The victim that has filed a personal injury claim must negotiate settlement terms with the insurance adjuster. The adjuster estimate’s the value of the submitted claim by seeking details on the nature and seriousness of the same victim’s injuries. After determination of that estimate, the proper size for the opening bid becomes clearer in the adjuster’s mind.
The estimate should reflect how much money the victim has spent on treatment.
Injuries that require extensive treatment provide the victim with a sound reason for demanding more generous settlement terms. Personal injury lawyer in Sydney knows that an adjusters’ experience has forced them to take that fact into consideration, when making any estimate.
The estimate is not the final size of the insurance company’s payoff; it is just the starting point for the adjuster’s series of offers.
In order to account for costs that can be difficult to quantify, adjusters use something called a multiplier. The multiplier helps the adjuster’s estimate to reflect a consideration of the victim’s pain and suffering, along with any of the other non-economic damages.
How adjusters respond to different types of injuries
When victims suffer pain, but have no open or visible wounds, adjusters assume the existence of a soft injury. Those do not show up in an x-ray. A soft injury is usually one that affects the muscles or the connective tissues. Claimants and plaintiffs find that the terms in any proposed settlement reflect the existence of a relatively minor injury.
When victims experience great pain, and suffer from unquestionable harm to their physical body, adjusters assume the existence of a hard injury. This type of injury often requires a physical repair or an intrusive examination. Hence, the affected victims tend to become the recipients of large settlements.
Introduction of the CT scan and MRI have reduced the need for invasive examinations. Still, a patient receives a large bill, after undergoing an examination that has utilized either of those imaging devices. That is why an adjuster’s opening bid/offer is larger, if the victim has suffered a hard injury.
Certain hard injuries have been found in large numbers of those that have filed car accident claims
Broken bones, especially in the ankles, knees or leg; also in the rib cage of the driver
A head injury: Even with the wearing of a seat belt. a driver’s head might hit the underside of a car’s hood, if the auto had been hit with enough force. Sometimes, a passenger’s head hits the dashboard.
Separations and dislocations: These would result from damage to the backbone.
Tear in cartilage or ligament: This could show up in back vertebrae or on a kneecap. Its existence would be evident in an x-ray of the affected region.
