Plano Catastrophic Personal Injury Lawyer Explains How Insurance Companies Handle Truck and Car Accident Claims
You're still dealing with the shock of your crash and assessing the severity of your injuries when the phone rings. It's an insurance adjuster calling about your claim. They speak quickly, using unfamiliar terms and pressing you for a recorded statement. Although everything is somewhat of a blur, you know one thing for certain: this conversation could impact your financial security for years to come. So now what?
At Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group, our Texas-based nationwide team of personal injury lawyers works diligently to protect your interests when dealing with insurance companies after serious motor vehicle accidents. Let's examine how insurance companies evaluate catastrophic injury claims and how we can help uphold your rights to a fair settlement.
The Toll of Catastrophic Injuries From Texas Car and Truck Accidents
A catastrophic illness or injury is severe trauma that causes long-term or permanent disabilities. These profound medical conditions typically affect vital areas of the body such as the brain, spine, or internal organs. Many victims require extensive medical treatment, continuous rehabilitation, home modifications, and lifelong assistance with daily activities.
In Texas truck and car accidents, people experience more trauma due to the tremendous force involved in high-speed collisions, rollovers, or crashes with large commercial vehicles. The initial injury requires immediate emergency medical care, but recovery can continue for months or even years. Unfortunately, some people never fully recover and must adapt to permanent limitations.
At Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group, our catastrophic personal injury attorneys help people who’ve suffered:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). These frequently affect cognitive function, memory, and emotional regulation. TBI recovery often requires extensive rehabilitation and ongoing care.
- Spinal cord damage. This often causes partial or complete paralysis. Lifetime medical costs frequently exceed several million dollars.
- Multiple fractures and crush injuries. Depending on the part of the body affected, you or a loved one may require multiple surgeries and have permanent mobility issues, especially due to limb loss.
- Internal organ damage. This is a type of accident injury that isn’t always apparent right away. Certain conditions result in lifelong complications and the need for continued medical monitoring.
- Severe burns. Patients typically require multiple skin grafts to heal properly, although they might still live with permanent scarring or disfigurement.
Many people suffer permanent disabilities that affect their ability to return to work or live independently, and their overall care might cost millions of dollars over a lifetime. For example, the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center indicates that someone who experiences paralysis in their arms and legs can expect expenses in their first recovery year to be over $1 million, and each year after that, more than $200,000, on average.
Insurers understand the substantial costs associated with catastrophic injuries, so they tend to aggressively defend these claims and look for ways to minimize their financial responsibility.
How Insurance Companies Evaluate Catastrophic Injury Claims
Their review process begins immediately after the accident report is filed and continues throughout your medical treatment. Adjusters create detailed files documenting every aspect of your case, from witness statements and police reports to medical records and employment history.
They also assess several key factors:
- Current medical expenses, which include emergency treatment, surgeries, hospital stays, and rehabilitation costs.
- Future medical needs, such as ongoing treatments, medications, medical equipment, and potential complications.
- Lost income evaluations include missed wages during recovery and reduced earning capacity due to permanent disabilities.
- Life care planning calculates the cost of long-term medical care, personal assistance, and necessary home modifications.
- Pain and suffering, such as physical discomfort, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life.
Common Tactics Used Against Catastrophic Injury Cases
Unfortunately, insurers often rely on various strategies to minimize payouts:
- Quick settlement offers to pressure injured victims to accept less than fair compensation before understanding their long-term needs.
- Questioning medical necessity for certain treatments or rehabilitation services.
- Disputing liability attempts to shift blame to reduce the settlement amount or deny the claim entirely.
- Downplaying injuries to suggest they’re less severe or that preexisting conditions are responsible.
- Surveillance that monitors your activities in an attempt to disprove your claim.
How Our Personal Injury Lawyers Fight for You
It’s no exaggeration to say that catastrophic injury cases after a Texas car or truck accident often result in high settlements. After all, it’s essential not to leave anything on the table that could address all your medical and potential income needs for life.
As former insurance company defense attorneys, the legal team at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group understands how both sides of the docket approach litigation. This enables us to anticipate an insurance company's plans to diminish your compensation. We put our extensive experience to work crafting a well-documented case with ample evidence to support all economic and non-economic losses related to your injuries. And if an insurer refuses to offer a fair settlement, we won’t hesitate to take your case to trial.
