck by a fleeing vehicle while she was in the crosswalk on Palmetto Road, alongside Ponderosa Drive in Boca Raton, Florida. While lying in the street suffering from her injuries, she was struck by a second vehicle, which also fled the scene. She died 30 days later as a result of her injuries.

Her estate filed suit against State Farm for uninsured motorist benefits for both accidents. She was survived by her husband and adult son. The estate pursued damages for her husband’s emotional pain and suffering and her son’s loss of parental support.

State Farm eventually tendered its policy limits of $2,000,000, $1,000,000 for each accident.

Case Study #9: Montoya v. Hernandez, Sorrentino (Miami-Dade County, Florida)

Plaintiff was driving her vehicle through the intersection of Southwest 152^nd Avenue and 96^th Street in Miami, Florida, when she was struck by defendant.

Prior to filing a lawsuit, the plaintiff’s attorney claimed that State Farm only made an offer of $4,500 to settle plaintiff’s case. As a result, plaintiff then sued both the driver of the vehicle and the owner claiming she was vicariously liable for the driver’s actions.

The plaintiff was treated at the scene by paramedics but did not go the hospital. She then went to her primary care physician and was diagnosed with disc herniations in her neck and lower back. She underwent a cervical fusion at the C5-6 level. Later, she underwent a lumbar fusion at L5-S1. The plaintiff claimed she was unable to return to her job due to her injuries and was permanently impaired from this accident.

This case eventually went to trial and on the third day of trial settled for $1,500,000.

Case Study #10: Lingerfeldt v. Castro (Broward County, Florida)

Plaintiff, a pedestrian, was picking up his grandson from school in Plantation, Florida, when the defendant jumped up on the sidewalk with her SUV, pinning him under the vehicle.

The plaintiff was taken to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital for eight days. His injuries included torn rotator cuff and compound fracture of his leg. The injuries left the plaintiff with a limp and the inability to play with his grandchildren, as well as difficulties performing the duties at his job as an engineer.

The case eventually settled for $950,000, which included a settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance company and the plaintiff’s underinsured motorist benefits with his carrier, State Farm.

State Farm Contact Information

Website: https:www.statefarm.com
General Claims: 800-732-5246
Auto Claims Department: 844-292-8615
Corporate Headquarters:
State Farm Insurance
One State Farm Plaza
Bloomington, IL 61710
Claims Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 106171
Atlanta, GA 30348-6171

Contact Our Experienced Car Accident Lawyers to Handle Your State Farm Claim

Call us today for a FREE consultation regarding your State Farm 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 State Farm. Call (855) 545-1777 to speak to our personal injury attorneys directly.

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 violated 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 Florida and 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 and California 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.

Below you will learn tips and secrets GEICO adjusters don’t want you to know in order to maximize your bodily injury settlement, including answers to frequently asked questions regarding GEICO car accident settlements.

Who Owns GEICO Auto Insurance Company?

GEICO, part of the holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, is the second largest property and casualty insurance company in the U.S (by direct premiums written).

With GEICO’s unique business model, by initially only insuring the lowest risk drivers and operating without insurance agents, it has proved to be Warren Buffet’s best investment.

GEICO was once a better insurance company to deal with as an auto accident victim. Their adjusters had more settlement authority, and their average settlements were much higher.

However, over the last 25 years, GEICO, and many other insurance companies, have streamlined their claims process. They’ve adopted the use of claims software to calculate “reasonable and customary” medical bills as well as placing a dollar figure on the pain and suffering element of a bodily injury claim. The results: severely undervalued settlement offers and a host of future motor vehicle accident litigation.

Avoid an Undervalued Auto Insurance Claim

So, how can you avoid your claim from being one of GEICO’s many severely undervalued claims or have your case subject to several years of potential litigation in the congested court dockets?

The following 10 tips will help you avoid being just another undervalued car insurance claim in the endless stack of claims on a GEICO claims adjuster desk:

1. Refuse The Recorded Statement

If GEICO is the at-fault party’s insurance company, you should NEVER give them a recorded statement. You certainly are not required to give one. Don’t let them make you think it’s required for your claim to be valid.

Many times, GEICO auto damage adjusters will say—without a recorded statement they will not be able to determine liability, which will leave you in a waiting game. If they are taking their time with liability because their insured isn’t cooperating, it’s time to call a lawyer.

Pro Tip: You can always run your property damage through your own carrier’s collision coverage or uninsured property damage coverage (if hit by an uninsured driver or a victim of a hit-and-run). Your own carrier will usually treat you better and will try to recover your deductible from the at-fault party’s insurance company.

2. Get Medical Treatment Immediately After The Car Accident

There are three very important reasons to get medical treatment immediately after your accident:

Maximize Your Damages

“Damages” are what determine your case value. In most cases, the largest part of an auto accident injury case is the amount of your medical bills.

So, it’s crucial that you receive reasonable and necessary medical treatment, as well as document and present these bills to the insurance company.

Go to the emergency room or urgent care if you feel like you need to. Also, if you feel it’s necessary, go by ambulance to the emergency room. This may be even better for your case.

Of course, don’t go only to fraudulently run up your medical bills. Insurance companies are not stupid. They are very good at knowing whether you’re faking your injuries.

Legitimize Your Injuries

Doesn’t it make sense that if someone is injured they want to see a doctor as soon as possible? Sure, it does. And the opposite is also true.

Seeing a doctor immediately will legitimize your injury before the GEICO claim adjuster.

Of course, there are valid reasons why auto accident victims do not immediately see a doctor after their accident (e.g., no health insurance, don’t immediately feel pain, etc.). These need to be carefully explained to the insurance adjuster.

Mitigate Your Damages

The law places a burden on the injured party to avoid making their damages even worse by neglecting their injuries.

A defendant is not responsible for damages that could have been avoided by the injured party.

This means GEICO can use the fact that you didn’t immediately seek medical treatment and made your condition worse against you.

3. Don’t Let The GEICO Adjuster Minimize Your Injuries

GEICO claim adjusters are skilled at minimizing your injuries. They’ll ask you questions in a way to have you second guess your injuries and categorize them as only soft tissue injuries that will heal in a few weeks.

A very common way to minimize your injuries is when the adjuster tells the auto accident victim that they will only pay for a few weeks of treatment and that they are on their own after that. Don’t believe them! If you are really injured, you should be getting reasonable and necessary medical treatment until you have reached maximum medical improvement. Auto insurance adjusters are not doctors. They can’t diagnose your condition.

4. Don’t Agree To Anything Without First Consulting With A Lawyer

I know this may sound self-interested but if you don’t hire a car accident lawyer from the start of your claim, you will almost certainly be putting yourself at a disadvantage in your case.

There are studies that show auto accident victims that are represented by a lawyer get 40% more of a settlement than those without one.

In our own experience when clients tried to initially handle their cases on their own then hire us to take over, we see the offers previously extended by GEICO are significantly less than what we were able to ultimately settle these cases for.

It just makes economic sense even considering the fact that your personal injury lawyer will receive a portion of your settlement as attorney’s fees. Also, keep in mind: personal injury lawyers don’t charge any fees up front. So, you’ll never need to pay out of your own pocket for representation. It’s a win-win.

