LAWYER: Request letter for settlement offer to insurance?

T

T-1 Thunder

newbie
I'm helping out a friend with his case.
He was rear ended a while back and suffered a fracture(somewhere in the chest). He was treated and doctor recommended physical therapy. He's completed everything and now has a clean bill of health. Time to hear an offer for his pain and suffering. We want to send a letter exploring it without providing any needless info. We want him to avoid verbal conversation with them. We want to feel it out and see how much they'd offer at this point.

Here's the rough draft, any and all input is very appreciated:
"Enclosed you will find the released information pertaining to injuries I suffered from the accident caused by your insured.
Please review the file and contact me if you need additional information or find anything incomplete.
Upon completing of the review of my case, please provide me with a fair settlement offer.
I ask for all communication with me to be conducted in writing.

Thank you,"

?

Short and simple.
But-
Do you think adding more to it and having it sound more "legal" might help scare them to think he may be talking to a lawyer and perhaps offer more?

Thanks for any and all feedback.
 
Yakoo752

Yakoo752

USN
I always included the sentiments of

"All I wish to be is compensated to make me whole again"

and

"I think a fair settlement can be reached without the involvement lawyers"

or something similar...

FWIW I was ran over and hurt kinda bad... broke a few bones and I walked away with a pretty penny and a fully repaired bike without the involvement of lawyers but...

I have a solid insurance company and filed through them. They went after the other insurance company and did most of the work for me... Well worth the outlay of my $500 deductible (which was returned once all was settled)!
 
macadamizer

macadamizer

not even wrong
Just a minor point, but insurance companies are not afraid of lawyers, so adding legal verbiage to try and scare them into a better settlement is probably not worth the effort.
 
T

T-1 Thunder

newbie
Good to hear you did alright, Yakoo.

macadamizer said:
Just a minor point, but insurance companies are not afraid of lawyers, so adding legal verbiage to try and scare them into a better settlement is probably not worth the effort.
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Gotcha. But one of my biggest questions is: If you're his future lawyer, could a letter like this, sent by your client direct to them, hurt the case in any way? Or is it a 100% safe bet with zero chance for negative bite-back?
 
Yakoo752

Yakoo752

USN
I've always wondered if there was a matrix for p&s... like if you break this it's worth x and this is worth y...

never had it confirmed but my assumption is there is!

also nothing hurts you until you sign the settle agreement or cash that check imho
 
Sharky

Sharky

Well-known member
T-1 Thunder said:
I'm helping out a friend with his case.
He was rear ended a while back and suffered a fracture(somewhere in the chest). He was treated and doctor recommended physical therapy. He's completed everything and now has a clean bill of health. Time to hear an offer for his pain and suffering. We want to send a letter exploring it without providing any needless info. We want him to avoid verbal conversation with them. We want to feel it out and see how much they'd offer at this point.

Here's the rough draft, any and all input is very appreciated:
"Enclosed you will find the released information pertaining to injuries I suffered from the accident caused by your insured.
Please review the file and contact me if you need additional information or find anything incomplete.
Upon completing of the review of my case, please provide me with a fair settlement offer.
I ask for all communication with me to be conducted in writing.

Thank you,"

?

Short and simple.
But-
Do you think adding more to it and having it sound more "legal" might help scare them to think he may be talking to a lawyer and perhaps offer more?

Thanks for any and all feedback.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you sending them? Release info? What is meant by that?
 
Brokenlink

Brokenlink

Banned
Yakoo752 said:
I've always wondered if there was a matrix for p&s... like if you break this it's worth x and this is worth y...

never had it confirmed but my assumption is there is!

also nothing hurts you until you sign the settle agreement or cash that check imho
Click to expand...

Yes there is. I tore a tendon in my finger at work and had a couple of unsuccessful surgeries. In the end they computed a value based on the fact that it was my left pinky finger, how old I was, the amount of usefuleness, and figured out my level of disability. I think i was like 3% disabled or something. They then calculated my worth and based on that figure, they told me I owed them 600 bucks.

I wish I was joking.
 
Sharky

Sharky

Well-known member
mcarb said:
I was talking about the guy that T-1 is helping out, not you. I thought you were a lawyer.
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I am, that's why I thought what you said was funny.
Anyhow, everyone is free to take or leave whatever advice is given. Most of the time you get what you pay for when it comes to legal matters.
 
Slick51o

Slick51o

Well-known member
mcarb said:
Yes there is. I tore a tendon in my finger at work and had a couple of unsuccessful surgeries. In the end they computed a value based on the fact that it was my left pinky finger, how old I was, the amount of usefuleness, and figured out my level of disability. I think i was like 3% disabled or something. They then calculated my worth and based on that figure, they told me I owed them 600 bucks.

I wish I was joking.
Click to expand...

That sounds like workers comp. % disabled = certain cash value, although there are other factors that can push the value up.
 
Lylith

Lylith

Have Gear, Will Travel
Oooo, how timely. I'm about to send off a letter like this. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!
 
radvas

radvas

Well-known member
T-1 Thunder said:
We want to send a letter exploring it without providing any needless info. We want him to avoid verbal conversation with them. We want to feel it out and see how much they'd offer at this point.
Click to expand...

