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Sample Demand
Letter for Car Accident Settlements
This page gives a sample demand letter and other
tips to help you win a better car accident settlement. If you haven't
read the page on how to
write an Auto
Accident Settlement Letter of Notification do it NOW, before
going further.
Once you complete all or most of your medical treatment and physical
therapy, you'll have to send a letter to the insurance claims adjuster
demanding compensation. You need to recover the money you paid
out-of-pocket, and any other losses you suffered as a result of the
collision. You've probably accumulated the following damages and more:
- Medical
- Chiropractic
- Physical
Therapy
- Pharmaceutical
- Car Rental
- Lost Wages
- Loss
of Consortium
Although you may need to continue physical therapy for a while longer,
you should be off all medication and not have any immediate need to
continue seeing your Doctor. Make sure you keep records for all medical treatment and keep copies of all bills.
If you've
missed work due to the collision you must get a letter from your
employer
confirming the days of your absence and your pay. The letter shouldn't
have any other information. Make sure the letter is on official company
letterhead. (The
Insurance Company’s Adjuster will require this letter.)
Now is the time you will contact the Insurance Claims Adjuster. She is
the same one who took your original recorded statement and gave you the
Claim Number for your case.
What you do next will determine how much the Claims Adjuster is going
to pay you to settle your claim.
The way you present your personal injury case is very
important. If you don’t take this letter seriously, the Claims
Adjuster won’t either.
The letter below is an example of what's known in the business as the "Demand Letter."
In the sample demand letter will be a total of all the bills resulting from the
collision, however just getting reimbursed for your bills
won’t even begin to cover all you have suffered.
How to Demand
Pain and Suffering Compensation:
Recovery for Pain
and Suffering is a long standing tradition in negligence
cases. The legal system recognizes the need to reimburse victims for
their mental anguish and emotional distress.
There is no way to quantifiably measure pain and suffering. It's up to
the victim to impress upon the insurance company the extent of the
misery caused by their insured. You can do this by using descriptive
and emotional language in your letter (look for examples in the sample
demand letter below).
DO NOT be afraid to demand an amount you feel is equal to your
suffering. Generally, you want to start
out with a demand 3-5 times the total amount of your
medical bills and other quantifiable expenses (the sample demand letter claims 4x the total expenses). Remember that in
negotiations you can always come down from your initial demand, but you
will almost never
go up.
Using this sample demand letter as a template will help you convince the
Claims Adjuster that reimbursement
only for your bills will not fairly
compensate you. The pain and suffering (often called "Mental Anguish")
you had to endure, and in many ways continue to endure, is a real
damage for which you must
be compensated.
Below is a
SAMPLE demand letter...
Try and match the substance
of the following sample demand letter as best you can, substituting the specifics of
your case.
-----START Sample Demand Letter for Car
Accident Settlement-----
(Your Name and Address) MR.
JONATHAN L. PIERCE
15562 Ellington Avenue
Dallas, TX 75247
Email: jlp43@logo.com
Telephone: (214) 689-46X9
January 14th, 2011 (Date of Letter)
Ms. Cynthia Hawkins
Claims Adjuster
ABC Insurance Company
Anytown, NY 11772
Re: Your Insured:
Alex
Smith
Claim No: G
568-12
Claimant: Jonathan L. Pierce
Date
of Loss: December 15th, 2010
Dear Ms. Hawkins:
As you know, on December 15th, 2010 I was seriously injured in an
automobile collision with your insured, Alex Smith.
On that day, at about 6:30pm I was driving northbound on North Central
Expressway in Dallas, Texas. At that time your insured erratically and
illegally changed lanes and collided with my car, violently propelling
it at high speed up onto the shoulder of the road and into the cement
wall bordering the expressway.
The force of the collision and high speed crash into the cement wall
was horrific. It snapped my neck back, and as my car slid down the
cement wall my back was jarred violently. The sheer violence of sliding
down the cement wall only stopped when my car came to a rest. What took
seconds seemed to me like hours.
Your insured was clearly liable for the crash. You have seen both cars.
Your insured’s car suffered slight damage to the right rear of his car.
My car suffered major damage, including damage to the driver’s front
side where your insured’s car first crashed into me.
I was taken to the Emergency Room at Medical Center in Dallas. They
took X-Rays and performed an MRI (Magnetic Resonance
Image). The Emergency Room doctor diagnosed a cervical strain,
muscle tear in my shoulder, and a herniated disk in my back. As a
result I had to wear a cervical collar and back brace. I was
also prescribed Flexeril for my back spasms, as well as Hydrocoedine
for the pain.
