Auto accidents are a leading cause of injuries in California. From physical pain to emotional trauma and financial losses, a car accident can change your life for the worse. Most auto accidents result from negligence or failure to exercise reasonable caution. When our accident and injuries result from negligence from another party, you can seek compensation from their auto insurer. Allstate is the most prominent publicly-held auto insurer in the United States and provides third-party covers for most drivers.

For this reason, dealing with Allstate insurance after an accident is inevitable. By filing a personal injury claim with Allstate, you can recover the damages resulting from the accident. Dealing with the aftermath of an auto accident is challenging. However, you must gather the evidence needed for the claim before the statute of limitations elapses. Hiring and retaining a skilled accident attorney is critical as you file a claim with Allstate for your accident injuries. Your attorney will help you gather significant evidence and use their legal knowledge to deal with insurance adjusters who may try to sabotage your claim.

How to File an Allstate Insurance Claim?

Due to the comprehensive coverage in the provision of third-party insurance policies for drivers in the United States, you will likely file your claim with this insurance provider following your auto accident. Allstate provides all victims of auto accidents with an online claim movement system that allows them to gather the facts of the accident, ask any questions and resolve the claim. Although the online platform is convenient, you must provide all the essential information leading to the accident. Having supporting information for your injury claim increases your chances of compensation.

Allstate customers can file accident claims regardless of their state's type of fault rules. California is a fault-based state. Therefore, filing a claim allows you to recover an amount equal to the percentage of fault of the negligent party. When you file a claim with an insurance company, you must establish liability for the accident. In California, liability is based on negligence which is critical in awarding compensation. You and your attorney have a burden to demonstrate the following elements of negligence to ensure that the right person is held accountable for your injuries:

  • Duty of Care

The first key element in determining whether a person is liable for your accident is proving that they owed you a duty of care. The duty element is easy to establish since all road users are responsible for using reasonable care while on the road.

  • Breach of Duty

Owing you a duty of care is not enough to show that a driver is liable for your accident or injuries. You must go further to prove that they breached their duty towards you. A breach of duty occurs when a person acts in a manner that places you in imminent danger. Some of the examples of breach of duty that occur on the roads include:

  • Drunk driving
  • Distracted driving
  • Tailgating
  • Failure to obey the traffic rules

If you seek to file claims against multiple parties, you must ascertain how each person breached their duty toward you.

  • Causation

Before you recover compensation from Allstate insurance, you must link the client's conduct to your injuries. Causation is challenging to establish. This is because your injuries must be the direct or probable result of the defendant’s actions. An important consideration when establishing causation is whether the defendant’s actions were foreseeable. Additionally, there could be a comparison between a person's actions and what a reasonable person would do in a similar circumstance.

  • Damages

When you file a claim with Allstate, you seek compensation for different losses from the accident. For each loss or injury, you need to present sufficient proof. Monetary compensation may include medical expenses and lost wages. It is vital to understand that a physical injury is not necessary for you to file an auto accident claim.

Steps to Take after an Auto Accident Claim

The steps you take following an auto accident could significantly affect the outcome of your Allstate Claim. You can increase your chances of recovery when you follow these steps:

