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Serving Injury & Accident Victims
in Maryland, Virginia, and DC
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If you are an Allstate-insured driver, you would expect cooperation when a serious accident forces you to file a claim. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, even when you’ve suffered a blunt head injury, spinal cord injury, and other trauma and need the cash benefits to cover your treatment.
Like other large insurers, Allstate Insurance Company has the resources to fight every personal injury claim to the bitter end, even with an Allstate-insured driver who has always paid their premiums on time and has a good insurance history. If your injuries appear out of proportion to the impact or the accident involves disputed liability, it will make your experience with Allstate challenging and frustrating, especially if you require ongoing medical care or are dealing with a permanent injury after an accident with a negligent driver.
Insurance companies look to make money and Allstate is no different. Where they are different from other insurance carriers is with the criticism they faced for claims handling over 10 years ago. However, that has not changed their aggressive approach except to make their strategies less obvious. Here is what you need to know about Allstate Insurance Company, its adversarial approach to car accident settlements, and how the dedicated lawyers from our firm can help when an insurance adjuster says, “No.”
Allstate Insurance Company is the second-largest personal carrier in the U.S. with a market share of 12 percent of all U.S. home and auto insurance policies. As one of the largest insurance companies, it currently employs 51,400 people, has been in operation since 1931, and provides auto insurance coverage to thousands.
This automobile insurance company came under serious scrutiny 10 years ago when former employees reported a strategy of “deny, delay, defend” when managing accident claims against any insurance policy.
CNN investigated these claims and found the auto insurance carrier mainly took this approach with soft tissue injuries resulting from low-impact accidents. Adjusters were encouraged to assume that every liability claim for this type of accident was fraudulent and resist claim settlement.
In 2008, the American Association for Justice ranked Allstate Insurance Company the worst insurer for consumers. Besides the hardball approaches to settling claims, the report also cited premium increases and extravagant salaries for executives as other evidence that Allstate was more interested in profit than in providing a good service for customers and claimants.
An expose on Allstate Insurance Company, titled From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, detailed many of these incidents. The claims in the book are frequently disputed by those in the insurance and business communities. It is believed that these practices are no different from other auto insurance companies looking to preserve their bottom line.
This colorful past has done little to change Allstate’s practices, although it is not as willing to advertise them. Criticism has not been enough to make them handle Allstate-insured driver claims with more fairness and less judgment, no matter how good your insurance history.
Allstate is an aggressive opponent when it comes to settling personal injury claims for medical care and other damages such as:
It doesn’t matter whether you are making the claim against your own automobile insurance policy (in a no-fault state or accidents involving uninsured motorists) or that of the at-fault driver: your experience with the claims adjuster will start with the assumption that you are wrong or exaggerating your pain. If liability for the accident is disputed, do not expect your case to conclude quickly. As an injured party, your case will depend heavily on documentation and witness statements confirming that you were hurt by a negligent driver.
You also need to be aware of how Allstate values claims. Another criticism against it involved its use of the Colossus software. This tool helps an insurance adjuster determine the value of a claim and make a settlement estimate using mathematical formulas.
However, Allstate did not use this settlement estimate tool fairly. In 2010, it paid a regulatory settlement of $10 million dollars to 45 states for using Colossus inconsistently. While the company indicated that it would encourage balanced and consistent use of the settlement calculator software, there is no way to know if these policies have any effect on settlement offers and strategies.
Therefore, the first challenge with Allstate is to get past the initial settlement calculator estimates for your medical expenses and other damages. Insurance agents are encouraged to start with low offers and resist budging past the Colossus figures for injury settlements. Even if you have a pre-existing condition that would make an injury worse than normal for you, these distinct circumstances may not be considered without a fight.
If you hope to secure a fair settlement from an auto insurer like Allstate, you need evidence. Medical records, counseling notes, and any pain diaries you maintained during your recovery may prove vital. The same is true of police reports and witness statements–so if you know someone witnessed your accident, name them. Even with a well-presented and documented case, you can still expect to be questioned at each step of negotiation by the claims adjuster, which is stressful for an injured person.
Although every case varies, you may be looking at anywhere from a month to two years to finally reach a settlement. Cases that are basic claims for property damage with no bodily injury can be resolved in a matter of weeks while cases involving serious injuries often take longer.
One of the biggest reasons that settlements can take some time is because you have to complete medical treatments and achieve your maximum level of improvement, or you have to have recovered completely. When a severe injury has occurred, these treatments can take weeks or months. The maximum amount of compensation that can be sought can only be determined once Allstate receives your total medical bills.
Do not be surprised if it requires filing a lawsuit for real settlement negotiations to begin. The good news with this development is defense counsel usually has more claim settlement leeway than the adjusters. This can result in better offers for losses like medical expenses and property damage once the company learns that you have legal representation.
