Insurance companies usually want to make personal injury cases go away for as little money as possible. That is why they frequently offer lowball settlements early in the claims process before you know the full extent of your losses.
An undervalued insurance claim could leave you without the resources you need to build a better future after a serious accident. You need an experienced attorney from the law firm of Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., to fight for your interests.
What Does a Lowball First Offer Look Like?
A lowball offer from the insurance company is usually just a fraction of what your case is actually worth. Typically, the insurance company’s first offer barely covers your initial medical bills — and completely ignores things like future treatment you’ll need, wages you’ve lost (or will lose), and the pain and disruption the injury has caused in your life.
Insurance adjusters make lowball offers early, hoping you’ll take the money before you realize what your claim is really worth.
What Tactics Do Insurance Companies Use to Justify Low Offers?
Insurance companies have a whole playbook. The insurance company tactics we see most often include:
- Claiming your injuries were “pre-existing”—that you were already hurt before the crash.
- Pointing to gaps in your medical treatment and saying, “If you were really hurt, why didn’t you go to the doctor?”
- Arguing that because the property damage was minor, you couldn’t have been seriously injured (“Minor impact, soft tissue” is their favorite phrase)
- Trying to pin even a sliver of fault on you to invoke Alabama’s contributory negligence rule and wipe out your claim entirely.
We don’t let insurers get away with these games. Our Alabama personal injury attorneys counter these tactics with hard evidence, such as:
- Medical records and doctor opinions tying your injuries to the crash
- Black-box data and accident reconstruction showing the true forces involved
- A clear timeline of treatment
- Independent proof of the other driver’s fault
How Do You Figure Out What a Case Is Actually Worth?
We don’t use a formula or a computer program to determine a personal injury claim’s value. We build the value of your case from the specific facts. Our demand package — the formal request we send to the insurance company — typically includes:
- All of your medical records and bills, both what you’ve already spent and what future care is expected to cost
- Documentation of lost wages and any reduction in your earning ability going forward
- Evidence of how the injury affected your daily life — your pain, your limitations, statements from you and your family about what’s changed
- Proof of who was at fault — the police report, photos, witness statements, and video
- A clear legal argument explaining why the other driver is liable and why you are not at fault under Alabama law
Everything is tied together so the insurance company can see exactly what they would face if your personal injury claim went to a jury.
When Do You Advise Rejecting an Offer and Filing a Lawsuit?
We recommend filing suit when the insurance company’s best offer simply doesn’t reflect what your case is worth and negotiations have hit a wall. In other words, when you’d likely be better off putting the case in front of a jury than accepting what’s on the table.
That said, it’s always your decision. We’ll give you our honest assessment of the risks and the potential upside, but you control whether to settle or go forward. We’ll never pressure you either way.
Call the Personal Injury Attorneys at Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., for a Free Consultation
The Alabama personal injury attorneys at Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., are ready to stand up to the insurance company and seek the maximum compensation you deserve for your losses, including medical expenses, future medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
Over our decades of practicing law, we have secured verdicts and settlements totaling more than $2.9 billion for our clients. While past results do not guarantee future outcomes, they do indicate our extensive background handling complex injury claims. Let us put our experience to work for you now.
To find out what it is like to be a client at our firm, we invite you to read some of the positive reviews our past clients have left for us. For example, one of our clients wrote:
“I had a great experience with Morris, King & Hodge. Throughout my case, the staff was professional, responsive, and always willing to answer my questions. They kept me informed during the settlement process and worked hard to resolve everything, including the medical liens, so my case could be finalized.” – Kelsey N.
Contact us now for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney from our law firm.