  • Contact Law Enforcement. The first thing to do after an accident is to call 911. The local law enforcement officers will arrive together with emergency medical care providers. If you are not critically injured, you can speak to the police officers and give an account of what happened. After an assessment of the scene, police officers will make a report about the accident. A police report plays a crucial role in your claim since it offers a third-party and professional account of the occurrences.
  • Gather necessary evidence at the scene. Photographs and videos of the accident scene would be wise if you are not physically incapacitated. Once you leave the scene, critical evidence may be scattered, making it challenging to support your account of events. While Allstate insurance adjusters can try to twist your testimony, it is not easy to discredit photographic and video evidence.
  • Exchange contact and insurance details with involved parties. For individuals with auto insurance, you file a claim against their insurer for compensation. Therefore, obtaining the Allstate insurance details from the potentially liable person for your case is a vital step. Additionally, you can check out for witnesses and ask for their contacts.
  • Seek medical care. Most accident victims suffer serious injuries. It is vital to seek immediate medical attention following the accident, whether or not you feel physical pain. Due to the adrenaline rush from the accident, it is possible to have internal injuries and still fail to experience pain. In addition to early detection and treatment of injuries, seeking medical care allows you to obtain medical records that serve as crucial evidence when proving damages.
  • File an Allstate Insurance claim. While you may be recovering from the accident injuries, it is vital to ensure that you file a claim with Allstate within forty-eight hours of the accident. You can file the claim by calling 1-800-ALL-STATE or on their online portal. When you inform Allstate of your desire to file a claim, you will receive a case number that you can use to track the claim. Additionally, you must inform your insurance company about the accident.

Negotiations with All State Insurance Adjusters

When you file an Allstate claim, the insurance company will send an adjuster to speak to you and gather some information about the accident. Initially, the adjuster will act friendly and try to sympathize with you. You should know that the adjuster is an insurance company employee, and their main job is to offer you the lowest possible settlement. You are free to speak with adjusters since they will contact you shortly after the accident. However, you must exercise caution on the information you provide.

If you speak with the claim adjuster after filing your claim, you must do so with the guidance of your attorney. Some of the tips that are useful when interacting with an Allstate claim adjuster include:

  1. Only state the facts. Insurance adjusters are not present at the accident scene. Therefore, most information about the incident stems from the information you disclose. There is potential that your words could be twisted and used to deny your claim. Therefore, it is wise only to offer facts that you can support with evidence, police report, or witness testimony. Giving speculations or your opinion about the situation is not advisable.
  2. Keep your answers simple. The moments following an auto accident are traumatizing. Most insurance adjusters call you even before you have a chance to seek medical care or recover from the injuries. It is challenging to track everything you say. Therefore, keep the conversation short and precise. If you are unsure how to answer the questions, you can ask for your attorney’s guidance.
  3. Do not admit fault for the accident. California is a fault state. Therefore, when you file a claim with Allstate, you will only recover compensation for the percentage of fault for the defendant. Insurance adjusters could take your admission of fault out of context and try to invalidate your claim. If you are partially to blame for the accident, you should leave it to the insurance company to figure it out.
  4. Avoid making a written statement. You have no obligation to give a written statement to the insurance company. Signing a statement will tie you to the specific statement, and any attempt to change it is viewed as dishonesty.
  5. Provide truthful and honest answers. If you attempt to lie to the insurance company, you could completely lose the chance to recover compensation. Therefore, you must be honest about the injuries and the events.
  6. Do not admit that you are not injured. Without physical injury, the insurance company is sure to pay you very little. Therefore, the claim adjuster may try to coerce you into admitting that you are not injured. The only person with whom you can discuss your injuries before compensation is your attorney and your physician. Even when there are no physical wounds, you must wait for your medical report before commenting on anything about the injuries.

Maximizing the Value of your Allstate Accident Insurance Claim

Since an accident claim is a civil case, your ability to negotiate with the insurance company and prove your case plays a role in the amount you stand to recover from the claim. The worst-case scenario from an Allstate claim is recovering less than your losses and having to dig into your pockets to cover the additional costs. Some of the ways through which you can maximize your compensation include:

Ensure you Report the Accident

The arrival of law enforcement officials plays a crucial role in collecting accident data. Since police officers write a report, the report acts as a key piece of evidence. Any information you may have missed may be present in the report and can help you ascertain the facts of the accidents.

Seek Legal Guidance

One of the worst mistakes you can make when filing an Allstate accident claim is proceeding without legal guidance. A personal injury attorney has the legal knowledge to deal with the insurance adjuster. Dealing insurance adjuster is the second most challenging thing to deal with after the accident injuries. Your attorney can uncover different instance tactics meant to downplay your claim. Additionally, they will advise you on how to act to avoid jeopardizing your case.