If I were a claims representative and saw this, I'd laugh. It reads like a craigslist "feeler" post.

in pricing psychology, there is a thing called "fixing" that generally goes that the one to specify a number wins the game. The theory (which I'm sure I'm bastardizing) claims that the first number your friend hears will set his expectations about what constitutes "fair" compensation. In simpler terms, imagine I am a personal injury lawyer and I tell him that he'll get 3 million dollars. He may have doubts about that exact number, but it has cemented an expectation in his head that he should expect a fairly large sum, and even a $50,000 offer would seem small. Now, imagine then that the lawyer tells him he can get $1400, but the proceedings will cost $8500. Then, any offer he gets from the insurance company will seem better. Make sense?

But putting all of that psychobabble aside for a moment. Why not get a consult from an actual attorney? It's also probably worth giving some consideration to what he thinks is "fair compensation" then determining if that amount plus what has already been spent exceeds the insured's coverage limit.
 
T

T-1 Thunder

newbie
Sharky said:
What exactly are you sending them? Release info? What is meant by that?
Click to expand...

The released info is the complete medical file they need to be able to make an offer.

mcarb said:
I'd be a little leery of getting legal advice from T-1.
No offense dude, but come on.
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Your post is insulting and incredibly rude and very offensive. Totally uncalled for and unsubstantiated. Are you aware of my legal experience and knowledge to make such a slanderous remark and defame my character?

Perhaps if you had a shred of data to back up your insult, it would be different and I could almost understand.

But, in truth and contrary to your statement - every single time we talk about legal issues and the lawyers step in, they always confirm the things I say as true and accurate. I can provide the backup data for my position, where is yours? Have you read the recent thread about the motorcycle vs car?

radvas said:
If I were a claims representative and saw this, I'd laugh. It reads like a craigslist "feeler" post.

Why not get a consult from an actual attorney? It's also probably worth giving some consideration to what he thinks is "fair compensation" then determining if that amount plus what has already been spent exceeds the insured's coverage limit.
Click to expand...

CL "feeler"? How would you word it when it's time to start negotiation? It's easy to say "WRONG", but a little more responsible to actually correct someone and say "this is how I would do it". So with that I ask you - how would you word it differently?

He is going to have a consult with an attorney. And when that lawyer pressures him to sign the paper and take him on, he'll ask what the lawyer thinks he can get. It would be beneficial to compare that number to what the insurance is willing to pay without the lawyer.
 
Brokenlink

Brokenlink

Banned
T-1 Thunder said:
The released info is the complete medical file they need to be able to make an offer.


Your post is insulting and incredibly rude and very offensive. Totally uncalled for and unsubstantiated. Are you aware of my legal experience and knowledge to make such a slanderous remark and defame my character?

Perhaps if you had a shred of data to back up your insult, it would be different and I could almost understand.

But, in truth and contrary to your statement - every single time we talk about legal issues and the lawyers step in, they always confirm the things I say as true and accurate. I can provide the backup data for my position, where is yours? Have you read the recent thread about the motorcycle vs car?



CL "feeler"? How would you word it when it's time to start negotiation? It's easy to say "WRONG", but a little more responsible to actually correct someone and say "this is how I would do it". So with that I ask you - how would you word it differently?

He is going to have a consult with an attorney. And when that lawyer pressures him to sign the paper and take him on, he'll ask what the lawyer thinks he can get. It would be beneficial to compare that number to what the insurance is willing to pay without the lawyer.
Click to expand...

T-1, relax dude, I wasn't insulting you. I like you. Shit how many times have I stood up for you here? But asking you for legal advice is like asking me for medical advice. Or asking Summitdog for gynecological advice.

Let me pose it this way: Are you a lawyer?
 
T

T-1 Thunder

newbie
mcarb said:
T-1, relax dude, I wasn't insulting you. I like you. Shit how many times have I stood up for you here? But asking you for legal advice is like asking me for medical advice. Or asking Summitdog for gynecological advice.

Let me pose it this way: Are you a lawyer?
Click to expand...

Does a piece of paper make my words and advice untrue?
Ask yourself that and read the recent thread by Toe and observe as every single thing I say turns out to be true, backed up by lawyers. Everything except the heart attack liability case due to the Second Restatement of Torts 403c, that is.

99.9% accuracy rate is pretty damn good, wouldn't you say?

Crap! The thread is deleted. This really pisses me off because I put hours into that thread providing very useful and informative posts that could help others in the future. :mad

Anyway, feel free to ask anyone that was a part of that thread how "good" my advice on legal matters is and then get back to me.

Maca - dude, you were there. Can you step up here and back me up on this?
 
T

T-1 Thunder

newbie
The whole point of this thread is that. We're trying to say the least amount possible while providing them with the documents they need to assess the case. We want them to make an offer. This is why I'm asking for feedback as to whether we should add to it, or reduce it in any way.

This should make you feel better about me and legal matters, since it shows how responsible I am that I'm very careful about things.

Anyway, bygones, bro. It's all good. I'm not mad at you for saying what you said. We are all good. :thumbup
 
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