Don't Insurance Adjusters Try To Be Fair? Colossus Part 1

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury, car accident attorney David A. Bressman has helped thousands of injury victims over the past 19 years.

You are involved in a car wreck or other injury causing incident. Now the adjuster contacts you and makes all sorts of promises -- we'll treat you fairly, offer you a fair amount.... But, in many instances, the adjuster is no more than a glorified data entry technician. This is because many insurance companies use computer programs whose sole purpose is to remove the human element from claims evaluations and leave the adjuster with little to no discretion on the true value of your claim. In other words, the nice adjuster on the phone may just input your bills and then offer you whatever the soulless computer program tells her to offer you, regardless of your injuries and the effect these have on your life.

Many insurance companies now use a computer program, or one similar to it, called "Colossus." By one estimate, from 1995 to 2005, 70 percent of the auto insurance industry has implemented claims assessment software, including COLOSSUS, Claims Outcome Advisor, and InjuryIQ to evaluate bodily injury claims. These cost containment programs have resulted in plummeting case settlement values.

The effect of these programs is especially evident in "soft tissue claims." Soft tissues involve the muscles and ligaments as opposed to the "hard tissues" like bones. According to the Insurance Research Council, 85 percent of all claims involve soft tissue injuries. Within the U.S. there are approximately 6 million auto accidents per year. With Colossus analyzing more than 60 percent of these cases, the program may be analyzing up to 3 million "soft tissue" injuries per year in the U.S. alone.

Due to the prevalence of soft tissue claims, and the lack of technology presently capable of proving their existence to juries, these claims became a target for the insurance industry in its attempts to reduce claims payouts and increase pmfits. It is clear that of Colossus was developed to further the insurance industry's desire to limit payout on the largest percentage of their claims.

NEXT: More on how Colossus works.

Smart Tips for Buying Car Insurance

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury, car accident attorney David A. Bressman has helped thousands of injury victims over the past 19 years. Unfortunately, there are many he could not help because they simply did not have the right insurance.

Some statistics indicate that nearly 1/4 of all Ohio drivers do not have insurance. What happens to you if you, or a loved one, are injured through no fault of your own but the at-fault driver does not have any, or adequate, insurance? The answer is that we have to look at YOUR auto insurance policy to see if you have adequate coverage.

If you are injured, the other has no insurance and you do not have insurance...then what? Then consider bankruptcy. The other party will have to be sued, a judgment obtained and then collected upon. Good luck with that! The doctors and hospitals are not going to forgive your bills just because neither you nor the at-fault party lack insurance. Thus, you are stuck with the property damage, the medical bills and being injured to boot. All because there was no insurance to cover the crash.

Tip #1: If you have been putting off getting car insurance, do it...NOW.
Tip #2: In most instances, liability only coverage is stupid but if it is the best you can do for now, then at least get that.
Tip #3: Get full coverage, it's actually pretty cheap and well worth it when the inevitable car crash happens. Get a bunch of quotes, they are available online and from independent agents. If you are a client of mine, I'll review the quotes with you, free of charge, and make suggestions on what is, and is not, appropriate. If you are not a client, I'll still do the review but you'll have to pay me for my time.
Tip #4: Get uninsured/underinsured coverage. It used to be that this coverage HAD to be offered as part of your full coverage but now it does not. If you can, get this coverage, it provides you with a security blanket should you be hit by a driver who has no insurance or who has low limits insurance.

MORE TIPS TO COME......................

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck #13

Last post in this series. I appreciate the nice comments, if anyone else has additional suggestions, please let me know and I will be sure to post them.

Avoid driving near trucks. Crashes involving large trucks often are fatal. When following a truck, stay far enough back so that you can see the truck's side mirrors. To pass a truck on a multilane road. wait for all other vehicles to clear the truck, then pass as rapidly as conditions and the speed limit safely allow. Be well past a truck before pulling in front of it.

Beware of the truck driver’s “No Zone.” Because of the size of the truck, the truck's blind spots are larger. Be vigilant in watching out for vehicles in the No-Zone. The No-Zone represents the danger areas, or blind spots, around trucks and buses where crashes are more likely to occur. One-third of all crashes between large trucks and cars take place in the No-Zone.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck #11

#11: Don't step on the brake when driving over a pothole.

Winter in Ohio is upon us and with this comes the inevitable potholes. Often, the natural reaction is to stomp on the brakes as you go over the pothole. The suggestion below is that this is probably not the right way to deal with a pothole.

Reason: Hitting the brake as the car goes over a pothole shifts the car's weight forward onto the front wheels. This increases the impact force and can damage the car's suspension and brakes. This can also alter wheel alignment.

Better: Brake before the pothole to slow down the car, then release the brake as you go over pothole and, if necessary, brake right after the pothole.