5. Don’t Ever Agree To GEICO’s First Offer

GEICO’s first offer is never their best offer and will most likely be a lowball offer. You should always negotiate your case with the auto claims adjuster. Start off high. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by starting the negotiations off too low.

For example, if you want to settle your bodily injury claim for $20,000, don’t start your demand at $25,000. You should start well above your target settlement goal.

Also, don’t bid against yourself—let the insurance adjuster come up on their offer first before you extend another counteroffer.

There should be at least four to five rounds of offers before GEICO reaches their top settlement authority. If you are not happy with their top offer— contact a car accident attorney.

6. You May Need To File A Lawsuit

This tip piggybacks on the consult-an-attorney tip above. You may not be able to get fair value for your bodily injury claim unless you’re able to put substantial pressure, via a lawsuit, against the GEICO insured.

Of course, you will most definitely need a lawyer if you choose to sue the GEICO insured responsible for causing your accident. Handling a motor vehicle accident lawsuit on your own is not recommended.

7. Don’t Let GEICO Negotiate Your Medical Bills

When you are handling your claim on your own, insurance companies, including GEICO, will try to negotiate your medical bills down as low as possible. What does this do? Well, it effectively lowers your damages, and in effect, lowers your total settlement amount.

For example, let’s say you have a $10,000 emergency room bill. GEICO is aware of this bill and knows that the hospital will take a large reduction on it to satisfy the debt in full. They will negotiate with the hospital on your behalf and reduce this bill by at least 50%. Your $10,000 in damages has now been cut in half to $5,000. This means they pay less in medical bills for your claim and likely less overall for your overall claim, including your pain and suffering.

Pro Tip: Settle your case first with GEICO then ask for reductions on all your medical bills. You’ll get more money in your pocket this way.

8. Using Health Insurance Can Affect Your Case Value

Depending on which state your accident occurred, health insurance or Medicaid/Medicare can significantly affect the value of your case. It will depend on whether your state limits what’s called the “Collateral Source Rule.” This rule says that if your health insurance paid for your medical bills or reduced them under a contracted amount, this evidence can’t be presented to the jury and factored into your damages.

In states like Florida and Texas, the Collateral Source Rule is effectively dead thanks to tort reform. This not only affects your “special damages” (e.g., medical expenses) portion of your settlement but also affects the “general damages” (e.g., pain & suffering) portion. Of course, there are strategies that a lawyer can employ to overcome this obstacle.

In California, health insurance and Medicaid/Medicare payments are admissible to prove your medical expenses according to two cases: Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc. and Hanif v. Hous. Auth.

In Arizona, GEICO can’t use this as a defense to decrease your medical damages. The Collateral Source Rule is still alive and well in Arizona!

9. Prove An Objective Injury

Typically, your case will be worth more money to a GEICO claim adjuster if you can prove, with objective proof, that you have an injury. This can be as simple as sending the claim adjuster your X-Rays/MRI film and reports or photos of your cuts, incision, or scarring.

GEICO insurance adjusters will categorize your case as only a soft tissue injury case if you only present them with evidence of minimal treatment at the emergency room or chiropractor. This will severely limit the amount of your settlement.

If you are experiencing symptoms beyond just soft tissue injuries, such as radiating pain, numbness, or weakness in your arms or legs, the best thing you can do is get an MRI and send the film, and report to the adjuster. If you have a herniated disc with nerve or spinal cord impingement, your case is typically worth more.

10. Prove A Permanent Injury

Proving a permanent injury will likely increase the value of your case significantly. So, what is a permanent injury? Generally, a permanent injury is an injury that will not completely heal over time. A good example of a permanent injury is a herniated disc. Even with chiropractic treatment or physical therapy, a herniated disc won’t heal.

In contrast, to compare, what isn’t a permanent injury? Well, those are injuries that will heal over time, such as muscle strains and sprains, bruises, whiplash, and minor cuts or scratches.

A permanent injury may not only help your case value but in Florida, proof of a permanent injury is actually required in order to recover pain and suffering and mental anguish in an auto accident. Florida Statutes § 627.737(2) specifically defines a permanent injury as:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
• Death.

Other states, such as Arizona, California, and Texas, don’t require proof of a permanent injury to recover pain and suffering or emotional distress but, as mentioned above, it will surely help your case.

How Long Does GEICO Take To Settle a Claim?

In our experience, most GEICO auto accident cases settle within six months. However, it will depend on your injuries and when you’re released from all medical treatment.

You should never settle your case until your doctors have released you from treatment. You don’t necessarily need to be 100% but you should at least know what the extent of your needed future medical treatment will be.

If you’re not represented by an attorney, GEICO will try to settle your case as quickly as possible before you even know the extent of your injuries or have a chance to go to the doctor. If you are injured, DO NOT settle your case until you’ve at least consulted with a lawyer. A car accident lawyer will not charge you to ask him/her questions.

GEICO adjusters are usually motivated to settle cases. They will often try to place artificial deadlines on your claim. Remember, only the statute of limitations in your state determines the ultimate deadline of your case, not the GEICO auto adjuster’s arbitrary deadlines.

How Does GEICO Calculate Your Car Accident Claim?

Unless you’re an experienced car accident lawyer or insurance adjuster, it will be difficult to calculate an accurate value of your GEICO claim.

Just know your past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and any other recognizable damages should be included in your calculation. As you can tell, some of these elements are easier than others to calculate.

If you’re asking how does GEICO calculate pain and suffering, this is one of those components of your damages that will be particularly difficult to calculate. There are no formulas for pain and suffering; juries don’t use them and neither do insurance adjusters.

Generally, GEICO uses claims software to calculate their settlement offers. Therefore, their claims adjusters are on a tight leash when negotiating claims. They simply do not have the settlement authority they once did.

GEICO insurance adjusters enter in several factors of the car insurance claim into their claims software and the software will spit out a settlement range where the adjuster can settle the claim. If you want to get past the top end of their settlement range, you’ll need to present them with new information about your injuries or you’ll need to file a lawsuit.

Is GEICO Good at Settling Claims?

The short answer is—NO.  GEICO isn’t the worst, but they definitely aren’t the best. Out of the large insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, and USAA, they are probably somewhere in the middle when it comes to settling your case for a fair value.

GEICO will try to settle your claim for as little as possible, especially if you’re not represented by a lawyer. In our experience, GEICO generally starts negotiations by offering somewhere around 50% of your total medical bills in a typical soft tissue injury case (e.g., whiplash). If your injuries are more severe, like broken bones, they typically offer more.

In most cases, GEICO will offer more after a lawsuit is filed. When you file a lawsuit, the insurance adjuster will change to a litigation adjuster with more authority to settle your case.

Do I Have a Strong Case Against GEICO?

Having a strong case will depends on several factors, including:

FACTOR #1: LIABILITY

If you are not at fault for your auto accident and GEICO has accepted liability, you’re on the right track. However, if you don’t agree with them placing full or partial liability on you, the strength of your case may suffer. Depending on why they are not accepting full responsibility for the accident, it may be best to consult with a lawyer to see if they can overcome an unfavorable liability decision.