The morning after the collision I developed a throbbing headache. My
neck hurt so badly I could barley look up. Every time I moved my back
it felt like someone was sticking a thousand knives into it.
During the next 2 weeks I visited with my Doctor. At all times I was in
serious pain and discomfort. I was unable to sleep for days because of
the constant pain and back brace I had to constantly wear.
Because any movement on my bed exacerbated the pain and discomfort, my
wife was relegated to the living room where she slept for almost two
(2) weeks. When I was able to sleep I would often have nightmares about
the helplessness I felt as my car and I were forced into the cement
wall. I was mentally and physically exhausted almost every day during
my recovery. I still have recurring and graphic dreams about the crash.
I was also unable to work at my job as an auto mechanic for two (2)
weeks after the collision. My job requires I be able to bend into
engine compartments of cars and trucks, and to work underneath them as
well. I am also required to assist with lifting and replacing
engines.
I have worked at Pep Boys on Maple Avenue in Dallas for 16 years. At
the time of the collision I was making sixteen ($16.00) dollars an
hour. I have enclosed a letter from my Supervisor confirming my absence
from work for the two (2) week period following the crash. His letter
also confirms my pay rate at the time of the crash. As a result of my
absence I lost wages in the total amount of One Thousand Two Hundred
and Eighty ($1,280.00) Dollars.
Although my car is now repaired it just doesn’t drive the same way as
it did before the collision. In the very infrequent times I drive the
car it rattles in places where there were no rattles before. In
addition, the property damage to my car has devalued it substantially.
Although I was able to return to work after two (2) weeks my Doctor
prescribed continuing therapy and medication. During the time I must
take the prescribed medication I am not permitted to drive cars or work
with heavy machinery at my job. At my Doctor’s direction I went to a
Chiropractor twice a week for three (3) weeks after the collision, and
may have to continue doing so for an undetermined amount of time.
I have enclosed copies of the medical and chiropractic bills I incurred
since December 15th. They are as follows:
- Emergency
Room
$315.00
- X-rays
$275.00
- MRI
$1,700.00
- Cervical Collar
$220.00
- Prescription
Medications $175.00
- Back Brace
$450.00
-
Total
Medicals:
$3,705.00
This whole affair has been one of the most difficult times of my life
and of my family’s.
As a direct and proximate result of your insured’s negligence I was in
constant pain and discomfort for at least two (2) weeks after the
collision. The trauma of the collision still haunts me, causing
depression and anxiety. Your insured changed my life. I don’t know how
long I will it will be before I can perform the duties of my job as an
automobile mechanic.
Before the collision I looked forward to each new
day. Since the collision I am afraid to drive, and even as a passenger
I am wary of every car or truck which comes near our car on the
highway. Your insured robbed me of the pleasure of each day. I will
never be the same.
As a result of these injuries and my continuing pain and suffering, I
demand compensation in the amount of Fifteen Thousand ($15,000.00)
Dollars. Under the circumstances the demand is fair and
reasonable.
Yours truly,
_________________
Jonathan L. Pierce
CC: My Insurance Company
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-----END Sample Demand Letter for Car
Accident Settlement-----
You have now sent your Demand Letter. The Adjuster should contact you
within 2-3 weks to review all your receipts and other supporting
evidence.
While you're waiting for the Adjuster's call take time
to become thoroughly familiar with all your
supporting documentation. It will help you be more prepared and
confident in your oral settlement negotiations.
If you've followed the notification letter and sample demand letter closely you've already gained respect from the
Adjuster. By using the right language she knows you are serious and professional in your approach,
and will respond to you in kind.
If you haven’t heard
from the Adjuster in about thirty (30) days you should call
her - but not much sooner. You don’t want to call too early
after the letter. Doing so may indicate you are in a hurry to settle.
Adjusters look for those types of things. In settlement
negotiations the advice, "Don’t
let them see you sweat" is true indeed.
Remember, Adjusters need to settle claims. The last thing an Adjuster
wants is to have unsettled claims on their desk. So don’t worry.
The Adjuster will contact you.
Again, above is a sample DEMAND letter (it's not the first step in the claims process). First you would send a NOTIFICATION letter. If you haven't read the Auto Accident
Settlement Notification Letter, do it now.
Return
from Sample Demand Letter to
Auto Accident Claims
Return
from Sample Demand Letter
to Personal
Injury Settlement
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