auto accident claims

Are Auto Accident Attorneys out of Business? A Look into the Future.

While planning for the future of my law practice, I’m contemplating whether auto accident attorneys are out of business in the future. In a nutshell, I think we might be – at least the cases we’ve worked on to this point.

Artificial Intelligence

There is so much hype about A.I. these days and I don’t want to get in the weeds in an analysis of it. However, it’s worth mentioning all the various aspects of the upcoming “transportation revolution” that we are currently undergoing and its effect on auto accident cases.

The future?

It is in self-driving cars. Maybe not in five or seven years, but ten and fifteen years from now, we will not be driving our own cars. Don’t let the Uber self-driving car fatality in Arizona fool you into thinking that this is not happening. It’s just a matter of time.

The reality is that technology is already significantly impacting transportation safety. For example, federal regulation requires that all new cars come with rear view cameras. This could dramatically reduce the number of back-over crashes that are so common in parking lots. Eliminating or reducing back-over crashes will also greatly impact the safety of children.

Other features now come standard in most new cars including extensive sensor systems that warn when a car is in front, back or to the side of you.

In the future, vehicle to vehicle communication will enable my car to talk to your car and advise each other of the other’s behavior so as to avoid a collision.

Other Areas

A.I. and automation will affect auto accident and motorcycle lawyers in other ways as well. Auto insurance will be different in the future as well. Do you remember going to the airport and buying life insurance before you boarded the plane?

Companies like Allstate owned Arity are already working on auto insurance products for people who will not own cars but rather use ridesharing entirely to get around. You will be able to buy insurance for a single ride, or only when you ride in a certain type of vehicle.

Auto accident claims processing will also be impacted. Insurance companies have already automated the claims process and use technology/software to evaluate auto accident claims. Computers are thus evaluating and making determinations as to the value of auto accident attorney clients’ injuries. Who knows how far A.I. will take the claims process but you can be assured insurers will use technology to reduce payouts and increase profits.

How we document the occurrence of accidents is also evolving as a result of technology. I have represented several clients in the past few years who were wearing GoPro cameras on their motorcycle helmets or positioned on their dashboard. Videotape of the facts of an accident can greatly assist in determining fault for the accident.

Finally, insurance companies like Progressive Insurance have developed apps that monitor your driving habits and reward you for safe-driving.

In short, the entire transportation claims and litigation process is changing. The number of accidents, severe injuries and fatalities will drop significantly in the future. And as such, the number of cases for auto accident attorneys to pursue will also diminish. This will drive many out of the personal injury realm entirely.

Guess I should start planning for a second career. If you would like to discuss this or any other legal related topic, feel free to reach out to me at 847-305-4105.

Why personal injury cases take so long

People are often surprised when we tell them that their personal injury case may take twelve to twenty-four months to resolve. They always

ask why personal injury cases take so long. For the answer to this and other personal injury related questions, see part one of the blog article, or contact our office for a free consultation at 312-848-9783.

Why personal injury cases take so long – Part Two

In part one of this blog article, we explained that obtaining insurance from the defendant who caused your accident, confirming that the defendant’s insurance company has accepted liability or responsibility for the accident, and the severity of your injury, can all affect how long it takes to resolve your case.

In part two of this blog, we will address additional factors that explain why personal injury cases take so long.

Factors that affect how long it takes to resolve your case

Obtaining medical bills and records

The medical bill and record aspect of your cases is a primary reason why personal injury cases take so long.

Once you are through treating, your law office will have to order all your medical bills and records from your medical providers – and there can be a lot of them. This is a slow process that requires dealing with medical bureaucracy. We are constantly required to order and re-order bills and records. And there are often significant fees for ordering the bills and records that have to be processed and paid.

Often our clients send us copies of the bills they receive and wonder why those won’t work. When we order bills from medical providers, they come with ICD Codes which are the codes insurance companies require before they compensate an accident victim for his or her damages. Our clients do not receive bills with ICD codes, we have to order them ourselves.

Medical bill and record review

Once we finally obtain the bills and records, they are reviewed in detail. This is a time intensive process and must be performed by an attorney or paralegal. Often there are hundreds and hundreds of pages of bills and records that have to be reviewed.

In addition, often when records are first reviewed, we learn that there was additional medical treatment that we did not know about, that there are records we have not ordered or received as yet, or that there were dates of service that were not provided to us. As such, we have to order those bills and records and that starts the process over again.

Once all the documents have been reviewed, your attorney will get on the phone with you to review your case before taking the next step in the process described below.

Demand Letter

Writing the demand letter to the insurance company is also a time intensive process. The demand letter will document:

The facts of the accident
Your theory of liability
Analysis of the medical bills and records
Description of your pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment, among other things
A demand for compensation

Once the letter is written, it must be reviewed and sent to the client for corrections, suggestions and approval. Then we will mail the demand to the insurance company. We will give them 30 days to respond to the letter – though it often takes much longer.

Negotiation

The negotiation process can take several weeks or months. Our demand letters often include very high demands and the insurance companies often begin with a very low offer. Then the process of negotiation begins. Your attorney will argue to the insurance adjuster about the value of your case and where the insurance company has exposure.

The insurance company will attempt to reduce your claim by disputing the severity of your injury and the amount of your medical treatment. They may point out you have pre-existing conditions and allege that the injuries you suffered were not actually suffered in the accident at all.

In many cases, the two sides are able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution of claims. However, that does not happen in all cases, discussed below.

As an aside, it may be that your injuries are so severe that they are more than worth the value of the insurance policy. In that situation, the insurance adjuster may just “tender” or offer the entire amount of their insured’s insurance policy.