I have seen GEICO offer their policy limits in cases where they only accept partial fault, but that is in cases where there are severe injuries. It’s not as likely in soft tissue injury cases that they will offer you their policy limits or even a fair settlement, especially if you’re dealing with a larger policy, such as a $100,000/$300,000 or a $250,000/$500,000 policy.

Factor #2: Coverage

If the driver who caused your car accident failed to pay his insurance premiums or was driving someone else’s vehicle without their permission, you may be in a situation where GEICO does not extend their auto insurance coverage to cover the loss. In coverage issue scenarios, having uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy will be helpful. Conducting a thorough investigation of any responsible parties will also be necessary.

Coverage issues arise very frequently in cases against non-standard insurance companies such as Fred Loya, American Access Casualty Company, National General, or United Auto Insurance Company. GEICO will generally not use unethical techniques to avoid paying on a claim, as these insurance companies do.

Factor #3: Type Of Injury

The more severe your injuries are, the stronger your case tends to be against GEICO. However, GEICO tends to write smaller policies, with very few of their insureds having an umbrella policy to cover significant losses.

Typically, when the policy is insufficient to cover the damages, insurance companies, like GEICO, tend to immediately pay the policy limits to avoid any bad faith claims that may arise.

Factor #4: Medical Treatment

If you get minimal medical treatment in your case and your injuries are minor, it will be difficult to obtain a five-figured (or more) settlement, if not impossible, when dealing with GEICO.

Going to the emergency room by ambulance, having broken bones or fractures, or getting surgery will only strengthen your case before a GEICO claims adjuster’s eyes.

Factor #5: Property Damage

GEICO insurance adjusters will always look at the property damage of all vehicles involved to see if there was a mechanism of injury. If there are only scratches and the impact was minor, you may have problems proving the accident caused your injuries.

Factor #6: Venue – County The Accident Occurred

It matters where the car accident occurred. If you’re in a county that tends to be more conservative politically, your case may tend to be valued a bit lower to GEICO. More liberal venues, such as Broward County (Florida), Pima County (Arizona), and Hidalgo County (Texas), case values are typically more, with all things being equal.

Do I Need a Lawyer in My Insurance Claim Against GEICO?

If you only have property damage and are not injured, it’s likely you will not need a lawyer to handle your insurance claim against GEICO.

But if you’re injured, even in the case of muscle sprains and strains, it’s always a good idea to get a free consultation from a car accident lawyer to make sure you don’t jeopardize your rights. Car accident lawyers don’t charge for consultations. You have nothing to lose in getting their advice.

How Much Does Geico Pay For Pain and Suffering?

If you have soft tissue injuries, GEICO will typically add anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 to your medical expenses to compensate you for pain and suffering.

For more severe injuries, such as broken bones and fractures, the pain and suffering compensation GEICO offers will usually be more than $5,000.

Calculating pain and suffering is never easy, even for lawyers and claim adjusters. It’s arbitrary, as you can imagine. The best thing you can do is try to maximize the amount that is paid for pain and suffering in your settlement. You can do this by providing objective proof of pain to GEICO, such as from diagnostic testing (e.g., MRIs, X-Rays, CT scans) or photos of your injuries.

Do I Need to File a Lawsuit Against GEICO (GEICO’s Insured)?

If you want top dollar for your case, filing a lawsuit may be required. GEICO usually increases their offer when you file a lawsuit against their insured.

However, you still may be able to get full value for your case without a lawsuit. It just really depends on the strength of your case.

Will My Car Accident Case Against GEICO Go to Trial?

Probably not. Most GEICO cases settle before trial, and many are settled prior to even filing a lawsuit.

Going to trial may be the only way to get full value for your auto accident case. However, even if you can get full value for your case at trial, it may not make economic sense to push it to trial. Trials are expensive and require significant time and preparation.

Both sides may not feel it’s necessary to spend the money or expend the time needed to get to trial in a case that can be settled for close to fair value.

Our GEICO Car Accident Settlements

Below are some of our own clients’ GEICO case settlements and some pulled from Verdict Search, a database of jury verdicts and settlements.

You’ll notice that most of these settlements are in the five-figure range. This is due to the fact that most GEICO insurance policies sold are relatively small. As you’ve noticed with all the GEICO ads on TV and elsewhere, GEICO’s target market is those folks looking for a bargain.

Case Study #1: Client V. GEICO Insured (Bexar County, Texas)

Our client, a pedestrian, was crossing the street in a crosswalk in San Antonio, Texas, when a GEICO insured turning left, failed to yield the right of way to our client.

She hit our client in the crosswalk, injuring him. Our client later went to the emergency room on his own and was diagnosed with a compression fracture at T12 and two transverse process fractures at the L1 and L2 levels of his spine.

We demanded GEICO pay us their insured’s policy limits of $100,000, which they later tendered.

Case Study #2: Client V. GEICO Insured (Harris County, Texas)

Our client, a motorcyclist, was proceeding through traffic in Houston, Texas, when a vehicle pulled out in front of him, causing our client’s motorcycle to crash into the GEICO insured’s left rear fender.

Our client suffered injuries as a result of the crash, including several herniated discs and soft tissue injuries.

We demanded that GEICO pay their policy limits and GEICO responded with an initial offer of $23,194.48. We eventually filed a lawsuit against the GEICO insured and settled our client’s motorcycle accident case for $45,000.

Case Study #3: Client V. GEICO Insured (Pima County, Arizona)

Our client proceeded through a four-way stop and was struck by a truck that failed to stop.

Our client suffered injuries, including neck and back sprains and strains, as well as an annular tear at the L4-5 level of her spine.

We later demanded GEICO pay their policy limits and they countered us with an initial offer of $39,807. Through several rounds of negotiations, we were able to settle our client’s truck accident case for $75,000.

Case Study #4: Client V. GEICO Insured (Pima County, Arizona)

Our client was rear-ended by a GEICO insured who was traveling at a high rate of speed.

He was taken to the emergency room and was later diagnosed with a disc protrusion at the L5-S1 level of his spine.

He initially hired another lawyer before hiring our firm and an offer was extended to that firm of $21,727.85. We filed a lawsuit against the GEICO insured and eventually were able to settle his case for $75,000.

Case Study #5: Client V. GEICO Insured (Martin County, Florida)

Our client was traveling on Interstate 95 when he rear-ended a disabled vehicle that was improperly stopped in the left lane of the highway.

He was taken to the emergency room by ambulance and was later diagnosed with two disc bulges at the C5-6 and C6-7 levels of his spine, compressing the thecal sac.

We demanded the policy limits and GEICO responded with an initial offer of $3,816.19. We later settled our client’s case for $20,000, the policy limits of both the driver and the vehicle’s owner.

Case Study #6: Flores V. Hernandez, A GEICO Insured (Bexar County, Texas)

Mr. Hernandez turned left in front of Mr. Flores causing a crash at an intersection on Somerset Road in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Flores claimed a herniated disc at C5-6 with nerve impingement and back and shoulder pain. He went to a medical clinic the next day and sought treatment with a chiropractor.