Have all your Evidence Ready

Before you appear for negotiations with the insurance company, you must ensure that all the evidence you need to prove the injuries and support the claim is available. Insurance companies are never willing to compensate victims. Therefore, they will ask for evidence for each damage you claim.

Medical bills make up a significant part of the accident claim. Therefore, when you seek medical care, ensure that all your injuries are documented. Additionally, ensure that the records are safe and available when you need them. Another piece of evidence that can help you prove the injury is photographs of the physical injuries. If you suffer emotional and psychological suffering, you can present the records of your psychological evaluation and the bills you paid for counseling services.

Some car accident injuries take a while to recover. Therefore, if you have not received complete treatment or a diagnosis, you should not settle. Once you sign an agreement for compensation, you cannot return to seek more compensation.

Do Not Accept the First Offer

When making an offer for compensation, the insurance company will start with the lowest amount possible. Insurance adjusters from Allstate understand that the times following the accident are complicated, and you may be unwilling to go through tough negotiations. However, you should start high and negotiate an amount that covers all your losses. If you have strong evidence to support your claim, you should not settle for less than you deserve.

In recent years Allstate has been in the spotlight for using underhand methods to calculate compensation for injury victims. The insurance company has faced a claim for improper practices in how they handle injury claims and how they offer extremely low compensation. Therefore, you should never accept or sign a settlement agreement without competent legal guidance.

Compensation Benefits from your Allstate Insurance Claim

There is no exact amount you can receive for your accident injury claim. However, a successful claim with Allstate could see you recover compensation for:

Medical Expenses

A person whose negligence causes an auto accident and your injuries are responsible for your medical bills. Depending on the type of accident and severity of your injuries, you could incur tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Before the settlement of your claim, the insurance company will not cover your treatment. Therefore, you need to find alternative ways of paying, including using medical insurance or seeking care from physicians who operate on a lien.

Medical expenses accumulate when an ambulance takes you from the accident scene to a medical facility. A successful claim allows you to recover compensation for present and future medical expenses stemming from:

  • Emergency Medical Care
  • Consultations and diagnosis
  • Medical procedures like x-rays and surgery
  • Medications

It is essential to understand that the insurance company will thoroughly scrutinize your medical report before offering compensation.

Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

Depending on the injury severity, you may be unable to return to work for days, weeks, or even months. Lost wages are the amount lost during the days you could not work following the accident. You can claim lost wages from monthly income, bonuses, overtime, and income from self-employment. You can prove lost wages by presenting a letter from your employer. The lost wages letter indicates the nature of your job, the amount you earn per hour, and the amount you lost during the missed work days. You can present past pay stubs or tax return documents when the letter is unavailable.

Lost earning capacity is the loss of the ability to return to your full health to work in the future. In permanent and severe injuries, you can recover the compensation for the lost future earnings.

Pain and Suffering

While you cannot equate physical pain and mental anguish to a dollar value, a successful Allstate claim will result in compensation for this damage. It is crucial to understand that a bodily injury is not necessary for you to recover compensation for pain and suffering.

Find a Reliable Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Involvement in a negligent car accident is devastating. Most injuries resulting from these accidents could take a physical, emotional, and financial toll on your life. Fortunately, you do not have to sit back and incur losses from another person’s actions. All victims of negligent car accidents are entitled to compensation from the liable parties. Since Allstate is the largest insurance provider for vehicle owners, you likely have to file a claim with them to recover communication.

While you may be entitled to compensation, recovering your damages is difficult. Insurance companies try to downplay your claim as much as possible. Dealing with Allstate insurance adjusters and recovering your rightful compensation is challenging. Therefore, you must proceed with the guidance of a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer. At The Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm, we will help you gather the necessary evidence to establish liability for the accident and negotiate with Allstate insurance. Call us today at 800-492-6718 and allow us to guide you through the claim.