Making a call to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the accident can help bring about a better outcome. As soon as you hear from a claims adjuster about your claim against your uninsured motorist coverage or any other part of your policy, tell them that your car accident attorney will be in touch.
If you file a claim with Allstate after an injury, you should know what you can expect to receive in terms of settlement payouts. Property damage claims usually only cover the costs of repairing your car and replacing any belongings in it. In the event of an injury, you may qualify for coverage for:
In addition, if Allstate does not act in good faith, you may be able to sue them for bad faith.
When it comes to liability insurers like Allstate Insurance, you are unlikely to be taken seriously by a claims adjuster unless you hire a personal injury attorney. Without legal representation, you may never hear back from an adjuster in a timely manner and you may face pressure to settle before you finish treatment. Neither of these developments works well in your favor and may just enhance your frustration as your medical expenses go up.
You also need to remember that your claim for compensation is reduced to what a software program determines as its value. Even if there are factors that make your injuries and their impacts more serious, adjusters are reluctant to consider them. For many clients who have been injured by a careless driver, the only way they are heard and able to present a full case is to hire an accident attorney.
The accident lawyers at DuBoff & Associates, Chtd. face Allstate in personal injury lawsuits frequently and knows how to put our clients’ best interests in the spotlight. Do not risk going up against a claims adjuster from this behemoth alone–hire a law firm with experienced and dedicated lawyers who can fight them.
Contact our office today to discuss your claim against Allstate.
If you have the misfortune of experiencing an auto collision at one of Prince George’s, Montgomery or Charles County, there is a high likelihood of facing State Farm as the opposing insurance company. The problem is, State Farm bodily injury settlements are notoriously hard to come by. This problem magnifies if you attempt to go against them on your own, making it distressing when you’ve got high medical bills and are looking at future care.
There are ways to get past State Farm’s initial reluctance to pay fair compensation for your injuries, but the best way to assure that is hiring a personal injury attorney. The legal team at Duboff & Associates, Chtd. handles many motor vehicle accident cases and quite a few of them involve State Farm. Here is what to know about this large insurance company and working with them towards the settlement of your automobile collision case.
State Farm is a large insurance company with plenty of resources for hiring strong legal representation. It currently ranks at 33 on the Fortune 500 list and employs 68,234 workers. Since it has a high market share, it is very likely that you will come across someone who holds one of their insurance policies.
Despite being one of the largest auto insurance companies, State Farm is going through challenging times right now which will lead to closing 11 insurance claims processing facilities and displacing employees. This restructuring causes severe disruption in the ranks and makes consistent communication difficult. Not only are you likely to be assigned an insurance adjuster who is worried about their future (and likely cranky about this) but this could be a frustrating drawn-out experience full of inefficiencies and less than fair treatment.
State Farm also has a reputation for low-ball offers on auto accident claims unless a case is especially grievous, like a DUI or clear reckless behavior. If you search around on the web, many attorneys discuss this experience with the company’s claims adjusters at length, and our firm is not spared. Any chance that you could share contributory negligence and it is possible that your claim for financial losses will fail, which can be disastrous if your medical care costs are high.
Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia are three of the few states in the nation to follow “contributory negligence” rules. Under this law, the only way you can recover compensation for a personal injury lawsuit is if you are totally blameless for the accident that caused your injuries.
Suppose you’ve been injured in a crash with another driver and you file a lawsuit. Suppose the jury determines that your losses from the crash-including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages- amount to $150,000. The investigation, however, has determined that you are five percent at fault for the accident. According to the contributory negligence rule, if you are even one percent at fault, your compensation for personal damages will be zero, leaving you on the hook for thousands of dollars.
Major insurance companies like State Farm know this and can take full advantage by trying to downplay legitimate claims. The pain you live with on a daily basis and emotional distress don’t even factor into the equation, and fair treatment is unlikely.
There may be cases, such as those strictly involving property damage, where State Farm is willing to work with you. Claims involving damage to your car or other belongings are easy to negotiate and usually have a set amount of damages that must be paid.
You may have to wait a few weeks for a State Farm insurance adjuster to review your claim following an accident that usually involves injuries, such as a motorcycle or truck accident. You also may not get a reply for some time after they read your claim. There are many people who accept this as part of dealing with insurance agencies, but we strongly disagree. Our car accident lawyers will aggressively pursue the State Farm agent who handled your claim, ensuring that your case stays at the top of the list until it is resolved.
The amount of time it takes State Farm to send a check for a car accident claim depends on many factors. Ideally, a settlement would be reached within a few weeks, but given how determined State Farm is about retaining profits, that is a very optimistic timeframe. Our firm will try to reach a settlement as quickly as possible, even if that means suing State Farm.