Mr. Flores’ attorney settled his case for $60,000, which included the policy limits of both Mr. Hernandez’s liability insurance policy and Mr. Flores underinsured motorist policy.

Case Study #7: Garza V. Cronin, GEICO Insured (Bexar County, Texas)

Ms. Cronin ran a red light and broadsided Ms. Garza’s vehicle near downtown San Antonio, causing her to suffer injuries. Ms. Cronin denied she ran the red light.

Ms. Garza presented to the emergency room within a few hours of the accident and claimed the accident caused several disc herniations in her spine and neck and back sprains and strains.

The case was settled a month after mediation for $85,000.

Case Study #8: Liaghat V. Richardson, GEICO Insured (Dallas County, Texas)

Mr. Liaghat’s vehicle collided with Mr. Richardson’s vehicle when he attempted to make a left-hand turn in front of him in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Liaghat went to the emergency room by ambulance and was treated for soft tissue injuries to both his neck and back.

The case settled in litigation after mediation for $26,750.

Case Study #9: Bolton V. Hawkins, GEICO Insured (Marion County, Florida)

Ms. Bolton was driving through an intersection in Ocala, Florida, when Rickisha Hawkins, driving a stolen car crashed into Ms. Bolton’s vehicle.

She suffered a concussion and herniated discs at her C3-4 and L4-5 levels. She had symptoms of radiculopathy. Ms. Bolton underwent several surgical procedures, including discectomy, laminectomy, and fusion of her spine at the L4-5 level.

Ms. Bolton settled her case with GEICO for $399,999.99.

Case Study #10: Paredes V. Pollinger, GEICO Insured (Broward County, Florida)

Ms. Paredes crashed head-on with a sedan driven by Mr. Pollinger in Weston, Florida. Ms. Paredes claimed she injured her neck and sued Mr. Pollinger.

Ms. Paredes was taken to the emergency room by ambulance and was later diagnosed with a herniated disc at C5-6, impinging her spinal cord. Ms. Paredes underwent cervical fusion surgery at C5-6 with a plate and other hardware installed.

Ms. Parades settled her case with GEICO at trial while the jury was deliberating for $475,000.

GEICO Contact Information

Phone: (800) 841-3000

Corporate Headquarters: 5620 Western Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Mailing Address: One GEICO Plaza, Washington, D.C. 20076

Regional Offices:

• Buffalo, New York
• Dallas, Texas
• Fredericksburg, Virginia
• Indianapolis, IN
• Lakeland, Florida
• Macon, Georgia
• San Diego, California
• Tucson, Arizona
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Woodbury, New York

Service Centers:

• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Kansas City, Kansas
• Iowa City, Iowa

Claims Centers:

• Houston, Texas
• Marlton, New Jersey
• Seattle, Washington

Contact Our Experienced Car Accident Lawyers to Handle Your GEICO Claim

Call us today for a FREE consultation regarding your GEICO 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 GEICO. Call (855) 545-1777 to speak to our personal injury attorneys directly.

How is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Texas: An Overview

How is pain and suffering calculated in Texas? How pain and suffering is calculated in a personal injury case will depend on where you are in the timeline of your case.  The approach to calculating pain and suffering before a trial and at trial by the jury are not the same.

Insurance companies typically use claims software to calculate pain and suffering. On the other hand, a jury does not use any special formulas, but only their own best judgment based on the evidence presented to them.

However, keep in mind that there are many steps that are required before you go to court for a trial.  Many personal injury cases settle even before a lawsuit is filed and most settle before trial.  Before a trial you may be negotiating with the insurance company to reach a reasonable settlement amount.

Alternatively, if your case goes to trial, your attorney may be arguing your case before a jury or judge.  We will discuss how pain and suffering is calculated in both situations, how you can maximize your pain and suffering in both instances, how you can prove pain and suffering in court, and look at some real-world Texas settlements and jury verdicts for examples.  But first we need to define some terms to better understand Texas pain and suffering law.

What Are Damages?

Before we can get into calculating pain and suffering, we need to learn some key legal concepts.  In any personal injury case based in “negligence,” you need to prove “damages.”

“Damages” are the actual harm or injury as a result of the responsible party’s carelessness.

These are not presumed in cases where you are claiming someone else’s negligence caused your injuries.  You need to prove them with evidence, such as with medical bills.  “Compensatory damages” are those that are meant to compensate you for your losses, intending to place you back where you were prior to the accident.

In Texas, there are two types of compensatory damages: Special Damages (economic damages) and General Damages (non-economic damages).

What Are Special Damages?

Special damages, also known as economic damages, are those that can be easily quantifiable.  These damages can be proven by medical bills, pay-stubs, or some other evidence showing out-of-pocket expenses that flowed from the injury.

These damages are intended to compensate the claimant for monetary losses that were suffered.  Special damages include past and future medical expenses, past lost wages, and future loss of earnings.

What Are General Damages?

General damages are damages that are not so easy to quantify.  They are also meant to compensate the claimant for losses, but for those that are not quantified specifically in a dollar value.  Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.001(12) specifically lists what are considered general damages, including:

• Physical pain and suffering;
• Mental or emotional pain or anguish;
• Loss of consortium;
• Disfigurement;
• Physical impairment;
• Loss of companionship and society;
• Inconvenience;
• Loss of enjoyment of life;
• Injury to reputation; and
• All other nonpecuniary losses of any kind other than exemplary damages.

What is “Pain & Suffering”?

Now that we know how pain and suffering is categorized under the law, what exactly is pain and suffering, anyhow?  Pain and suffering damages are awarded for the purpose of compensating a claimant for the physical pain that he/she endures as a result of an injury.  This is distinguished from the mental aspects of an injury, known as “mental or emotional pain or anguish.”

Pain and suffering strictly concerns the actual physical pain that an injured party feels from a physical injury.  Although pain and suffering and mental or emotional pain or anguish are two distinct types of damages, they are often lumped together when submitted to the jury.

However, there are many Texas cases that recognize that these are two distinct elements of a plaintiff’s damages. (See Daniels v. Univ. of Tex. Health Science Center of Tyler, No. 12-03-00399-CV, 2005 WL 1642969, at *2 (Tex. App.—Tyler July 13, 2005, no pet.)(mem. op.).  Texas law allows recovery for physical pain and suffering in the past and future (See A.T. & S.F. Ry. Co. v. O’Merry, 727 S.W.2d 596, 599-600 (Tex. App. Houston [1^st Dist.] 1987, no writ).

As you guessed, quantifying someone’s pain in dollars is difficult.  Texas courts have stated that there is no definite way to measure pain and suffering in terms of money but that the jury should arrive at some fair compensation based on its “common knowledge and sense of justice.” Hernandez v. Baucum, 344 S.W.2d 498, 500 (Tex. Civ. App. 1961).  Below, we will discuss how pain and suffering are calculated both pre-trial and during trial.

Calculating Pain & Suffering Pre-Trial (Claims Software)

Before a trial, either before or after a lawsuit is filed, you will usually be negotiating your case with the insurance company.  The claims adjuster will be valuing your case based on a variety of factors.

