Insurance companies and adjusters must have a way to determine how much a claim is
worth so they can come up with a reasonable settlement offer. An injury lawyer in Jacksonville FL can tell you at one time, adjusters added up medical expenses, multiplied the total by three and added calculated wage loss to come up with a settlement figure for a case that involved a soft tissue injury. So, a soft tissue case that had $3,300 in medical bills and had no wage loss would have a settlement figure of about $10,000. An injury attorney in Jacksonville FL can tell you this wasn’t the only formula insurance companies used, but it was the standard. Since the arrival of Colossus, a computer program used to determine a case’s worth, the above formula has been criticized. Instead, adjusters often say they consider individual claims and don’t use any specific method. Others say that’s false.
What Really Happens
Many times, insurance companies use a computer program to review medical bills and cut down those expenses. The above-mentioned example of $3,300 worth of bills would then be decreased to $2,000 in this situation. In a nutshell, companies likely will cut about 30 percent off and then come up with a medical expense figure that the computer thinks it should be instead of what it is in actuality. An injury lawyer in Jacksonville FL can tell you that the $10,000 they would have offered a few years ago would now be closer to $4,000. This, of course, makes settling more difficult. Under this example, the claimant ends up with a very small settlement after attorney costs and fees are added in. The way insurance companies are handling things today are leading to more cases being litigated that shouldn’t be. Or, the claimant has to deal with accident attorneys who decide it does not make financial sense to move forward with the case.
Contact an Injury Lawyer in Jacksonville FL for Assistance
Insurance companies use certain methods to determine a case’s worth. If you were hurt in an accident and need legal advice, call an injury attorney in Jacksonville FL at John Fagan Accident Lawyers at 904-278-1000.