Source: www.motorwatch.com

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 7

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#7: Drive with one hand between 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock and the other between 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock on the wheel. The traditional 10 and 2 o'clock positions can cause arm fatigue, especially on long drives, leading to less-than-optimal driver reaction time in emergencies. The traditional position also increases the odds that one of your arms will hit you in the face if your air bag deploys causing lost teeth or a broken jaw.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 6

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#6: Use your brake lights to be more visible to those behind you. If there is a vehicle behind you when you need to slow down, tap your brake pedal very slightly a few seconds before braking, assuming there is time to do so safely. When stopped in traffic or at a light, tap your brake a few times as another vehicle approaches from behind. This is particularly helpful if the drivers behind you are looking into the sun.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 5

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#5: Look through the car ahead of you. Most drivers focus on the back of the vehicle in from of them when they are on crowded roads. If that driver brakes or swerves suddenly, you might have little time to react. It is better to look through the rear window and front windshield of the car you are trailing to keep an eye on the vehicle ahead of it (assuming that tinted windows or some other elements of the vehicle's design do not block your view). This will provide more warning if there is a problem on the road ahead.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 4

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#4: Keep headlights on, even during the day, if you don't have daytime running lights. This increases the odds that other drivers will see you.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 3

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#3: Brake and accelerate in a straight line on wet roads. When roads are wet or icy, try to complete your braking before you enter a turn and begin accelerating only after you have come out of it. This reduces the odds of a skid.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 2

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#2: Choose routes with intersections that have left-turn green arrows particularly if you are over age 70 or live in a region with lots of older drivers. Turning left in front of oncoming vehicles at an intersection is a common driving mistake among those over 70 because age often impairs our ability to judge the speed of approaching traffic. Such collisions are much less common where traffic lights have green arrows that let drivers know when to turn.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck #1

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#1: Plan well. Stay off the roads between midnight and 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Drunk-driving collisions are most common during these hours. The safest time to drive on weekend nights is between 9 p.m. and midnight when most heavy drinkers are still at bars and parties. Most weekday crashes occur during the morning and evening rush hours, but these tend to be less severe crashes, not the frequently fatal smashups caused by drunk drivers. If you are planning a weekend event, make sure your guests leave before the above times to ensure safest travel. As well, if you are at a party, or have a loved one at a party, do your best to set a safe time to leave [and, of course, if you have imbibed of the alcoholic beverages, don't be stupid, have someone else, a sober someone else, drive you home or be prepared to stay the night].

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #6

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION 6: Shouldn’t I wait to settle the claim until my medical treatment concludes, or until I’m sure that I have made a full recovery?

ANSWER: Yes from your perspective but a big NO from the insurance adjuster's viewpoint. The insurance company knows that the quicker you settle the claim the less money it will have to pay out. Once you settle the claim you can’t reopen the case if it turns out your injuries are more severe than you originally thought or if you need more medical treatment. Most insurance companies have in place written directives to their claims departments to settle every claim as quickly as possible so the accident victim can’t reopen the case later if the person’s condition gets worse.

This happens quite often and, just as often, with tragic results. Once you sign a release of your claims with the insurance adjuster [always a prerequisite to getting a settlement check], you are, likely, forever and ever closing your ability to get fully and fairly compensated for your injuries should it turn out that you, as a result of the collision, began the process for herniating a disc or there was a missed fracture in the ER radiology department or..... Why take the chance? Get thoroughly evaluated and treated per doctor's orders BEFORE you sign off on your injury claim for the rest of your life.

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #5

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION 5: Why do I have to give you an unrestricted medical authorization before I can settle the claim? Why do you need records from 5, 10, 15 or 20 years before the collision? Why
do you need records from doctors OTHER than the ones I saw for treatment related to the
collision?

ANSWER: So the adjuster can go on a fishing expedition into your medical history and find anything about your prior health which will help the company either deny your claim or pay out as little as possible. THE ADJUSTER IS NOT LEGALLY ENTITLED TO GET ANY RECORDS OTHER THAN THOSE THAT ARE CAUSALLY OR HISTORICALLY RELATED TO YOUR INJURIES IN THE COLLISION! For instance, if you broke your foot in the collision, the adjuster, reasonably, has the right to know if you have injured your foot before; however, the adjuster is NOT entitled to know if you have neck or back problems since you are not claiming this injury.

You can just as easily collect your accident-related records and send them to the adjuster for review. But, usually, if you are not represented by counsel the adjuster will never accept this. By using an attorney, the attorney can usually put limits on how much medical information needs to be disclosed.

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered # 4

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION 4: If I give you a recorded statement, can I then get a recorded statement from your own insured, i.e., the other driver?