Typically, the large insurance companies use claims software programs such as Colossus, Mitchell Claim IQ, and Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) to calculate settlement offers, especially on soft tissue injury cases (e.g., whiplash, sprains, and strains).  They’ll enter in medical billing codes, injury codes, and several other factors to arrive at a settlement range.

Typically, these soft-tissue injury cases are handled by low-level adjusters and these adjusters are prohibited from offering anything outside the claims software settlement range, unless you can present “new” information to them. Insurance companies use this software at a varying degree with some heavily relying on the settlement ranges that are provided, such as Allstate.  With more serious injuries, the reliance on this software is not as significant.

As discussed above, pain and suffering is part of what are called “general damages” and are considered within the software’s algorithm.  The nature of the injury and treatment will have a large effect on the amount of pain and suffering and total general damages that is given in any case.  Muscle sprains and strains will yield little pain and suffering compensation.

In many cases, the insurance company will offer a nominal amount, such as $2,500 to $5,000, on top of the total special damages (e.g., medical expenses and lost wages) to settle a soft tissue injury case.  More serious injuries such as herniated discs with nerve impingement and radicular symptoms will provide more substantial pain and suffering compensation, as will those cases with fractured bones.

In addition, medical bills are typically audited by the insurance company using software such as Mitchell Decision Point or using an arbitrary factor, such as two times the Medicare rate.  With chopping your outstanding medical expenses and placing only a minimal value on general damages, the insurance company has effectively undervalued your injury claim.

The bottom line is the use of claims software severely undervalues injury claims.  They do not accurately assess how much a judge or jury would award for pain and suffering in a case.  You can see below in the verdict examples that the insurance companies overwhelmingly offer well below what a jury ultimately awards.

For reference, the following is a list of insurance companies that use Colossus, Mitchell Claim IQ, and Claims Outcome Advisor.

Colossus:

• AAA
• ACE INA
• Allstate
• American Family
• American National
• Atlantic Mutual
• California State Auto
• CNA
• Farmers
• Grange
• Great American
• Hartford
• HDI
• Horace Mann
• ICW
• MetLife
• Motorists Insurance Group
• Nationwide
• Ohio Casualty
• Safeco
• State Auto
• Travelers
• Utica
• USAA
• Westfield
• White Mountain
• Winterhur Swiss

Mitchell Claim IQ:

• Allianz
• Fireman’s Fund
• GEICO

Claims Outcome Advisor (COA):

• Automobile Club of CA
• Liberty Mutual
• Progressive

Calculating Pain & Suffering at Trial (Judge or Jury)

During trial, evidence is presented by the plaintiff’s attorney to the judge and jury. The question is then presented to the jury to assign a sum of money that would fairly and reasonably compensate the plaintiff for the physical pain and mental anguish sustained in the past and future.

The jury uses their best judgment based on the evidence presented to them throughout the trial.  They will evaluate the testimony of the plaintiff and other witnesses testifying as to their pain and suffering; medical records highlighting pain symptoms relayed to the healthcare providers; diagnostic testing such as an MRI, demonstrating an objective injury; and any other evidence that would substantiate the plaintiff’s pain and suffering claim.

Factors That Maximize Pain & Suffering Compensation

1. Injury Severity

The more severe your injury, the more pain and suffering compensation you will likely receive.  The fact is, insurance companies and juries alike will almost always award more for a broken bone than whiplash.

2. Permanent Injury

Just as the more severe your injury is, the more your pain and suffering compensation you will likely receive, the same is true for the permanency of your injury.  Injuries that heal within weeks are not worth as much as those injuries that may take months, years, or may never completely heal.

A permanent injury is also a consideration for “physical impairment” damages, an additional type of general damages.  Physical impairment damages provide compensation to the injured party for no longer engaging in or enjoying activities that he or she was able to do before the injury.  Most of the time you’ll need a permanent injury to recover physical impairment damages.

3. Witness Testimony

Witness testimony from you, your physician, family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and supervisors is extremely helpful in demonstrating your pain and suffering.  Texas courts have said that the plaintiff’s testimony may be used to prove his/her pain and suffering damages.

However, keep in mind that testimony of only subjective complaints based on the plaintiff’s personal reports of pain to doctors, supervisors, and family members alone may not be enough.

4. Proof Of An Objective Injury

Proof of an objective injury (e.g., broken bones, herniated disc), measured by diagnostic testing, such as X-rays, CAT scans, or MRIs, is crucial in any personal injury case and will most likely increase your pain and suffering compensation.  Photographs of scars, cuts, bruises, orthopedic devices, or surgical hardware (e.g., screws, plates, pins) will also provide proof that an objective injury exists.

5. Immediate Medical Treatment

Cases where the claimant immediately goes to the hospital after the accident are usually worth more overall.  The closer in time to the injury and the medical treatment, the better.

6. Consistent Medical Treatment

Just as immediate medical treatment, consistent medical treatment is just as important.  The value of your pain and suffering and your overall case will be less if you have gaps in treatment.  If you do have gaps in treatment, you must provide a good excuse for the gap, such as a pre-planned vacation or death in the family.

7. Claims Software Buzzwords

Although you may have no say how your medical records are drafted and compiled, you can still have an impact on what is written in them.  Be as specific and candid as possible in describing your injuries to your doctor.  Don’t hold back.

Medical records that thoroughly detail your injuries with specificity stating particular buzzwords, such as “muscle spasms,” “restriction on movement,” “radiating pain,” “anxiety,” “depression,” “headaches,” “visual disturbances,” or “dizziness,” provide the insurance company’s claim software with a reason to increase your pain and suffering compensation.

How Do I Prove I Have Pain & Suffering in Court?

Texas courts have said that the plaintiff may prove his pain and suffering by his testimony describing the symptoms and showing his injury to the jury. Loughry v. Hodges, 215 S.W.2d 669, 674 (Tex. Civ. App.­ Fort Worth 1948, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

Although a plaintiff’s testimony is sufficient, it isn’t necessarily the only thing that will convince a jury to award pain and suffering damages.  Statements given to physicians during treatment are also helpful as are medical records that substantiate a plaintiff’s pain and suffering.

Testimony of those close to the plaintiff may also assist in proving pain and suffering.  This may include testimony from family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or supervisors.  In addition, photos of the injury or demonstrative evidence such as orthopedic devices (e.g., neck braces), or surgical hardware (e.g., screws, plates, pins) may be shown to the jury.

It should be noted that without objective evidence of pain (e.g., MRI demonstrating nerve impingement), there is a chance a plaintiff may get nothing for pain and suffering from the jury.  According to the court in Hernandez v. Baucum, a jury may award zero damages when the pain is almost entirely subjective, based on the plaintiff’s personal reports of pain to doctors, supervisors and family members.  This is why it’s important to have additional evidence of pain.

Two Common Methods for Calculating Pain & Suffering

Throughout your search online you will most likely find two common and flawed ways pain and suffering may be calculated: the “Multiplier” and the “Per Diem” methods.

Multiplier Method

The Multiplier Method calculates pain and suffering by multiplying the injured party’s total medical bills and lost wages, also known as “Special Damages,” by some multiplier, such as 1.5 – 5. With 1.5 being the least minor injury and 5 being the most severe injury. This figure is then added to the Special Damages total.

