Home > Research Legal Advice > Personal Injury > How can I prove to Geico their offer is a lowball and I was actually hur...
Asked 6 months ago - Conway, SC
FlagIn July 2011, a 16 year old girl turned left in front of me & I T-boned her. My 2007 Dodge Dakota was totaled. The next day I went to the ER shoulder and back were hurting. 2 weeks later I had PCS. (post concussion syndrome) Severe headaches, room spinning etc. I never retained a lawyer and thought I would settle it myself. Geico (person's who fault acc was ins co) is offering a max of $5500. I have receipts and medicine records totalling close to $4100. I'm self employed as sole source of income for my family and my income was greatly effected. I'm still in pain daily & will never be at 100% again. Geico emailed me with a note saying if they didn't hear from me in 15 days they would close claim. I never got emailed, call a month ago to check status of claime, rep told me it was closed.
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My experience is that Some adjusters with Geico can be difficult to deal with. If you've already given them the medical records (especially if soft tissue injury)then the adjuster likely won't give you additional money. As I see this you have a higher impact collision, medical bills and possible wage loss. It may be time to file suit. You have three years from date of accident to do so unless the other driver or vehicle was sa state/town/municipality owned vehicle in which case you only have 2 years.
By not retaining an attorney after an accident you are making a statement that you are not serious about getting full fair settlement value on your case. The fact of attempting to "do it yourself" makes the statement.
The thing that terminates a claim is not a claims adjuster's shuffling their file into "closed" status. The thing that closes a case is a statute of limitations.
Here is an article, linked below, for more info:
Child injuries are particularly sad and often, because of that, the claims are of greater value. It is difficult to say from the limited information but I would guess there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding her injuries that call for medical review. You are likely correct that GEICO is giving a low offer since that is their job. But it is impossible to you to negotiate not knowing the amount to which your daughter is entitled and not being familiar with the negotiation process. GEICO is taking advantage of you since they know you do not have a grasp of what you are doing. Contact an injury attorney in your region. He can get the needed information to evaluate the claim and get your daughter the sum to which she is entitled . You can not. The atty will open the claim!
