Left-Turn Collision, a Late Statement, and a Brother-in-Law Witness
Our insured turned left across three lanes at a green arrow and struck a westbound pickup. The police report cites our insured for failure to yield. The claimant's emergency care and follow-up total $22,400, and lost wages are $9,200; no health insurer lien has appeared yet. He first gave a statement 38 days after the loss, insists he was traveling the 35 mph limit, and names his brother-in-law as an independent witness. A nearby business camera shows the pickup with no brake lights until the crosswalk. A crash reconstruction vendor quotes $4,500 and estimates 58 feet of pre-impact skid marks from the pickup's tires. Claimant counsel demands $85,000 with a 30-day deadline against a $50,000 per-person limit and asks whether we intend to 'tune out' witnesses who are not from Arizona.
1. Build the fact-gathering plan. Which facts actually drive value, and how do you obtain each one?
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Rank the facts by how much they move the number.
Speed and comparative fault (highest value). Fifty-eight feet of skid marks and a camera showing no early brake lights support a speed estimate well above 35 mph. Arizona applies pure comparative fault, so the claimant's own negligence reduces recovery proportionally rather than barring it. Retain the reconstruction vendor: $4,500 against a $50,000 exposure is proportionate, and the report either confirms the speed or kills the theory before we negotiate.
The late statement. Thirty-eight days is not automatically suspicious, but the delay matters because it gave time to align the account with the police report. Get the recorded statement with the speed question asked directly, and preserve the emergency-room version of events from the medical records, which is taken closest to the crash and rarely massaged.
The witness. A brother-in-law is not disqualified, just discounted. Take a recorded statement, ask what he could see from his position, and check whether he is listed on any report.
Medicals and wage loss. Request itemized bills, the full treatment record, and two years of wage documentation. Ask about prior injuries and prior claims.
Lien status. Confirm whether a hospital or health plan has asserted a lien, and get a written lien letter.
Liability defense facts. Signal timing, the green arrow phase, and our insured's sight line. Even with a failure-to-yield citation, the claimant's speed can carry meaningful fault.
2. Give a preliminary evaluation with numbers and a reserve recommendation.
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Specials: $22,400 medical + $9,200 wage = $31,600, assuming the wage claim is documented.
General damages range: 1.0 to 1.5 times specials is a reasonable working band for soft-tissue-to-moderate injury with no surgery: $31,600 to $47,400. Total before fault: roughly $63,000 to $79,000.
Apply comparative fault. If the reconstruction supports 20 to 35 percent fault on the claimant, the adjusted range becomes about $41,000 to $63,000. That straddles the $50,000 per-person limit.
Verdict risk. The citation helps the claimant. Jurors in this venue are not reliably hostile to a speeding plaintiff, and a no-brake-light film clip is powerful. A verdict above $50,000 creates excess exposure and a bad-faith setup if we never evaluated it.
Reserve: authorize a policy-limits reserve at $50,000 plus an allocated reserve for the reconstruction and defense costs. Do not reserve at the demand, and do not reserve at the citation-only number either.
Last clear chance note: if our insured had a protected arrow, the fault allocation could shift materially, so the reserve is provisional until signal timing is confirmed.
3. How should the adjuster respond to the 30-day demand and the tune-out-witness remark?
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Respond in writing inside the deadline, even if the answer is a status letter.
On the remark: do not take the bait. A single sentence sets the tone: witnesses are evaluated on what they saw, not where they live, and defense counsel will be instructed accordingly. Then actually do that in the file, because counsel will look for it later.
On the demand: acknowledge receipt, state that the carrier is evaluating liability, comparative fault, and damages, and that it will respond substantively within a stated period. Ask for itemized bills, wage documentation, lien information, and authorization for records. State that no evaluation can be final until the reconstruction is complete, so the carrier is not stalling.
Do not split the limits early. With a genuine comparative fault question, an early limits tender forfeits leverage and can create problems if another claimant appears. Do not deny either; a bare denial on a cited-driver file invites litigation.
Timeline discipline. Set a firm internal date for the reconstruction report, circle the deadline, and diary a second written update if the report slips. Document every contact and every decision with the supervisor's approval on the reserve.