For example, if Paula Plaintiff has $5,000 in medical bills, $1,000 in lost wages, and she received minor sprains and strains in the car accident that was caused by Dexter Defendant, we may assign a 1.5 times Special Damages as her pain and suffering multiplier, or $9,000 ($6,000 x 1.5).  So, using the Multiplier Method, Paula’s pain and suffering would equal $9,000 and her total case value would be $15,000.

Per Diem Method

The Per Diem method is another method used to calculate pain and suffering in a car accident injury settlement.  The number of months, days, or hours are multiplied by a certain dollar figure that is either equal to the amount of pay the injured party receives in their job for that specific time period or some other arbitrary number.

For example, if Paula Plaintiff suffered pain for 200 days from the accident and made $200 per day as a construction worker, the pain and suffering calculation would equal $40,000.  The idea behind using a daily salary rate calculation as the daily rate of pain and suffering is that it could be thought that the pain associated with an injury is comparable to the effort of working a job.

Although the Texas court in Hernandez v. Baucum, 344 S.W.2d 498, 500 (Tex. Civ. App. 1961) ruled that it was a “fair argument and a rational approach for pain the way it was endured, month by month, and year by year,” in proposing a pain and suffering calculation to the jury at trial, it is not an accurate estimate of what the value of pain and suffering will be assigned in a car accident settlement.

The large misconception about these two methods is that insurance companies and juries actually use them to calculate pain and suffering.  They simply do not.

Although insurance companies in the past may have employed some sort of multiplier to calculate a rough estimate of an appropriate settlement offer in cases involving soft tissue injuries (e.g., whiplash), insurance companies now use the settlement software, as discussed above, to arrive at an appropriate settlement range, based on prior settlements, localized medical charges, and other claim characteristics.

As mentioned above, if a case goes to a jury trial, juries are instructed to assign a sum of money that would fairly and reasonably compensate the plaintiff for the physical pain and mental anguish sustained in the past and future.  Juries use their best judgment based on the evidence presented to them throughout the trial.

Pain & Suffering Settlement Examples

The pain and suffering settlement examples below are from real Texas cases that were settled after a lawsuit was filed but before a jury gave its verdict.  In most of these cases, an allocation of what was given for pain and suffering was not provided.  However, we can assume that any amount paid above “special damages” (i.e., medical expenses and lost wages) is compensation given for non-economic damages, encompassing past and future pain and suffering.

Donatta V. Fomond (Fort Bend County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Chester Donatta, stopped at a traffic light, and was rear-ended by defendant, Tiffany Fomond.
• Injury: Neck, lower back, and shoulder pain; lumbar herniations at L3-4, L4-5; cervical herniations at C2-3, C3-4, C4-5, and C6-7.
• Medical Treatment: Chiropractic treatment, MRI, physical therapy, lumbar epidural steroid injection
• Past Medical Bills: $19,454
• Insurance Company: GEICO
• Settlement Amount: $40,001
• Pain and Suffering: It may be presumed that at least some of the difference in past medical bills and total settlement amount, $20,547, was allocated to general damages, including pain and suffering. The plaintiff did claim future medical expenses, although this amount is unknown.

Montalvo & Montalvo V. Odom (Hardin County)

• Facts: Plaintiffs, Juan Montalvo (driver) and Mario Montalvo (passenger) were stopped at a traffic light when they were rear-ended by Defendant, Erica Odom.
• Injury:
  • Juan Montalvo: Mild shoulder bursitis, shoulder joint effusion, cervical herniations at C3-4, C4-5, and C5-6 with annular fissure; C3-4 herniation impinged the spinal cord causing radiating pain, numbness and tingling in limbs
  • Mario Montalvo: Cervical herniations at C4-5 and C5-6 with stenosis, thoracic herniations at T7-8 and T8-9 with canal stenosis at T7-8, and radiating pain, numbness and tingling in limbs.
• Medical Treatment:
  • Juan Montalvo: Emergency room, chiropractic treatment, MRI, should injection, lumbar trigger points injection; anterior cervical discectomy and fusion from C3 to C5
  • Mario Montalvo: Chiropractic treatment, lumbar epidural steroid injection, and trigger point injections.
• Past Medical Bills:
  • Juan Montalvo: $42,000
  • Mario Montalvo: $150,000
• Insurance Company: Farm Bureau
• Settlement Amount:
  • Juan Montalvo: $275,000
  • Mario Montalvo: $350,000
• Pain and Suffering:
  • Juan Montalvo: Claimed past and future physical pain and mental anguish and past and future physical impairment. Based on the total settlement of $275,000 and the past medical bills of $42,000, it appears that Mr. Montalvo received $233,000 in general damages, most of which was likely for pain and suffering.
  • Mario Montalvo: Claimed past and future physical pain and mental anguish and past and future physical impairment.  Similarly, Mr. Montalvo received a significant amount for general damages based on his past medical bills of $150,000. Although no pain and suffering allocation was given, it is likely most of the $200,000 in general damages was given for his pain and suffering.

Streetman V. Gardner Trucking, Inc. (Gregg County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Joseph Streetman, driving a box truck on I-20, while stopped in traffic was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler driven by a Gardner Trucking employee.
• Injury: Disc bulges at C3-4, C4-5, C5-6, C6-7, T11-12, T12-L1, L2-3, L3-4, and L4-5 with residual stenosis; rotator cuff tears in both shoulders; aggravation of pre-existing injuries of back, left shoulder, and neck.
• Medical Treatment: Minor treatment at the emergency room (by ambulance), cervical fusion surgery, physical therapy, left and right shoulder arthroplasty, and laminectomy at L5-S1.
• Medical Bills: $415,000
• Past Lost Wages: $55,000
• Insurance Companies: Mercury, North River, National Interstate, Lexington
• Settlement Amount: $15,000,000
• Pain and Suffering: No allocation was provided on how much of the $15,000,000 settlement went towards Mr. Streetman’s pain and suffering but given the amount of his past medical bills and claimed lost wages of $55,000, the pain and suffering element in this case was clearly substantial, in the several millions of dollars.  Mr. Streetman claimed an undisclosed amount of future medical bills, future loss of earning capacity, in addition to past and future pain and suffering, past and future physical impairment, and past and future disfigurement.

Martinez V. Sef Energy, Et Al (Bexar County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Mark Martinez, collided with Ramon Ortiz’s work truck while Mr. Ortiz turned left in front of Mr. Martinez, causing a near head-on collision and significant damage to his vehicle.
• Injury: Abdomen contusion, disc herniations at C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7, including a radial tear of the outer annulus at C5-6 and impingement of the C4-5 nerve root; and radicular symptoms in his arms.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room, medical clinic, cervical epidural steroid injections, and physical therapy.
• Past Medical Bills: $41,082.78
• Past Lost Wages: $1,365.76
• Insurance Company: American International Group, Inc.
• Settlement Amount: $115,000
• Pain and Suffering: Mr. Martinez claimed past and future pain and suffering among other types of general damages, such as mental anguish, and past physical impairment.  Based on the settlement amount of $115,000 and the past medical bills and past lost wages, the general damages calculation totaled $72,551.46.

