Should You Negotiate or Litigate your Personal Injury Case?
How much is my case worth?
Your case is worth either what we negotiate with the insurance company or the amount awarded by a judge and/or jury after trial. We will examine all of the facts and circumstances involving your case in order to arrive at a figure that fairly compensates you. The amount depends on the type and severity of your injuries. It also includes the type of treatment you received (surgery vs. non-surgery), the amount of medical bills, length of treatment, frequency of treatment, any "gap" in treatment, and the possibility of future medical bills as well as any lasting and permanent disability and injury. Every case is different, there is no formula. Our goal is to get you the best result possible.
Should I trust the insurance adjuster?
Insurance companies take advantage of the emotional, physical, and financial turmoil following a wreck. The bottom line is the insurance adjuster's job is to help the insurance company increase it profits. It will do so at your expense. It is as simple as that.
Do I have to sign a release allowing the insurance company to get my medical records?
In most cases, you absolutely should not do this. The release will be very broad. Insurance companies will attempt to get records other than those related directly to your injury. Is it any of their business whether in the past you have had marriage counseling? Do they really need to get records from your urologist or gynecologist?
What happens if the other driver has no insurance or not enough insurance to cover the severity of my injuries and loss?
In the event that the other driver does not have any insurance or does not have enough insurance, you may be still be covered through your own policy. We will examine your policy to see whether you have uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage. This is the type of coverage that you paid for protecting you in exactly this situation.
The odd thing will be, however, that if you make a claim for uninsured or underinsured coverage against your own policy, your insurance company will treat you as any other claimant. Just because you have paid them premiums perhaps over many years, do not expect you to treat them directly than they will treat anyone else making a claim. Also, many people think that their insurance agent whom they have dealt with over years and to whom they have delivered their premium payments will look out for them. Your local insurance agent is a sales agent. He has nothing to do with the adjusting of claims. They are completely separate branches of your insurance company that have nothing to do with one another. Your local agent can not make the adjuster treat you fairly.
Will we have to go to court?
If the insurance company agrees to pay what is fair, then your case will not go to court. Our goal is to get you justice as soon as possible. That can usually be achieved quicker through aggressive negotiations than through lengthy litigation and trial. However, every case we take in, we assume will go to trial and we began preparing them in that fashion. A wise man said that, "it is best to always be prepared."
