How the Insurance Companies Determine Value
Typically, most of the insurance companies we deal with in Nevada
injury cases use computer software to determine the value of car,
truck, and motorcycle accident cases. Most use a computer system called
Colossus, which is reportedly used by more than 50 percent of the
nation's claims insurance adjusters. Many other insurance companies use
a similar program. The insurance adjuster inputs the data received from
your lawyer, your medical records and the amount of your lost wages.
Colossus then considers the severity of the accident and where the
accident occurred, or where suit could be brought. Colossus will give a
higher value for a case in a venue considered favorable for accident
victims, such as Clark County, than it would for the same case in, for
example, Nye County.
Colossus and its progeny also look in determining what your case is
worth and whether your lawyer has a history of successfully taking
trials to verdict or whether the accident lawyer simply settles all of
his/her personal injury cases. Both the computer and the insurance
adjuster know which lawyers just settle their cases without even
considering a trial if the offer is unreasonable. This is one of many
reasons why the quality of your attorney matters so much even if you
intend to settle your case without filing a lawsuit or going to trial.
Colossus then specifically looks to your injuries as described in your
medical records. One of the most important questions is whether the
injuries are permanent. Colossus also gives higher values for objective
injuries (broken bones, herniated discs) measured by diagnostic testing
than soft tissue injuries. It does give, however, values for muscle
spasm (for which Colossus gives particular weight in cases without a
defined objective injury), restriction on movement, radiating pain,
anxiety, depression, headaches, dizziness, and visual disturbance.
Colossus also gives greater value in accident cases where the patient
went to the hospital for initial treatment of the injuries immediately
after the accident.
Colossus takes this information and generates a range of settlement
values for that accident case. While Colossus and similar programs do
have some value, the problem with them is they cannot grasp the
complexity of a person's pain and suffering. There is no computer that
can ascertain pain and suffering or how an injury really impacted a
person's life. How much is it worth to not be able to pick up your
newborn baby without extreme pain? There is no way a computer can
answer this question.
This is why your personal injury lawyer must fully explain why your
injuries are different or be prepared to file a lawsuit. When your
lawyer files a lawsuit, the insurance companies will sometimes take a
second look at the real trial value of the case, particularly when they
know that the lawyer handling the case is willing to go to trial. While
Colossus cannot appreciate pain, suffering and the true impact of the
injury on the victim, judges and juries tend to listen to and consider
many of the factors that Colossus ignores because it does not
understand them. It is only a formula. Juries make distinctions on how
much your case is worth based upon whether or not they think the
plaintiff is an honest, good person who has suffered as a result of
their injuries.
In reality, juries are, in many ways, the opposite of Colossus because
juries respond to human pain and suffering. A jury may not award
damages based on the nuances of a C4/C5 cervical herniated disc injury
but it will award damages because Mom used to be a shopaholic for her
three kids at Christmas time but now cannot get off a bench at the mall
because her neck hurts so much when she walks. A computer cannot
understand this kind of impact and never will. The very purpose of a
jury in our legal system is to take these types of intangibles into
consideration to render a fair verdict.
If you are wondering if you have a case, contact
our office
today for a
free consultation.