Araujo V. Pennington (Harris County)

• Facts: Defendant, Robert Pennington, turned his SUV in front of Plaintiff, Lorena Araujo’s vehicle causing a collision.
• Injury: Herniated disc at L5-S1 with nerve impingement
• Medical Treatment: Chiropractic treatment, MRI, lumbar epidural steroid injection, and an emergency room visit a year after the accident due to a pain flair up.
• Past Medical Bills: $23,000
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Settlement Amount: $65,000
• Pain and Suffering: Ms. Araujo claimed past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, and future physical impairment. Based on the past medical bills, it can be assumed that $42,000 was for general damages, including pain and suffering, although no allocation was given.

Rutkoske V. Hartford Insurance (Denton County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Janine Rutkoske, a passenger in defendant, Wayne Secore’s, vehicle, ran a red light striking another vehicle and light pole.
• Injury: Cervical and lumbar sprains and strains, concussion, 1 mm disc herniation, annular tear at L2-3, 4 mm disc herniation at L3-4, and aggravation of pre-existing lumbar conditions.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance), physical therapy, MRI, and intralaminar epidural steroid injection at L3-4.
• Past Medical Bills: $76,605
• Future Medical Expenses: $257,000
• Insurance Company: Hartford and State Farm
• Settlement Amount: $230,000
• Pain and Suffering: It is uncertain whether any of the $230,000 settlement included pain and suffering compensation in this case.  It was noted that this settlement included not only Ms. Rutkoske’s injury claim, but also Mr. Rukkoske’s derivative claim for loss of consortium for the effects Ms. Rutkoske’s injuries had on their relationship.

Spencer V. Pizza Venture Of San Antonio, Llc, Et Al (Bexar County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Zachary Spencer, a pedestrian, was walking on the sidewalk when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a Pizza Ventures of San Antonio employee (DBA Papa John’s Pizza).
• Injury: concussion, post-concussion symptoms, anxiety, major depressive disorder, major neurocognitive disorder, loss of consciousness at the scene, dizziness, post-traumatic stress disorder, memory problems, cognitive problems, personality changes and headaches, aggravation of pre-existing psychological problems; fractures of the tibia and fibula; fractured teeth; elbow effusion and laceration, shoulder, foot, forehead, and scalp abrasions; scars on the right leg, face and elbow; and a limp.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance), irrigation of the right leg with intramedullary nailing and closing of elbow laceration, cranial lacerations sutures; physical, mental, occupational, and cognitive therapy; brain injury rehabilitation; and root canals.
• Past Medical Bills: $111,973.36
• Future Medical Expenses/Life Care Costs: $2,853,117
• Lost Earning Capacity: $1,013,908
• Insurance Company: Cincinnati Insurance, Ace Group, Redpoint Insurance
• Settlement Amount: $9,000,000, which included Mr. Spencer’s parent’s claim for bystander damages
• Pain and Suffering: Factoring in past and future medical expenses, lost earning capacity, and Mr. Spencer’s parent’s bystander claim, to the $9,000,000 settlement, it is likely a significant amount was given for pain and suffering considering the seriousness of the plaintiff’s injuries.

Hendon & Cotton V. Analytical Technology Consultants, Et Al (Jefferson County)

• Facts: Plaintiffs, Mason Hendon and Darlene Cotton, driving separately in their vehicles on I-69 were struck by crane’s frame and boom operated by American Technology Consultants.
• Injury:
  • Mason Hendon: Severe head laceration, concussion, post-concussion syndrome, traumatic brain injury, headaches, cognitive and memory impairment, and herniated discs at L4-5 and L5-S1.
  • Darlene Cotton: Herniated cervical disc and lumbar bulging discs.
• Medical Treatment:
  • Mason Hendon: Emergency room (by ambulance), neuropsychological testing, pain management, and lumbar fusion recommendation.
  • Darlene Cotton: Emergency room (by ambulance), physical therapy, cervical and lumbar epidural steroid injections, and recommended cervical fusion.
• Past Medical Bills:
  • Mason Hendon: $102,000
  • Darlene Cotton: $117,000
• Future Medical Expense:
  • Mason Hendon: $300,000
  • Darlene Cotton: $250,000
• Insurance Company: Evanston and State Farm
• Settlement Amount:
  • Mason Hendon: $3,800,000
  • Darlene Cotton: $1,000,000
• Pain and Suffering:
  • Mason Hendon: Mr. Hendon was significantly disabled as a result of this accident and had lost the opportunity to become an electrician, which was factored into the $3,800,000 potentially as lost earning capacity.  Since the lost earning capacity figure was not disclosed in this case, it is uncertain how much was given for pain and suffering. However, based on the seriousness of the plaintiff’s injuries, it is safe to assume that a significant amount of the $3,398,000 (i.e., general damages and lost earning capacity) was paid for his pain and suffering.
  • Darlene Cotton: Taking into account Ms. Cotton’s past and future medical expenses, it seems she was given around $633,000 in general damages, which would include pain and suffering.

Luckey V. Martinez, Et Al (Orange County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Christopher Luckey, was rear-ended at a traffic light by a flat-bed truck driven by Daniel Rodriquez, an employee of Clean Portables.
• Injury: Herniated discs at C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7, and radicular pain in the shoulder.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room, physical therapy, MRI, cervical steroid injection, anterior cervical decompression and fusion at C4-5 and C5-6
• Past Medical Bills: $437,000
• Past Lost Wages: $11,000
• Insurance Company: Employers Mutual Casualty Company
• Settlement Amount: $1,550,000. This included both Mr. Luckey’s injury claim and wife’s loss of consortium claim.
• Pain and Suffering: Mr. Luckey also claimed several hundreds of thousands in loss of earning capacity. It is uncertain an exact amount for pain and suffering but it’s likely that at least a moderate portion of the $1,550,000 settlement was for Mr. Luckey’s pain and suffering.

Bell V. Melasqui (Fort Bend County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Leonard Bell, a bicyclist, was struck by an SUV driven by Sirlei Melesqui.
• Injury: Two fractured ribs; half collapsed lung; concussion; left periorbital soft tissue hematoma; headaches; claimed traumatic brain injury; and neck, lower back, and shoulder sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance), including CAT scans, MRIs, and a chest tube for his collapsed lung; and chiropractic treatment.
• Past Medical Bills: $31,951.86
• Insurance Company: AAA
• Settlement Amount: $87,073.23. This case went before a jury and the jury returned a verdict of $74,951.86, although only nine of them agree. Since you need 10 out of 12 to agree to a verdict, the court ordered that deliberations continue. The parties agreed to a settlement of $87,073.23 before the jury reached a final verdict.
• Pain and Suffering: Mr. Bell sought a jury award of $200,000, which would have been $168,048.14 in general damages, including past and future physical pain and mental anguish and past and future physical impairment. However, based on the settlement, general damages totaled $55,121.40, with no information as to how much was allocated specifically for pain and suffering.

