Unbelievable Offer
After twelve years in the insurance industry, I’ve never encountered an offer this outrageous.
The liability is clear: the defendant failed to yield at a yellow light and turned in front of the injured party who was going straight through the intersection.
We have a Business Interruption policy with coverage of $1 million per occurrence and $1 million in aggregate.
This is a pure comparative negligence state.
The injured party suffered serious injuries, including eight rib fractures (both displaced and non-displaced) and two fractures to the sternum.
All medical treatment directed by a physician amounted to $55,000.
And yet, the bodily injury adjuster’s offer was a mere $15,000, all-inclusive.
We filed a lawsuit, and the case was resolved with counsel just two weeks ahead of the scheduled pre-trial conference.
The adjuster justified this low offer by citing pre-existing injuries.
I’m completely stunned.
It’s truly shocking to see such a low offer in light of the circumstances you’ve described. With serious injuries like multiple rib and sternum fractures, and a substantial amount in medical specials, a $15,000 offer feels not just inadequate, but almost dismissive of the injured party’s suffering and medical needs. It’s frustrating when adjusters downplay significant injuries with claims of pre-existing conditions, especially when they clearly resulted from a negligent act like failing to yield. I’m glad to hear that you were able to resolve the case successfully, but it’s disheartening that the initial offer was so far from what should have been a reasonable settlement. Cases like these highlight the ongoing challenges in the insurance industry and the need for fair assessments by adjusters. What steps do you suggest lawyers take when dealing with such lowball offers?