ANSWER: No! This will never happen. It seems fair though doesn’t it? If you have to give a statement about the accident, then why can’t you also get a statement from the other driver? Yet, the insurance adjustor will never allow this for the same reasons you should never give a recorded statement to the insurance company. The adjuster wants to PIN YOU DOWN but, wisely for the insurance company, will never allows its at-fault driver to be similarly boxed in. The adjuster wants YOU to be put in a bad position, period.

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #3

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION3: Why does the adjuster insist that I have to give a recorded statement when the adjuster can get information about the accident from the police report?

ANSWER: Because the insurance company will try to use your own statements against you! In most accidents a police report will be filed and the insurance company has easy access to this report (it just takes a written request and a small fee). So why is a recorded statement necessary? Most companies have written policies in place which require the adjuster to get
a recorded statement to see if there’s any information the accident victim might reveal which could be later used to either deny the claim or pay out less money when settlement occurs.

For instance, let's say that you are contacted by the adjuster the day after the accident. You have some aches and pains but, you think, nothing too serious.The adjuster puts you on tape agreeing that you have little or no injury but, lo and behold, you wake up the next day with excruciating neck and back pain. You are now in serious trouble since you have now gone "on record" as minimizing your own injury. In effect, you have now become your own worst enemy! These recorded statements are, mostly, done to pin you down to a point in time when you might not be aware of the full extent of your injuries. They are also, mostly, done without an attorney present to advise you on what are fair, and unfair, topics.

My usual approach to requests for these types of statements -- denied!

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #2

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION 2: Will the insurance company verify that the settlement amount being offered to me is fair and reasonable?"

ANSWER: The adjuster surely will TELL you what you want to hear -- of course, the settlement is fair, you wouldn't expect an insurance company to tell you any different. But the adjuster can’t verify or prove that everyone with similar injuries never receives more. Unless you are in the business of negotiating and settling injury claims there is little chance you will know whether the settlement amount that is being offered is fair. Therefore, by negotiating and settling the claim yourself without using the assistance of a professional (i.e., personal injury attorney) you run the risk of accepting a sum that may turn out to be much less than what is considered reasonable for your type of claim. Moreover, once you accept that amount, and sign the accompanying release, then you are forever barred from revisiting and reopening your settlement. In other words, you had best be sure that you are fairly, and fully, compensated before agreeing to, or signing, anything..

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #1

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

If I use an attorney, I’m likely to recover more money in settlement than if I try to settle
the claim on my own?

ANSWER: Don’t be surprised if the adjustor says “no.” But why lie about this? Because a study by the Insurance Research Council (a nonprofit group funded by major insurance companies across the nation) and titled “Paying for Auto Injuries” found that the average total payout on claims that have an attorney is 4.8 times greater than those claims where the injured victim settled on his or her own.

This study showed that individuals who use an attorney receive 3.28 times more money after the attorney’s fee is paid. Most insurance claims adjustors are very aware of this study. So, if the insurance company wants to maximize profits it will train its claims representatives to go to
great efforts to dissuade people from hiring an attorney. Simply put, the insurance companies know that if you hire counsel you will likely get more money in settlement, even after deducting
the lawyer’s fee.

Common Insurance Company Arguments/Excuses #11

Columbus, Ohio. According to David A. Bressman, a personal injury lawyer who limits his practice exclusively those injured in car accidents, insurance companies use many standard arguments when trying to minimize payment to injury victims. Here is #11 in this ongoing series:

"Minimizing the Severity of the Collision"

• The property to damage to either, or both vehicles, was minimal.
• Your vehicle was equipped with shock-absorbing bumpers, headrests, seat belts, which made impact injuries impossible or improbable.
• No other persons involved in accident had injuries.
• The At-Fault Driver claims he was only going 5 mph or less.
• The damage repair estimate shows only $1,000 of damage to your vehicle. THIS IS WHY YOU MUST GET YOUR OWN ESTIMATE AND NOT RELY ON THE INSURANCE COMPANY.
• Your airbags never deployed so the forces had to be minor.
• The at-fault driver’s airbags never deployed so the forces had to be minor.

Daylight Saving Time Switch & Increased Number Of Pedestrian Collisions & Car Accidents

The staff at the BressmanLaw reminds you to set your clocks back 1 hour this weekend. Please use extreme caution as you adjust to the time change and earlier darkness. When the clocks move back, pedestrian collisions, crosswalk accidents and personal injury cases involving motor vehicles are more likely.

According to a CNN report, pedestrians walking at dusk are three times more likely to be struck by a car than before the clocks are moved back.

The highest risk for pedestrians occurs around 6 p.m. during November. This risk decreases each month until May [when the spring time change and longer days cause accidents to drop dramatically]. Reports show that it is not the actual dark that causes these pedestrian car accidents, it is the drivers' adjustments to the earlier darkness.

Drivers: Be on the lookout for pedestrians as you drive at dusk and after dark.

Pedestrians: Take extra care to make sure that drivers can see you.

Be safe!

Sincerely,

The Staff of BressmanLaw