Pain & Suffering Verdict Examples

The following are several real Texas motor vehicle accident jury verdicts from all over Texas.  In each of these cases the jury provided a breakdown of how much they awarded for past and future pain and suffering, as well as other damages.  This will provide some insight as to how much juries award in pain and suffering compensation at trial.

Simpson V. Daniel (Harris County)

• Facts: Defendant, Larranicia Daniel, failed to yield the right of way at a stop sign to Plaintiff, Clarence Simpson, causing Ms. Daniel’s vehicle to strike Mr. Simpson’s vehicle.
• Injury: Hand contusion, lower back and thoracic spine pain, herniated discs at C2-3, with canal stenosis; C3-4 and C4-5, with canal stenosis and foraminal stenosis; C5-6 and C6-7, with annular tears and canal stenosis; L4-5, with moderate foraminal stenosis; and L2-3 and L3-4, causing foraminal stenosis; disc herniation at L5-S1 with annular tear and severe foraminal stenosis. Radiculopathy, with pain radiating to his limbs; and brief loss of consciousness on impact.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room, chiropractic treatment, lumbar and cervical epidural steroid injections,
• Past Medical Bills: $44,463.56
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $19,368
• Verdict Amount: $33,525
• Pain and Suffering: The jury did not award any money to the plaintiff for pain and suffering.

Cryer V. Macdonald (Collin County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Angela Cryer, was struck on the right side of her SUV by defendant, Jacen Macdonald, who was driving an SUV and making a left turn.
• Injury: Abrasions and burns to her forearms, hands, and eyes caused by airbag deployment; and abdominal contusions.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance) and two visits to her primary care physician.
• Past Medical Bills: $40,500
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $9,000
• Verdict Amount: $47,606
• Past Pain and Suffering: $3,000. In addition, the jury awarded $40,500 for past medical expenses, $1,500 for past physical impairment, $106 for past lost wages, and $2,500 for past mental anguish.

Thompson V. Manry (Johnson County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Jesse Thompson, a pedestrian, was hit and dragged while defendant, Zachary Manry, backed up his vehicle.
• Injury: Dislocated hip, broken ribs, broken nose, severe lacerations of buttocks,
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance), physical therapy, and orthopedic surgeon consultation.
• Past Medical Bills: $93,643
• Future Medical Expenses: $5,000
• Insurance Company: GEICO
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: None
• Verdict Amount: $130,143
• Pain and Suffering: Mr. Thompson was awarded $5,000 for past physical pain. In addition, he was given $1,500 for past physical impairment, $20,000 for future physical impairment, and $5,000 for past mental anguish.

Quintero V. Gronberg (Harris County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Rey Quintero, was rear ended by defendant, Tiana Gronberg, while stopped at a red light.
• Injury: Disc herniations at L2-3, L4-5, and L5-S1; radicular leg pain; and cervical and lumbar sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Chiropractic treatment and lumbar epidural steroid injection.
• Past Medical Bills: $40,489
• Insurance Company: State Farm
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $5,000
• Verdict Amount: $3,550
• Pain and Suffering: $500 for past physical pain.  Also, $500 for past mental anguish.

Acosta-hernandez V. Vashisht (Dallas County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Victor Acosta-Hernandez, proceeding through an intersection, struck the vehicle driven by, defendant, Sunil Vashisht, while Mr. Vashisht executed a left turn.
• Injury: Disc protrusions at C5-6 and L3-4; and neck, back, and shoulder sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Chiropractic treatment, MRI
• Past Medical Bills: $19,891
• Insurance Company: GEICO
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $20,000
• Verdict Amount: $22,890.50 was awarded but reduced to $18,312.50 due to comparative fault reduction of 20%.
• Pain and Suffering: $1,500 for past physical pain and mental anguish. $1,500 was also awarded for past physical impairment.

Shirley V. Allstate Texas Lloyds Inc. (Harris County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Sammie Shirley was struck from behind by a pickup truck driven by an undisclosed party. She settled with the undisclosed party for $30,000 and sought underinsured benefits from Allstate, her own insurance carrier.
• Injury: Aggravation of carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical disc herniation with nerve impingement and radicular symptoms, and sprains and strains to her lumbar region.
• Medical Treatment: Urgent care, chiropractic treatment, epidural steroid injection,
• Past Medical Bills: $28,614.93
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $500
• Verdict Amount: $125,493. However, the plaintiff actual award was $50,000, the limits of her underinsured policy coverage.
• Pain and Suffering: The jury awarded $25,000 for past and future physical pain; $21,878 in future medical expenses; and $50,000 in past and future physical impairment.

Walker-sanneh V. Alexandria Lewis And Michael Johnson (Harris County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Keidra Walker-Sanneh, was struck on the left side of her vehicle by defendant, Alexandria Lewis.
• Injury: Back and neck sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room, chiropractic treatment, and X-rays.
• Past Medical Bills: $20,535
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $5,250
• Verdict Amount: $100,426
• Pain and Suffering: $24,000 in past and future pain and suffering. The jury also awarded $53,000 in past and future physical impairment, and $2,891 in lost wages.

Brown-wells V. Eunsil Jung (Collin County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Shontelle Brown-Wells, struck Eunsil Jung’s vehicle, as Ms. Jung negligently turned left at an intersection.
• Injury: Neck and shoulder sprains and strains, disc bulge, and radiating pain into the right hand.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room (by ambulance), chiropractic treatment, and a recommendation for an epidural steroid injection.
• Past Medical Bills: $27,562.97
• Insurance Company: Allstate
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $15,800
• Verdict Amount: $381,563
• Pain and Suffering: $41,000 in past and future physical pain. Ms. Brown was also awarded $128,000 for future medical expenses, $180,000 for future physical impairment, and $5,000 for past mental anguish.

Hartman V. Young (Denton County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Nicole Hartman, was rear-ended by defendant, Scott Young in heavy traffic.
• Injury: Concussion, cognitive and memory impairment, cervical and lumbar sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room, chiropractic treatment, and visit to a neurologist for an evaluation.
• Past Medical Bills: $20,244.93
• Insurance Company: Fred Loya
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $1,500
• Verdict Amount: $35,145. The plaintiff’s verdict was reduced since she was determined to be 35% at fault, reducing her actual award to $22,844.
• Pain and Suffering: The jury awarded $10,500 for past and future physical pain and suffering. The jury also awarded $4,400 in lost wages.

Prater V. Ukandu (Dallas County)

• Facts: Plaintiff, Runda Prater, was rear-ended by defendant, Keith Ukandu.
• Injury: Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and shoulder sprains and strains.
• Medical Treatment: Emergency room and chiropractic treatment.
• Past Medical Bills: $7,257.04
• Insurance Company: Home State County Mutual
• Insurance Company Settlement Offer: $7,000
• Verdict Amount: $57,571
• Pain and Suffering: $15,000 for past and future physical pain. Ms. Prater also received $314 for past loss of earning capacity and $20,000 for past and future physical impairment.

While you focus on getting your life back together, we will deal with the insurance adjusters, coordinate your auto repairs, get you a rental car, and get you a top-dollar settlement. Our Houston car accident lawyers are available 24/7. Call us at (713) 489-4270.

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.