Opening Motor Vehicle Accident Claims (Mostly)
I really hope that you geniuses do not decide to try to open, manage, and settle your own case. This would probably be the worst thing you can do for yourself. Why? Because insurance companies will most certainly either not take you seriously or try to lowball you at every step of the way. They may also Delay or outright Deny the entire claim. Keep in mind… Insurance companies are not your friends, even if you are the policyholder. Their main goal in life is to save as much money as possible. I have known a few personal injury attorneys who were involved in serious Motor Vehicle Accidents and even hired an outside lawyer to handle their claim. Nothing good will come out if you try to open, manage, and settle your own claim. But if you are simply curious about how law firms open claims, you’ve come to the right place. I will give you a step-by-step guide.
Note: This does not apply to property damage only claims. If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident where you were NOT injured, but there were damages, for the most part, you do not need an attorney. You can just simply call your carrier or the other driver’s carrier to work out the property damages.
Premises Case: Premises and negligence case has too many nuances on establishing claims. In almost all instances, unless there was a fracture, broken bone, or surgery, the case isn’t worth keeping or pursuing. Setting up claims can be difficult as well because many times, it’s hard finding the defendant’s carrier, and you may have to file a lawsuit until the defendant finally submits the Summons & Verified Complaint to his carrier to defend him in the claim. At that point, the carrier will contact you to establish a claim.
Step 1
Note: This step is crucial. Whether you are going to hire an attorney or be stupid enough to open your claim, I highly advise you to follow this step:
When you get into a car accident, the first thing you would do (if possible) is to call 911. Make sure the police come. If the police do not come, there are recourses, and I will get to those later. On the scene, do this:
1. Take photos of the scene and the damages
2. If possible, get the insurance information
Step 2:
Obtain the police report and any other incident report as well as any first responder (EMS) report. The police report will have vital information such as policy information of the other driver. Any incident and EMS report will have detailed information, which will help you establish the “injured on the scene” facts.
Step 3:
For car accidents, after you have received the police report, you must open various claims such as PIP (Personal Injury Protection), which is also known as No-Fault claim, PD (Property Damage Claim) if it applies to you, and BI (Bodily Injury) Claim. Depending on the scenario, you may also need to open Uninsured and Underinsured claim.
Most common scenarios and which claims to open:
Scenario 1 – Read End
You are Vehicle 1, and the person that rear-ended you is Vehicle 2
Type of Claims to Open:
Veh #1:
1. PIP / No-Fault Claim
2. Uninsured Claim
Veh #2:
1. Bodily Injury Claim
Scenario 2 – Passenger
You are a passenger in Vehicle #1, and Veh #2 hit your vehicle. You’re not sure who is at fault it is.
Veh #1:
1. PIP / No-Fault Claim
2. Uninsured Claim
3. Bodily Injury Claim
Veh #2:
1. Bodily Injury Claim
Uninsured Claims:
If this was a hit and run or the defendant has no insurance, you will need to open something called MVAIC (Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation) Claim. For this, you will definitely need an attorney. Regardless of how good you think you are, you will need an established firm’s resources to resolve an MVAIC case. The worst part about MVAIC cases is that the most you can possibly get is $25, 000, and they usually settle pennies on the dollar. Another thing to consider is the fact that you can’t even sue MVAIC without express court permission.
Pro Tip: If you were hit by a car that is out of state and not sure which carrier is insuring the other vehicle, you can open an Uninsured claim. Most law firms do not have access to out-of-state DMV License Plate Search. But the Host UM Carrier will do the leg work and find the policy information for you because it’s in their best interest to not validate the UM Claim.
Rental Car Services:
Graves Amendment prevents you from filing a lawsuit against Rental Car Policies. For the most part, unless there is any secondary insurance, you will also be stuck with $25, 000 minimal policy limits.
Step #4: Receiving Claim Acknowledgement Letter
Once you have established all the pertinent claims, you will receive an acknowledgment letter with the claim number, the policy limits, as well as handling examiner’s information.
At this stage, the examiner may ask a whole bunch of questions regarding injuries. It’s best to delay that entire process until you receive the complete medical records because let’s say you only mention both knees were injured, then 30 to 60 days later you mention both knees and both arms were injured, the examiner will use that information against you and claim that there was a gap on initial complaints. For the most part, I generally say that I don’t know what the injuries are until a few months later when some medical records start coming in. Technically, this is the start of the negotiations process.
Legal Advice (The Only Legal Advice I can Give): If you have a fracture or a broken bone or emergency surgery and the Bodily Injury Limits are $50k or less, you can submit those medical records with the Claim Letter or Letter of Representation with a demand for Full Policy Letter. But be careful with that. Never settle a full policy case until you have exhausted all searches for possible Underinsured or Umbrella Policies, and be sure to request affidavit of no excess as well as policy declarations page. affidavit of no excess is a document that the defendant is required to sign that affirms that he has no other excess or umbrella policies. There is nothing like a quick and easy settlement!