Our attorneys handle Allstate injury claims by valuing clients’ losses and demanding that Allstate pay fairly for those losses. We also consider factors that can affect an insurer’s financial liability to the beneficiary of an insurance policy, such as coverage limits.
In every Allstate injury claim case, we aim to get the compensation you deserve. Allstate is a major auto insurer with substantial resources, so you should seriously consider hiring a car accident lawyer in Chicago to represent you.
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Steps Our Lawyers Will Take to Secure Fair Compensation from Your Allstate Injury Claim
While each injury claim requires an approach specific to the client, we follow a similar blueprint in most Allstate cases. Our lawyers will seek the benefits you deserve by:
Managing All Communications with Allstate
Our first goal is to protect you. While Allstate may (or may not) have issued you an insurance policy, it is not your personal representative. Allstate representatives are beholden to the financial interests of one party: Allstate.
Your lawyer from our team will manage communications with Allstate representatives.
We will:
- Coordinate all claims-related processes involving claim adjusters or other Allstate representatives
- Supply Allstate with any paperwork or documentation it needs to process your claim
- Coordinate and conduct negotiations with Allstate representatives
- Draft and file any necessary demand letters with Allstate
You can focus on your health and recovery while we manage all claim-related communications.
Helping You Prepare for Any Recorded Statements About Your Accident, Injuries, and Covered Losses
You may need to make a recorded statement to Allstate and perhaps another insurer. Our team will prepare you to make this statement. If permitted, we may advise you to make a written statement and help you craft that statement.
Writing your statement as opposed to giving a statement in a phone call or live meeting may be beneficial because:
- You are less likely to misspeak when writing your account down
- You will not face leading questions from the insurance representative facilitating your verbal statements
- You will have time to recall how your accident happened as you give your statement rather than having to answer questions immediately as the adjuster asks them
- Your lawyer can assist you in crafting a written statement, while they may have a limited capacity to help while you’re giving a verbal statement
A lawyer will almost always advise a written statement over a verbal one if you get the option.
Securing Evidence from the Accident
Evidence is a pivotal factor in Allstate injury claims.
Strong evidence can make your case for compensation air-tight, so your lawyer will work quickly to secure evidence including:
- Eyewitness accounts of the accident
- Video footage of the accident we may get this from security cameras, traffic cameras, dashboard cameras, and in some cases, cell phone cameras
- The police report documenting the collision
- Photographs of vehicle damage, which can help tell the story of how one vehicle struck the other
- An expert’s reconstruction of the accident
Evidence is subject to being lost, destroyed, or erased. Witnesses’ memories of the accident may become less reliable with time. These are reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible and why a lawyer from our team will seek evidence as soon as you hire them.
Documenting Your Accident-Related Losses
Motor vehicle accidents can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is one example of how an accident victim’s losses aren’t just economic but non-economic as well. PTSD can have a costly effect on your life, and you deserve to recover for such losses in addition to your financial expenses.
We will document every damage you’ve suffered using medical bills, expert testimony, and any other proof of your damages.
Calculating the Cost of Your Accident-Related Losses
To pursue a fair settlement, we must know the exact value of your accident-related losses. Some losses, like medical bills, may have a straightforward cost. Others, like pain and suffering, have a less clear monetary value.
Our team will work with experts and use proven calculation methods to value your case accurately.
Reviewing Allstate’s First Settlement Offer
If Allstate agrees that its policyholder bears liability for your accident, or Allstate owes you money as its own policyholder, the insurer may offer a settlement. Generally, an insurer will first offer a settlement for far less than you deserve.
Our lawyers will review Allstate’s offer and advise you whether to accept it or whether to let us continue fighting for additional compensation.
Negotiating for the Settlement You Deserve
If you do not accept Allstate’s initial settlement offer, our team will negotiate on your behalf.
We may need to:
- Arrange settlement discussions with the appropriate Allstate representatives
- Prepare our evidence and documentation for negotiations
- Present our calculation of your damages
- Make tit-for-tat arguments as Allstate aims to minimize the amount of compensation that you deserve
Negotiations can be difficult by nature. Allstate likely wants to pay you as little as possible, while we want you to get the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys will stand firm on your behalf.
Taking Further Legal Action, if Necessary
In most cases, legal actions related to auto accidents end with a settlement. However, some claims involving Allstate eventually lead to a trial.
If the claims process does not produce the recovery you deserve, we’ll discuss filing a lawsuit. You have complete control over whether we accept Allstate’s best offer or continue with legal action.
Who May Receive Compensation from Allstate After Suffering an Injury?
Depending on your state and insurance-specific circumstances, you may deserve compensation from Allstate as:
- An Allstate policyholder
- Someone injured because of an Allstate policyholder
The insurance laws in your state will be relevant to how we seek compensation for you.
The two primary types of state, in terms of auto insurance rules, are:
- No-fault states: States that use a no-fault system generally require insurers to pay their own policyholders certain benefits (regardless of who is at fault for the accident) and may place restrictions on suing liable parties.
- Fault states: In fault states (also known as tort states, including Illinois), the at-fault motorist is generally responsible for victims’ accident-related losses. This may include both property damage and medical bills.
