You or someone you love was injured in a car accident in Iowa. The other driver’s fault is clear. The crash caused injuries that were immediately diagnosed and treated.
The other driver’s insurance company has reached out to you and seems very friendly and helpful. You decide that this situation is so cut and dried that there is no reason to get a lawyer involved. You sign the insurance company’s medical release, and you wait for them to make a fair settlement offer.
You feel betrayed when the offer comes, and it seems a lot less than what is fair.
How did this happen?
There are many possible reasons.
Some of those reasons have to do with the documents the other driver’s insurance company reviewed before making its offer.
Maybe the official police report didn’t include the name of the eyewitness who told you they saw the other driver on her cellphone when the crash occurred.
Maybe your doctor told you that you were likely to have ongoing pain because of your crash-related injury, but never actually put those words in your medical record.
Maybe you never got the right documentation from your employer, so there is no money in the settlement offer for the value of the vacation time you had to burn while you were healing.
Or maybe, the other driver’s insurance company is relying on other information that you don’t even know about.
Most people don’t realize that, after a serious crash, auto insurance companies may start secretly monitoring a victim’s social media postings to see if there is anything that can be used against the victim’s claim.
Most people don’t realize that insurance companies use medical releases to figure out how many of your medical bills are unpaid so they can determine how much financial pressure is on you to accept a quick settlement.
Most people don’t realize that insurance companies often buy online information about a person’s habits and finances to calculate how likely a person is to consult with a lawyer or file a lawsuit.
That calculation – which is called a propensity score – helps the insurance company will decide how much money to offer you to settle your claim. If you have a low propensity score, the insurance company is more likely to lowball you when offering you a settlement.
It is not your fault.
In fact, it is the insurance industry’s business model to take in as much money as possible from policyholder premiums and payout as little as possible on claims.
Don’t let yourself be a victim of the insurance industry. If you are injured in a serious car crash in Iowa, take the time to talk to an experienced Iowa car accident lawyer.
You deserve to find out what your personal injury case is really worth and what steps can be taken to get a fair settlement offer.
Not only does consulting with an attorney give you valuable knowledge, hiring an Iowa car accident lawyer with a track record of success will send the message to the insurance company that you are ready to fight for what is fair.
RSH Legal offers a free, no-obligation case evaluation to Iowans who have been seriously injured in a car crash. To schedule yours, call 1-800-433-0283.
