When the Car Insurance Adjuster Says You Have Soft Tissue Injuries Only, What Does that Mean

Many consumers call our Atlanta car accident law firm asking a fundamental question; the insurance adjuster called and offered me x to settle my case, is that fair? We find that fairness really is the issue for most people. After a car accident in Georgia, they do not want to take advantage of the system, but they don't want to be taken advantage of either.

So the question is, what is a fair offer. We have written extensively about the factors that come into play when evaluating a case and the link to our video is attached, but today, we will deal with a specific example and answer the question; "how much is a soft tissue car accident injury case worth in Georgia?"

Let us assume that there is a clear liability crash and there is over $4,000 in damage to the car. The victim goes to the emergency room, follows up with their primary care doctor, sees an orthopedist and does 3 months of physical therapy after being discharged in good shape. The total medical bills in the case come to $4,000.00.

In most cases, front line car insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and Liberty Mutual will be low on their offers, even to lawyers, between $5,500.00 and $6,250.00. At trial in a plaintiff friendly venue, it would be reasonable to see a verdict of $6,000 to $10,000.00.

The real question is, given the increased attorney's fee of 40% for litigation versus 33.3% for pre-suit and after taking out $1,500 at a minimum for litigation expenses (to file a case alone is $250.00), which option suits the client better?

For each person, the decision will be personal but one thing to know is that a hazy, generalized soft tissue diagnosis with very modest medical bills is not going to yield a huge result short of verdict.

Atlanta Injury Attorney Blog

Published by Atlanta, Georgia Trucking Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer, Christopher M. Simon