Insurance companies generally divide car crash claims into several different categories.
The categories are as followed:
1. First call claims: these are the cases where the insurance companies will try to get you on the phone and they will try to settle your case for as low as possible. How does $200 sound?
2. MIST (Minor Impact Soft Tissue) cases: these cases have vehicle damage of less than $1,000.
3. SIU (Fraud) cases: this makeup about 2-7% of all claims. Some factors that insurance companies can consider to flag a case as fraud may be race, number of crashes and history, and etc.
4. Clear Policy Limit Cases: these cases have such high value (a lot of medical bills) that it justifies paying the injured party the entire policy limit (whatever the limit may be).
5. Colossus Cases: We’ll talk in greater detail about Colossus later on. But for now, it’s just a software insurance companies use to give your special type of injury some kind of monetary value. (So so human of them!)
The first three categories make up about 30% of all personal injury cases.
Without further delay, let’s get into the science of things and why they become so
important.
I. Cars
For the sake of simplicity (not trying to offend my car gurus out there), there are two different types of bodies. One, is body on frame. Second, is called unibody. Again, understanding this distinction can help us analyze what happens after every single crash. Your attorney should be able to distinguish between the two body frames and know how to approach each case.
II. Myths
A. Car Accident Attorney Fees Are Very High
Personal Injury attorneys work on what’s called contingency fee. This means that you will NOT be responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses or fees. Put another way, all those advertisements you see where Personal Injury attorneys say “if there’s no recovery, you won’t owe us anything”
it’s not out of the goodness of their hearts, it’s how everyone works. The fee structures are typically 1/3 percent if the case gets settled before filing a lawsuit, and 40-45% if a lawsuit is filed. Again, you won’t have to pay anything out of pocket.
B. Sitting In A Chair Or Sneezing Is The Same Force As A Rear-End Collision
In its junk science article by Allen ME named Perturbations of Daily Living: a comparison to ‘whiplash’ Spine 1994 is an argument that insurance companies would rely on to disprove the extent of your injuries and the severity of your case. However, Murray Allen is a family practice physician from British Columbia who, at the time of his study, was performing defense medical examinations (insurance side). Therefore, there was a great deal of bias in his article. What is the article missing? For example, one of the most important things that are missed is the head and neck distance from the car’s headrest. How about whether the injured party is male or female?
C. Once the Claim Goes to a Mist Adjuster, it cannot be taken out
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Your attorney can use some factors specific to your case to get your case out of the mist land to be reviewed by a non-mist adjuster for a better result.
However, this needs to happen within the first 30-45 days.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Your Atlanta personal injury attorney can help to set up your case from the start. If that’s done correctly, you will maximize your recovery. Because we understand not only the legal side but the science of it all, we know how to set up your case just right. After all, aren’t you just tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from other attorneys? “Saving you money…”