Based on what you have written, you and your passengers should have spoken to a law firm prior to attempting to settle a personal injury case with an insurance company. The insurance company is only looking out for the insurance company's best interest and has little to no concerns for you or your passengers.

If you are not satisfied with the settlement, then demand more. Remember that the insurance company may want proof of why you should be entitled to more than the passengers. Generally, just saying that a party had undue stress or an extended stay at the ER may not be sufficient in the insurance company's opinion to justify more funds. Also, there is limit on what the insurance company will pay out.

If my law firm can assist you with this legal issue or any other legal matter, please contact us at lawguru@jbrashearlaw.com to arrange for an initial consultation.

It's the insurance company's job to pay you as little as possible. Be prepared to fight about this. There are no set standards as to what a case is worth. WIth the current climate in Texas, insurance companies have taken the stance that every claim is malingering and that all pain and suffering claims are exaggerated. I strongly suggest you speak with a lawyer about your case before signing off on it. Most injury attorneys (myself included) will meet and discuss your case with you for free, so interview a few.

Dave

--

Please see my disclaimer:

http://leonlaw.com/askalawyer/disclaimer

Injured people by themselves do not have the same sort of leverage that they have when represented by an attorney. So, my advice is to hire an attorney. I handle cases throughout Texas and will not charge you a fee unless I can collect more than State Farm has offered. Please call me for more detail.

(877) 914-0888

I agree with my two colleagues. I would add this: I have handled nothing but personal injury cases for the past 28 years, including some 9,000-plus car accident cases. I have seen a lot of trends in those nearly-three decades. I think the "beginning of the end" began in 1994 when Republican George Bush defeated Democrat Ann Richards for the governorship of Texas. Bush was elected on a platform of "tort reform" (which, as we have all learned, simply meant more money for his buddies at the insurance companies and big business and less for injured victims), and he certainly delivered. In the last 15 years we have seen huge shifts in the value of personal injury claims--all in favor of the insurance carriers--and insurance companies are paying less than half (and in many cases, less than 1/3) what they paid just a decade-and-a-half ago. Chalk one up to the Republicans: they have certainly delivered on their promise (at least in this case).

I said all that to say this: Because your case is worth far less today than it was then, that is all the more reason to recover every penny to which you are entitled. State Farm has become particularly difficult in the last couple of years, and more and more, a lawsuit is required before they are willing to behave themselves. (You might be interested to know that there have been FIVE jury verdicts in Texas against State Farm for over ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS each for "bad faith." In other words, they treated their own insureds so badly that the jury thought they should be punished to the tune of $100,000,000.00 for bad faith--five different times! Of course, our fine, all-Republican Supreme Court threw out all five jury verdicts and has now ruled that there is no such thing as "bad faith" with regard to insurance company behavior in Texas. It really warms your heart, doesn't it?) Until you retain an attorney, you really have no leverage. I encourage you to do so.