If you’ve been injured in a car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence or carelessness, then it’s likely that their insurance company has offered you a settlement. They may even offer you the policy limit and claim that there’s nothing more they can do. This is when you need to contact a personal injury attorney. At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we can often get you the settlement you deserve – not the settlement they insurance company says you deserve.
There are four steps we can take
You may believe that since the insurance company is already offering you the maximum amount allowed on their policy that you don’t need to work with an attorney. This simply not true. When you contact us, we won’t just take the adjuster’s word that they’re offering the policy limit. We’ll take four steps to make sure that you’re getting a fair deal.
1. We’ll get a copy of the driver’s insurance
The first step will be to demand that the insurance company gives us their driver’s declarations page. This will give us detailed information on their liability policy limits. That amount should be the same as what the insurance adjuster is offering. If it’s not, then we’ll discuss that with them directly.
2. We’ll get assurance from the driver that there isn’t other insurance out there
In many cases, the driver’s car insurance is only one type of insurance that covers the accident. In other cases, there may be an additional insurance policy, or they may have been driving for work and be covered under their employer’s insurance policy. We will look into this and have the driver sign a written declaration under penalty of perjury that assures they had no other insurance.
3. We’ll consider if it’s worth it to hire an asset investigator
If you have significant, catastrophic injuries and have reason to believe that the driver is hiding assets, then we may hire an investigator to do an asset check on them. This search may bring up property and / or assets that are much more than their policy limit. If that’s the case, then we’ll likely recommend that you don’t accept the offer of their policy limit. Instead, we may require the driver to add their own money to increase the total settlement.
4. We’ll assess the possibility of other at-fault parties
Don’t assume that the driver was the only at-fault party. There may be a government entity responsible in the event that the roads were in disrepair, or there may have been a malfunction that’s the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer. If you sign off on the settlement maximum, it may include language that prevents you from seeking additional damages from the accident – even from other
This is a complicated situation and the only thing that’s true across the board is that it’s always worth it to get a free legal consultation. Reach out to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to get the process started.