Underinsured Motorist Protection

If the defendant offers you the full value of their insurance policy, you may be able to seek to recover additional compensation from your own underinsured motorist policy. We have handled several cases where we were able to quickly obtain the $25,000 or $50,000 policy limits from the defendant and then went after our client’s own insurance policy to compensate our clients for the rest of their damages.

Medical Bill/Lien Negotiation

Once your case settles, your attorney will attempt to resolve all outstanding medical bills you have as a result of injuries suffered in the accident. There are often deductibles, co-pays and in some cases entire medical bills outstanding.

Health insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois also intend to be reimbursed for the medical bills they paid on your behalf. Your attorney will attempt to negotiate a reduced amount with your insurance company as well. Do you have to pay your health insurance company back? Yes, often you do.

If you used your auto insurance medical payments (or “medpay”) benefits to pay your medical bills, you will have to pay your auto insurance company back as well. Your attorney will attempt to negotiate this amount down for you as well.

Be aware that some health insurance companies just simply take forever to settle with, mainly Medicare and Medicaid. They are huge governmental bureaucracies and just move much slower than a private health insurer.

Lawsuit/Litigation

The last reason why personal injury cases take so long, is that if you are unable to reach a settlement with the insurance company, your attorney may be forced to file a lawsuit against the defendant on your behalf. If you are in Cook County, you might not get to trial for eighteen months to two years. That’s on top of all the time you already spent on your case.

Despite this, it’s still optimal to try and resolve your claim amicably first as litigation costs a lot of money. Every dollar you spend on costs and expenses for your case comes out of your settlement/your pocket. Pre-litigation expenses cost a few hundred dollars while litigation can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Conclusion

All the above are many of the reasons why personal injury cases take so long. These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless other tasks that your law firm must to do prep your case and they all take time. If you want a free consultation to discuss why personal injury cases take so long, contact our office at 312-848-9783.

Recorded Statement – A Risky Gamble

Tens of thousands of auto accident claims are filed every day with insurance companies. Shortly after each of those claims, the accident victim will get a call from an insurance adjuster looking for a recorded statement about the accident. If you are involved in an accident and you would like a free consultation to discuss whether you should give the recorded statement, call our office at 312-848-9783.

What is a Recorded Statement?

A recorded statement is a tool used by insurance companies like Allstate or State Farm to figure out what happened in an auto or other accident. An insurance adjuster, who is an Allstate or State Farm employee, will call you over the phone and ask you questions about the accident. The questions will seem simple and you may feel compelled to answer as you are attempting to get the insurance company to pay for your damages and/or injuries. Be Careful!

Do I Have to Give a Recorded Statement?

The simple answer is no. You do not have to give a recorded statement to the insurance company for the vehicle who caused your accident. In fact, we advise (almost) all our clients not to give recorded statements. Why? The recorded statement is a trick used by insurance companies to get you on the record.

It seems simple. At first, the insurance adjuster is nice and sincere in his or her efforts to help you. However, what they are trying to do is pin you down to a story. Once you have committed, the insurance adjuster (or their defense attorneys) will use that information later to poke holes in your case.

For example, if you stated during a recorded statement that you were positive you driving 35 miles per hour at the time of the accident, you are now locked into that speed. If you change your story at all during your deposition (sworn statement before trial) or during cross-examination (while at trial), the insurance company will capitalize on the change in your testimony to discredit you.

Or, perhaps during the recorded statement you forgot to tell the adjuster that your shoulder was in pain following the accident. A year later when you attempt to obtain compensation for your shoulder pain, rest assured the adjuster or defense attorney will point out that you did not complain of shoulder pain after the accident. To learn more about documenting your injuries, check out this article.

In most cases, the insurance adjuster can make a determination of “liability” or responsibility for the accident from the police report, from speaking to their insured or by talking to witnesses. Often the facts help dictate fault as well. For example, if you were driving straight and the defendant took a left-hand turn in front of you, in most (though not all) cases, they will be responsible for failing to yield the right of way. And of course, there is little opportunity to deny responsibility if you were rear-ended in the accident.

When Should You Give a Recorded Statement?

If you file a claim with your own insurance company after the accident, you have a duty to cooperate with your insurance company in investigating the accident. In that situation, you need to give a recorded statement.

However, beware of your own insurance company as well. If the defendant who hit you was uninsured or underinsured, meaning he or she had a small insurance policy, you may have to go after your own insurance company for compensation through your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. In that situation, your insurance company will go from being helpful to being your opponent in a split second. Then, they will be the ones who use your recorded statement against you.

What to say in a Recorded Statement

If you do give a recorded statement, here are a few tips for what to say or not to say:

Don’t be too precise: Instead of saying you were driving 35 miles per hour, give an estimate. “I was driving around 35” or “I was driving between 30 and 35 miles per hour.”
Always be honest: if you lie, the insurance company will find out and use it against you. This will jeopardize your credibility with the insurance company or the jury.
Limit the scope of the recorded statement: Agree to talk about the facts of the accident but not your injuries.
Do NOT guess. If you don’t know an answer, say so.
Do NOT sign a medical release or any other document. You will provide them your medical records when you see fit.
Keep your answers brief. Do not expound on anything. Simply answer their questions as briefly as you can and then stop talking. The more you talk the more they have to use against you.

Conclusion

If you are contacted by an insurance company after an accident, we recommend talking to an attorney prior to giving a recorded statement. For a free consultation, contact us today at 312-848-9783.