Latest News about Texas Personal Injury Law / Cases

Handling a Personal Injury Case Yourself | Texas Injury Attorney

Posted on May 04, 2010

The Anderson Law Firm receives calls all the time from automobile wreck victims after they have already talked to the other driver's insurance company adjuster and tried to resolve the case on their own. These callers usually have been insulted by a low offer from the insurance adjuster. They are skeptical of the low offer-otherwise they wouldn't be calling our firm. I go through my list of questions to the injury victim and then decide what I think their case is worth. I then ask what the injured person was offered by the insurance company. Usually there is a HUGE difference in my evaluation and the current offer, so I then have to explore why there is a huge difference.

Most of the time, the injured party has left it up to the insurance adjuster to gather all the relevant documents and has left it to the adjuster to evaluate the case on their own. THAT IS THE WRONG APPROACH. Do you think insurance adjusters-who are paid to save their company money-do everything they need to do to INCREASE the value of your case? NO WAY. Instead, the adjuster does just enough to make it look like they "evaluated" your case and then hit you with a low ball offer. Think of this:

Does the adjuster investigate and calculate your lost wages? NO
Does the adjuster obtain ALL of your medical records and bills? NO
Does the adjuster wait until you are done treating and healthy before they try to resolve your claim? NO
Does the adjuster negotiate your health insurance subrogation claim or workers compensation liens? NO
Does the adjuster disclose to you the bad things about their own driver that will increase the value of your case? NO
Does the adjuster make sure your bills are all paid? NO
AND SERIOUSLY, does the adjuster really do anything to help you? NO

So what should a person do if they are injured in an accident? They should at least speak to a Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney about their case. Not all cases need lawyers, but we think all serious injury cases sure do. Does the injury victim have to talk to the lawyer immediately? No, it helps if the lawyer is involved immediately, but you don't have to do that. The injured party must just make sure they talk to a good injury lawyer at some point before they talk to the insurance adjuster for the reckless driver. Trusting the insurance adjuster to be fair always backfires. A serious injury case needs a good attorney to fight for the injured party. And sometimes that means turning down a low offer and letting a jury decide the REAL value of a case.