If you handle your injury case incorrectly, you can wind up with little to nothing for your injury payout. Do not let the insurance companies win. If you avoid mishaps in the handling of your injury case, you can be in for a big payday. In this video, I will give you four pointers revealing how you can try to ensure that you’re not handling your injury case incorrectly.
To illustrate my points, let me tell you the story of my past clients, Amber and Larry. Amber and Larry’s case involved a car accident, but what I’m about to teach you in this video will apply to any type of injury case, including not only automobile accidents, but also slip and trip and fall incidents, dog attack cases, and any other type of personal injury case.
The Accident
Amber and Larry were involved in a rear-end motor vehicle accident. They were rear-ended by a driver who was inattentive. After the accident, they both went to the hospital, but neither went to the hospital in an ambulance from the scene of the accident. They were able to get a ride to the hospital. Amber suffered injuries to her head, left hand, neck, left knee, shoulders, and low back. Diagnostic testing at the hospital did not reveal that Amber sustained any broken bones. She was diagnosed with a concussion, however. Larry suffered injuries to his head, left knee, left hip, shoulder, and back. Diagnostic testing did not reveal that Larry sustained any broken bones. They both sought additional medical treatment, including physical therapy and pain management treatment. When it was all said and done, Amber’s medical bills totaled a little under $27,000 and Larry’s medical bills totaled a little under $18,000.
Four Pointers to Avoid Mishandling Your Case
1. Never Accept the Insurance Company’s Lowball Initial Offer
An insurance company’s initial offer is almost never the most amount of money they will be willing to offer you to settle your injury case unless they are offering you the policy limits. You can negotiate a higher settlement. Oftentimes, you must show the insurance company you are willing to fight for a fair settlement. In Amber and Larry’s case, I was dealing with likely one of the most, if not the most, difficult insurance companies. This company is known for making claims difficult on injury victims. After we got these lowball initial offers, I wanted to show this insurance company that we were not going to just back down. So, I filed a lawsuit against the at-fault driver to show the insurance company we would not be backing down.
2. File a Lawsuit if You Get a Lowball Settlement Offer
Filing a lawsuit will make the insurance company take your claim more seriously. Lawsuits cost time and money. The insurance company will have to spend time and money defending your claim and hiring a defense lawyer to do so. It’s been my experience that at some point after filing a lawsuit, you will almost always get a bigger settlement offer from the insurance company in your case. After I filed the lawsuit for Amber and Larry’s case, we answered written discovery questions on behalf of Amber and Larry that were sent over by the defense lawyer retained by the other driver’s insurance company. We sent over written discovery questions to opposing counsel for the at-fault driver to answer. We produced both Amber and Larry for their deposition. I communicated with the defense attorney via phone calls and several emails discussing the case. We moved for a trial date and were ordered by the court to mediate the case.
3. Litigate Your Case and Prepare It for Trial
Litigating your case and preparing it for trial shows the insurance company you are not messing around. This puts pressure on the insurance company. Ultimately, insurers have a duty not to expose their insured to a judgment in excess of the policy limits and to not act in bad faith when handling an injury claim. Insurance companies know it is risky to not make a fair and reasonable offer on your injury case prior to a trial. In Amber and Larry’s case, we were ordered to mediate the case prior to trial. Mediation is a settlement conference where a neutral party known as the mediator helps the parties try to reach a settlement in the case.
4. Get a Medical Report from Your Treating Doctor or an Independent Medical Exam
A medical report in your injury case can significantly increase the value the insurance company has placed on your case. Ultimately, to prove the value, nature, and extent of your injuries at a trial in your case, you will likely need a medical doctor or medical professional to testify about your injuries at the trial. By getting the report, you can provide the insurance company with a good idea of how the medical expert in your case will testify at trial. This again shows to the insurance company that you mean business and are not going to settle unless you get a fair and reasonable settlement offer.
The Outcome
In Amber and Larry’s case, I requested one of the doctors that treated both Amber and Larry to provide me with reports outlining the nature and extent of Amber and Larry’s injuries related to the accident. We provided these doctor reports to the defense lawyer prior to the mediation. These reports were very favorable to both Amber and Larry and helped significantly increase the value of their claims. At mediation, just a month prior to our trial date, we were able to settle Amber’s case for nearly $90,000, which was well over five times the amount of the initial offer on Amber’s case. We were also able to settle Larry’s case for nearly $40,000, which was over ten times the initial offer on Larry’s case.
Final Thoughts
Just because you now know how you can try to ensure that you are not handling your injury case incorrectly, what happens if you have a car accident injury case? You put my four pointers taught in this video to use and get a policy limits offer, but you want to maximize your settlement beyond the policy limits of your car accident injury case. Well, you’re in luck because in this video about to pop up here, I’ll tell you how you may be able to maximize your car accident settlement beyond the policy limits in your car accident injury case.
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait. Call Tate.
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