Sumner Personal Injury Attorneys

If you were hurt in an accident in Sumner, the days and weeks that follow can feel overwhelming. Between medical appointments, missed work, and phone calls from an insurance adjuster, it is easy to feel like you are being pulled in every direction at once. Walker, Billingsley & Bair has spent decades helping injured Iowans understand their rights, evaluate settlement offers, and get the medical treatment they need to recover. This article walks through three of the most important issues facing a Sumner personal injury victim: whether you have to accept an insurance company's settlement offer, how to deal with insurance adjusters from the country's largest carriers, and what treatment options exist for cervical radicular pain, a common and painful result of neck injuries.

Do You Have to Accept the Insurance Company's Settlement in Sumner?

The short answer for anyone in Sumner is no. In Iowa, you are never required to accept an insurance company's settlement offer. That said, before you turn down an offer or try to negotiate on your own, there are a few important questions you should be able to answer.

If you cannot confidently answer all three of those questions, it is worth speaking with a qualified Iowa injury attorney before you sign anything. Failing to do so can cost a Sumner accident victim thousands of dollars, and in some cases, the entire case.

Negotiating a Settlement on Your Own

It is rare that an insurance company's first offer is its best offer. If you decide to negotiate for yourself, keep a few things in mind. Anything you say to the adjuster can and will be used against you later, including in a lawsuit, so choose your words carefully. Never lie, but understand that insurance companies share databases and will find out about any prior injuries or accidents. It is also not a good idea to threaten an adjuster. Being courteous and professional will get you much further than being angry. Finally, know your facts cold: how the accident happened, who you treated with, and exactly what conditions you were diagnosed with.

Before agreeing to any settlement involving an injury, it is wise to speak with a qualified Iowa injury attorney who can tell you whether the offer is fair. Friends and family can offer support, but an attorney who deals with insurance companies every day and has handled hundreds of similar cases is in a much better position to spot a lowball offer.

How Insurance Companies Evaluate a Claim's Value

When an insurance company decides what a claim is worth, several factors come into play, and understanding them can help a Sumner claimant know what to expect during negotiations.

Tips for Dealing with Insurance Adjusters After a Sumner Accident

There are hundreds of insurance companies operating in America and thousands of adjusters working for them. Regardless of which company you are dealing with after a Sumner accident, they generally share three things in common. They are trained in techniques designed to reduce the value of your claim and convince you to accept a small settlement, especially when you are not represented by an attorney who knows the law. They may act friendly, but they do not have your best interests at heart, and they can mislead you without facing consequences. Ultimately, their job is to pay you as little as possible in order to protect their company's profits.

Here is what Sumner residents should know about some of the largest insurers and third-party administrators operating in Iowa.

EMC

EMC is a Des Moines based company and one of the largest workers' compensation insurers in Iowa. Most of EMC's adjusters are pleasant people who respond to calls, emails, and letters. Still, do not let a friendly tone convince you that the amount they say they owe is really all you are entitled to.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual is a large insurer providing property, casualty, and workers' compensation coverage, and is consistently one of the top three writers of workers' compensation coverage in Iowa. Their adjusters have access to in-house Iowa attorneys, who sometimes take over a case entirely or are brought in to help evaluate it. If an attorney becomes involved on Liberty Mutual's side, you should strongly consider having your own attorney as well. For example, in a workers' compensation case involving an injury after July 1, 2017, being talked into "retiring" instead of being properly separated from a job could cost tens of thousands of dollars under Iowa's current workers' compensation rules.

Sedgwick and Gallagher Bassett

Sedgwick and Gallagher Bassett are not insurance companies themselves, but third-party administrators, or TPAs. They typically work on behalf of a self-insured employer or another insurer that does not have its own Iowa adjusters. These TPAs are often more difficult to deal with than a typical adjuster, and it is common for cases involving them to end up in litigation because records and return calls can be harder to come by.

AIG

AIG is a large, New York based insurer with many subsidiary companies. Adjusters handling AIG claims sometimes take a colder approach, including slow responses to phone calls, letters, and emails. Not every AIG adjuster behaves this way, but it happens often enough that Sumner claimants should be prepared for it.

Travelers

Travelers adjusters are frequently based out of a large claims center in Overland Park, Kansas, though the company operates offices nationwide. Like Liberty Mutual, Travelers has in-house Iowa attorneys who assist adjusters, sometimes behind the scenes and sometimes by taking an active role in the case. Without your own representation, it can be difficult to get fair compensation when a company with this much experience and resources is on the other side.

Zurich

Zurich is a massive international insurer based in Switzerland, with more than 53,000 employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. One of its largest subsidiaries is Farmers Insurance. A Sumner claimant's case may be handled by an adjuster located far from Iowa who is not familiar with state law, and who has been trained to minimize payouts regardless of what the law actually allows.

Cervical Radicular Pain After a Sumner Accident

Many Sumner residents who are hurt in a car accident, a fall, or a workplace incident end up dealing with radicular pain, also known as radiculopathy. This is a condition in which the nerves stop functioning properly due to disease or trauma affecting the nerve root. It can cause pain, numbness, weakness, and reduced motor control, and even though the malfunction occurs in the spine, the pain is often felt elsewhere in the body.

Radicular pain frequently occurs in the cervical spine, leading to severe neck pain and related symptoms.

What Causes Cervical Radicular Pain?

In many cases, a herniated disc is to blame, often the result of trauma such as a car accident or a fall. Radicular pain can also stem from arthritis or other degenerative bone conditions. When a disc ruptures, the material can press on and compress the nerve root, producing pain.

Traditional Treatment Options

Most patients start with conservative treatment. This can include corticosteroids and pain medication, whether injected or taken orally, and patients should discuss the benefits of each approach with their doctor. Physical therapy is often part of a treatment plan as well, and may include cervical traction using either mechanical or manual methods. When conservative treatment fails and pain becomes intolerable, surgery is sometimes the next step, but there is another option worth discussing first: the epidural nerve block procedure.

What Is an Epidural Nerve Block Procedure?

This procedure involves injecting a corticosteroid into the epidural space of the spine. The physician uses a fluoroscope for real-time X-ray imaging and a contrast medium to confirm the needle is placed correctly. A local anesthetic such as lidocaine is typically injected along with the corticosteroid, and pain relief is monitored over a set period of time.

The procedure is minimally invasive and can be an effective alternative to surgery. Complications are generally slight, including a small risk of infection, minor bleeding, or discomfort around the injection site. Every patient should discuss the full range of possible side effects with their doctor before undergoing any injection or treatment.

When Someone Else Caused the Accident

Living with cervical radicular pain is difficult. Life often becomes centered around pain management, and many patients find themselves unable to work, sleep, or take part in everyday activities. If an accident someone else caused led to this condition, it is worth speaking with an attorney. Compensation may be available for medical bills, including the cost of epidural nerve block procedures, as well as lost wages and pain and suffering.