Recently, I had to go to an Arbitration for a lady who was severely injured in an automobile accident. As a result of a major collision (car was totaled), she has suffered for over a year and continues to suffer. The at-fault insurance company only had a policy of $15,000 and her medical bills were in excess of $11,500. Additionally, she needs injections costing over $9,000 for the neck and possibly $20,000 for her back. Luckily, she had under-insured coverage. Unfortunately, she had the wrong insurance company, State Farm. State Farm had a high school graduate adjuster, with no medical training, determine that my client only needed chiropractic treatment. The adjuster refused to accept numerous medical expenses. The adjuster ignored the treating physician notes and recommendations. The adjuster ignored the MRI showing the severity of my client's injury. This adjuster did not forward the case to a doctor, a nurse, or even a supervisor to get an opinion. The adjuster unilaterally decided to make my client's life miserable for years with litigation by alleging that her injuries were because of her old age (she was 49 at the time) and because she had to work for a living (she was a janitor). However, what this adjuster could never explain how all of my client's symptoms began after the date of the collision. It would have been an amazing and almost supernatural coincidence that her "old age" and "hard work" injuries all began incredibly on the same day of the collision. Clearly, it was just an excuse not to pay or delay payment.
Insurance companies train high school graduates to evaluate claims. The training involves looking for reasons not to pay a claim. As an attorney, I know which insurance companies to avoid. And I do. We need to spread the word that attaining the cheapest insurance policy may not be the best approach.
My client had State Farm for over 10 years. Trusted them. Had both auto and home with them. I assure you she will soon be looking elsewhere for coverage. When you are hurt, you don't want to fight both the pain and your insurance company.