Claims with medical bills less than $10,000 are the most vulnerable to resistance. Your whiplash injury may be life-limited and painful, but State Farm will not see it that way unless we force it- and we will. When your future well-being is at stake, an experienced car accident attorney at Duboff & Associates, Chtd. will not hesitate to hold the at-fault driver and/or the insurer accountable.
When it comes to accident claims, State Farm is difficult but not impossible to handle. If you have wage loss, property damage, domestic help expenses, or other objective expenses, they tend to acknowledge and consider those circumstances. However, high medical bills, while they are also objective, are not a guarantee of a fair settlement, which is hard when you’re facing months and even years of physical therapy and other restorative treatments.
You will likely have to sue to receive your fair share for your medical costs, especially if you only suffered soft tissue injuries like whiplash. This does not necessarily mean the case goes to court. It is just that State Farm takes claims more seriously once they face a lawsuit and their outside counsel often see the sense in settling the matter rather than taking it to trial. However, once a case must go this far, we take a larger share of the settlement for our attorney fees.
Even then, you still have to keep a careful eye on State Farm. It has a history of ignoring medical liens and failing to follow through on the claims process in other ways. When accident victims decide to fight State Farm on their own, the settlement is not the end of the ordeal. You need to monitor them to be sure you will not be stuck with any other medical treatment bills and related expenses like legal costs.
With all the possibilities with State Farm, and many of them not being pleasant, it is apparent that you will need help with your claim for compensation. That’s when you need to contact a car accident lawyer at a personal injury law firm for legal advice and representation.
When the opposing automobile insurance company is State Farm, accident victims are likely in for a difficult experience. You need to show that you take your claim seriously and one way to do that is to hire a legal team to handle your personal injury claim.
The car accident lawyers at DuBoff & Associates, Chtd. offers substantial experience securing State Farm settlements for people injured by their policyholders in automobile accidents. While we work with them and their resistance to settle for a reasonable amount, you can focus on recovery. Since medical treatment is expensive and unhealed injuries can substantially limit the quality of your life, that should take priority over arguing with insurance carriers like State Farm. Leave that to us!
Contact our law firm today to schedule a consultation with a car accident lawyer on your State Farm case. We will review your auto insurance policy and take over the entire process of negotiation and, if necessary, litigation, so you can focus on healing.
There is no shortage of ways for you to get injured while driving a vehicle, and rear-end accidents are the most common of them all. A rear-end collision occurs when one vehicle strikes another car from behind. Unfortunately, many people fail to realize the potential dangers of rear-end collisions because they seem “less severe” than massive 10-car pileups. In reality, rear-end collisions are not only the most common type of car accident, but they also cause more injuries to unsuspecting drivers than any other type of collision.
While being involved in a rear-end collision is undesirable, there is one positive aspect to these incidents. Maryland law clearly states that the rear-ending driver, or the person who strikes the other vehicle from behind, is responsible for the property damage and injuries that result from the crash. However, you can still be denied compensation if you do not seek legal help from an experienced car accident attorney. By working with a team of attorneys, you can not only enhance your odds of winning in court, but increase your potential compensation.
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Maryland is a strict state when it comes to juvenile curfew laws. Defined as any individual under 17 years of age, juveniles are not allowed out unsupervised beginning at 11:59 PM on Friday and Saturday nights, and ending at 5:00 AM. During the week, the curfew is even earlier at 10:00 PM. While there are a number of exceptions, juveniles who are found out after curfew time can be stopped by police, and their name, address, and contact information for their parents will be gathered. The juvenile will receive a written warning, and then the parents of the juvenile receive a written warning in the mail from the Chief of Police. If the juvenile is found breaking curfew a second time, the juvenile can be brought into custody and the parents will be contacted.
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Traveling by car is much safer for children than it used to be. The rate of children dying as passengers in vehicles has gone down by 60 percent since 1975, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Using appropriate restraints, including car seats, can further reduce the number of children dying or being seriously injured in vehicle crashes.
In Maryland, state law requires that children younger than 8 ride in a restraint system that’s appropriate for children, unless the child is 4 feet 9 inches or taller. In addition, children between the ages of 8 and 16 who do not use a child restraint system must use the seat belt in the vehicle. Child restraint systems include car seats, booster seats and other safety devices approved by the federal government.
The law applies to vehicles from within Maryland and from out of state, and the driver has responsibility for ensuring that children in the vehicle are appropriately restrained. Taxis are not subject to the law and are not required to use child car safety seats when transporting children. However, experts recommend that you follow standard safety advice regarding car seats when you ride in taxis with your child.
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