For the past decade car crash cases have been the bulk of my practice. These range from soft tissue cases with $3,000.00 in medicals to cases where people die in the crash. Some cases involve surgeries, large medical expenses, and various insurance companies fighting with each other. Other cases are simple parking lot rear end cases. No matter how complicated or simple the case a car crash lawyer does two things: 1) make sure ALL the insurance companies aren’t taking advantage of the client and 2) make sure the insurance company is paying a “fair” number to settle the case.
PREVENT INSURANCE FUNNY BUSINESS
People don’t generally think their own insurance company is out to get them. They would be wrong. Your insurance company will actively work against you to close out your claim. For example, if they are provided with a $10,000.00 hospital bill on PIP insurance they will pay it and close their file. This is not good if the client needs additional post-hospital treatment. There are ways to make this coverage go farther and help the insured, but the insurance company isn’t here to help you. They are here for themselves.
I find that when a person is unrepresented for a car crash case his or her insurance company often sends all sorts of forms for them to sign. The insurance company acts like this is normal and the insured MUST sign the paperwork. My clients do not sign the paperwork and I will revoke the signatures if applicable. We do this for various reasons, but one of them is that the insurance company isn’t entitled to your medical history at this juncture. They are doing this to request your past medical history and then weasel out of paying your claim.
Your insurance company isn’t the main offender. The other insurance company will pretend to be your friend and stab you in the back. They won’t explain to the fullest detail what they are doing and then send you money. If they do it a certain way the money will settle your case for pennies on the dollar. I’ve seen them pay $2,000.00 on a case to an unrepresented person that was easily a six figure case. The type of adjuster that does this is a pop out adjuster. You would be wise to NEVER in a MILLION years speak to this person. They are evil and do evil things in my humble opinion. Once you get a personal injury lawyer the insurance company takes this person off the case.
ARGUE AND EVALUATE
The second thing a car crash lawyer does is evaluate and argue. This starts the minute you hire a lawyer. It is important here you have a lawyer that can do this. If your lawyer works at a churn and burn law firm the insurance company will know the chances of litigation are very low. If you have a baby lawyer the chances of litigation are very low as well. Insurance companies evaluate risk and if your lawyer isn’t serious it hurts the amount of money you recover.
I tell clients daily that I’m a money lawyer. My job is to get money in your pocket. The more money I get the client the more money I get the law firm. This is important because my name is on the door. I don’t plan on being her for a year or two and then moving onto the next firm or starting my own. Because of this a “fair” settlement in my opinion is the highest one possible.
This can mean I resolve a case pre-litigation aka without a lawsuit or that I will litigate and try a case. Most people see billboards and assume good lawyer. They don’t think about whether or not their lawyer actually goes to court or has tried cases. I have tried 57 cases to verdict. At any given time I have roughly 50+ cases in litigation and other lawyers send me difficult cases to litigate. This brings value to the client.
PROPERLY VALUE A CASE
Car crash lawyers, if they are good, know the insurance companies on the other side. They know the tendencies of these carriers and the lawyers that will work on a case if a lawsuit is filed. Some carriers will drag out to the last minute and pay. Others will receive a lawsuit and assign the case to an adjuster that actually knows what they are doing.
We also know how to value a case. This comes from experience in negotiating past cases and seeing what jurors are likely to do. It makes sense to resolve “go ahead and send the money.” If the offer is garbage and there is more money to track down it is time to file a lawsuit. This is more work for the lawyer. I can often mean significant resources are spent in litigating a case. A car crash lawyer must have the means and will power to litigate to keep the other side honest and is part of the negotiation process.
We also negotiate medical expenses and liens amongst hundreds of other things. But you get the gist. Protect and Maximize.
Consultations at Dettman Law are always free. Rates are 33.3% for no lawsuit and 40% for a lawsuit. And like every car crash or personal injury lawyer I only get paid when my clients get paid. Email me at bdettman@dettmanlawgroup.com for a free consultation.