Our team will review every relevant detail of your accident and circumstances. We’ll explain how much compensation you deserve from Allstate and how we plan to pursue that compensation.
Does Allstate Have a Poor Reputation for Paying Injury Claims?
Allstate does not have a worse reputation than any other auto insurer when paying claims this isn’t saying much, though. Auto insurers, in general, have a financial incentive to pay as little as possible to beneficiaries.
Unfortunately, some insurers resort to bad-faith tactics to avoid paying accident victims fairly. Allstate may resort to such tactics when handling your claim.
How Will Allstate Try to Pay Less Than You Deserve?
Some bad-faith insurance tactics our team has seen in the insurance claims process are:
- Denying your claim: Allstate may deny your claim, hoping that you will accept the denial without a fight. There are many reasons an insurer can cite for denying a claim, including that you are at fault for the accident.
- Claiming that certain injuries are not accident related: Allstate might attempt to claim that one or more injuries you’re seeking compensation for existed before your accident. Or, an insurer may claim that an injury happened after the accident in circumstances unrelated to the collision.
- Downplaying the severity of your injury or losses: This may lead the insurer to deny coverage for certain medical expenses or other accident-related losses.
- Extending a lowball offer: Allstate’s first settlement offer may be far less than you deserve and so may subsequent offers. If Allstate gets you to accept less money than you deserve, it wins. Our firm will demand all of the compensation you are entitled to, urging you to refuse all lowball offers from Allstate.
- Refusing to adjust its settlement offer at least at first: Allstate may pretend it is unwilling to adjust its initial settlement offer. Our firm will make clear that if Allstate refuses to budge, we will take necessary legal action to pursue the compensation you deserve.
Allstate might delay the processing of your claim. Adjusters might use this tactic for a few reasons, including letting the statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit expire. If this deadline expires, we may lose leverage in insurance settlement negotiations.
Our team will press Allstate to handle your case promptly and will take legal action when necessary to protect your case for compensation.
How Our Attorneys Counteract Bad-Faith Insurance Practices (by Allstate and Other Insurers)?
We will respond appropriately to any bad-faith tactics from Allstate, perhaps by:
- Presenting evidence (like video footage and witness accounts) establishing that Allstate’s policyholder is at fault for your accident
- Presenting evidence (like past and current medical records) to prove your injuries and losses are accident-related
- Showing proof (like medical bills and invoices for vehicle repairs) of your accident-related losses
- Explaining our calculation of your claim value
When we start negotiations, we will be confident in our evidence, documentation, and calculation of your losses. Our lawyers never back down, no matter how heated settlement negotiations may become.
What Damages Should Someone with Injuries Get Compensation For?
There is no doubt that auto accidents produce expensive losses. Generally, the losses become more expensive as injuries become more serious.
Our law firm will identify and value each of your damages, which may include:
- Medical expenses, including the cost of emergency transportation, surgery, hospitalization, visits with specialists, rehabilitation, other medical services, and medical equipment
- Lost income and any other professional damages you suffer because of your accident, including lost bonuses, lost promotions, and diminished earning power
- Pain and suffering, which may include psychological trauma and distress, emotional anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain from injuries, lost quality of life, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and similar problems
- Property-related expenses, including repairs for your vehicle and replacement of damaged property like cell phones, clothing, and jewelry
Each accident produces different damages. As your attorneys, it is our role to identify and accurately value your damages. It is then our job to get the compensation you’re entitled to from Allstate or another party.
What If My Damages Exceed the Coverage Limits of an Allstate Insurance Policy?
Insurers, including Allstate, are only responsible for paying compensation up to a policy’s coverage limits. Most states require motorists to maintain a minimum amount of insurance coverage, and an Allstate-issued policy will reflect such coverage limits.
Allstate will have a financial obligation to negotiate in good faith on behalf of its policyholder. Generally, this means that Allstate must exhaust settlement negotiations, attempting to have you accept a settlement that falls within coverage limits.
However, if you choose to sue liable parties personally for the harm they have caused you, Allstate may no longer be the party you’re seeking compensation from. Instead, we’ll be seeking compensation from a motorist, vehicle manufacturer, municipality, or other party liable for your accident.
What Happens if I Try to Get Compensation From Allstate Without a Lawyer’s Help?
If you seek compensation from Allstate on your own:
- You will tax yourself physically, potentially worsening your injuries, slowing your recovery, or even developing new health problems
- You will make statements or take actions that harm your claim (especially without a lawyer to advise you)
- You will pay out of your pocket for all claim-related expenses
- You will not get the compensation you’re entitled to
Our firm accepts Allstate injury claims without accepting any upfront compensation from clients. We will only get a fee if we get money for you.
Call Abels & Annes, P.C. Today for a Free Consultation About Your Allstate Injury Claim
Do not wait to speak with us. We may face numerous deadlines related to your claim, and our Chicago personal injury attorneys may decide to file a lawsuit on your behalf. This decision can bring additional deadlines into consideration.
Call Abels & Annes, P.C. today at (312) 924-7575 for your free consultation. We get no fee unless you win.
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David Abels
Partner
David Abels has carved a niche for himself in the personal injury law sector, dedicating a substantial part of his career since 1997 to representing victims of various accidents. With a law practice that spans over two decades, his expertise has been consistently recognized within the legal community.
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