Insurance companies provide a very valuable service, and there are certainly many well-intentioned people who work for insurance companies, but the companies would not stay in business for long if they didn’t do their best to offer the least payout that they can get away with when it is time for them to settle a claim. If you have a Florida insurance claim, you should not accept the insurance company’s offer without first consulting with an attorney.
The insurance company’s offer
Insurance companies have attorneys fighting for them and expert negotiators who know the ins and outs of every policy and all the loopholes that were carefully crafted to give them leverage to minimize your settlement offer. They use legal terms and jargon to confuse you and make it seem as if this is the best offer you are going to get. They may even try to intimidate you into believing that if you don’t accept what they’re offering now, you may not get anything. This manipulative behavior is frightening to someone who really needs the money right away to pay medical bills or to recover financially from lost wages due to the accident.
Don’t deal with insurance adjusters or lawyers alone. At The Quackenbush Law Firm, we know as much about insurance and accident settlements as they do, and probably more. We fight for the little guy against the highly lucrative insurance companies that have the financial resources to squash your efforts to recover damages caused by the negligent behavior, reckless driving, or faulty products of their policyholders.
Let us help you get the settlement that you deserve
We take a look at your entire case – the short-term and long-term impact, including enjoyment of life, ability to work, and necessary medical care. We then look at what the insurance company is offering and determine if it fits your needs. There are impacts from your injuries that you may not have considered, things the insurance company is hoping you don’t think about. You don’t have the ability to calculate future medical expenses or future lost income, but our experts do, and those are expenses that need to be considered in any settlement offer. Here is a short list of costs to sue for:
- Medical expenses, current and future
- Mental health expenses, current and future
- Lost wages and future lost earnings
- Property damage
- Other expenses, such as necessary changes to your home to accommodate your injuries
- Pain and suffering: physical, emotional, and relational
- Loss of companionship in the case of serious permanent injury or death
We will also dig for evidence that you might not have thought of to further support your claims. We leave no stone unturned to determine all costs and to support them with evidence so that the insurance companies have little or no wiggle room to try to minimize their financial offer.
Did your health insurance company deny your claims or only pay a small portion? We can also help there, also, examining the medical records and negotiating a more significant health insurance payout to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses. We can then add these costs to the demand for your pending lawsuit.
At times, if I believe the evidence is strong enough, I may recommend a trial, but usually, settlements can be quite significant and are much speedier and less stressful than a court case. However, if serious or willful negligence is evident, I may file a lawsuit in court in order to press for punitive damages. These damages are intended to punish the person or the company for their flagrant disregard for the safety of others and are often a much larger sum than the compensation portion of the award.
Don’t try to tackle the insurance companies alone. You need an advocate at your side who knows how to deal with them. I know the tactics and arguments that defense lawyers use, and I have a history of winning significant awards for accident victims. If you have been injured in Florida, call me at (954) 448-7288 for a free consultation to see how I can help you.