Car crash claims are often won or lost long before anyone sets foot in a courtroom. The demand letter, sent to the at-fault driver’s insurer after medical treatment stabilizes, sets the tone for the entire personal injury case. Done well, it frames liability, proves damages with clean documentation, and positions you for a strong settlement or a credible lawsuit. Done poorly, it invites lowball offers or disputes that drag on for months.
I’ve seen demand packages that looked elegant on paper but missed the fundamentals, like causation or complete wage evidence. I’ve also watched modest cases settle for multiples of initial offers because the attorney built the file with patience and discipline, then delivered a demand that felt inevitable. Strategy beats theatrics. The insurer’s adjuster reads dozens of demands a month, and they recognize fluff. You want precision.
What a Demand Letter Really Does
A demand letter is not just a narrative. It is a statement of proof, a valuation argument, and a preview of trial. It should answer the quiet questions an adjuster asks when deciding whether to pay, stall, or fight.
First, it must remove doubt about fault. Second, it must connect the medical treatment to the crash and separate preexisting conditions from new injuries. Third, it must turn bills and losses into a coherent damages claim. Finally, it must signal that you and your personal injury lawyer are prepared to litigate if needed.
The letter is the visible part of a much larger file. The best personal injury attorneys invest most of their energy in building the record long before they write the first sentence.
Timing: When to Send, and Why Waiting Often Pays
Impatience is expensive. In straightforward collisions with acute injuries, it is tempting to send an early demand. Insurers like that. They know you do not yet have a full picture of treatment costs, residual pain, or work limitations, and they price the uncertainty in their favor.
For most soft tissue and moderate injury cases, a sensible window is after you reach maximum medical improvement, or at least after a treating provider sets a clear prognosis. That could be three to six months for whiplash, longer for fractures or surgery. If a client remains symptomatic or a specialist recommends future care, the demand should include a medical opinion on future expenses and functional limits.
There are exceptions. If liability is hotly contested and you have a key witness moving out of state, you might move faster to get leverage. If the policy limit is low and hospital bills already exceed it, a quick policy-limits demand with supporting records can be smart. Timing is tactical, not formulaic.
Building the File Before You Write
A polished letter means little without strong proof behind it. Adjusters pay for evidence and risk, not adjectives. Think of the pre-demand phase as a quiet audit of every fact you intend to claim.
Accident reconstruction is not just for catastrophic collisions. Photos of the scene, vehicle damage, and skid marks help. Most modern cars store event data that shows speed, braking, and seat-belt usage; your personal injury law firm can evaluate whether to retrieve it. If a citation was issued to the other driver, get the full crash report and any supplemental diagrams. If no citation issued, witness statements become even more valuable.
Medical records carry more weight than medical bills. The records tell the story of onset, complaints, and causation. If the ER chart says “no neck pain,” then two weeks later a chiropractor documents severe neck pain, expect a fight. In those gaps, a good personal injury attorney will bridge with a patient affidavit, a family member’s observation, or a treating doctor’s clarification. If a client had prior back issues, we ask the provider to compare baseline range of motion and imaging, noting where the crash created a new herniation or aggravated a dormant condition.
Wage loss requires paperwork, not just math. A payroll history and a supervisor letter verifying missed days matter. For self-employed clients, tax returns and invoices often tell the tale better than any narrative.
Finally, collect the insurance puzzle pieces. In addition to the at-fault driver’s policy, know your client’s uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, and health insurer’s subrogation rights. Settlement strategy changes when a $25,000 liability policy sits beside a $100,000 underinsured motorist policy, or when a hospital files a lien.
Anatomy of a Persuasive Demand Package
I draft demand packages as if a skeptical judge might read them. The tone is professional, the claims are sourced, and the organization makes an adjuster’s job easy.
- A crisp liability summary that ties facts to traffic laws or local statutes. A medical narrative that is shorter than the records but longer than a bullet-point list, with dates, providers, diagnoses, and symptomatic progression. A damages section that converts bills, wage loss, and out-of-pocket expenses into a clear total, with a rationale for general damages. Attachments that do the heavy lifting: photos, police report, witness statements, medical records and bills, employer verification, and any expert opinions.
One practical tip: paginate and index the attachments. If the adjuster can quickly find the MRI report or the physical therapy discharge note, your credibility rises. Sloppy packages signal opportunity for delay.
Liability: Getting Ahead of the Arguments
Most adjusters begin at fault, not damages. If they can shave 20 percent off liability through comparative negligence, they reduce the payout before they ever debate medical causation.
Frame liability like you expect a defense attorney to cross-examine it. If your client was rear-ended at a stoplight, say so plainly and include the photos and the police narrative. If the crash occurred during a left turn, cite the duty to yield under your state’s code and explain the line of sight, traffic signals, and speed estimates based on damage patterns.
Edge cases require candor. Suppose your client had a rolling stop before being hit by a speeding driver. You can still win liability, but acknowledge the rolling stop and explain why the other driver’s speed was the predominant cause. Adjusters reward reasonableness. Overclaiming fault invites them to dig.
If surveillance footage exists, try to secure it fast. Many businesses overwrite camera data within 30 to 60 days. A preservation letter sent early by your personal injury lawyer can make the difference between a clean liability presentation and an argument built on speculation.
Causation: Connecting the Crash to the Injuries
Causation fights are where many personal injury claims stall. Adjusters compare the mechanism of injury to the damage to both vehicles and the timing of symptoms. They also scan for preexisting conditions.
I often ask a treating doctor, not a hired expert, to write a short causation letter using the language insurers expect. “Within a reasonable degree of medical probability, the motor vehicle collision caused the patient’s cervical strain and aggravated underlying degenerative disc disease, leading to radiculopathy that required six weeks of physical therapy and steroid injections.” These sentences carry weight because they come from the provider who actually examined the patient.
Diagnostic imaging helps if consistent with clinical findings. A new disc protrusion with nerve impingement that aligns with new symptoms tells a clean story. For soft tissue injuries without imaging changes, therapy records and functional notes matter: range-of-motion deficits, positive Spurling’s test, or a straight-leg raise that was negative before the crash and positive after.
Insurers love gaps. If your client skipped three weeks of treatment, explain why. Maybe they lost childcare, or the first clinic refused work comp billing. Get it in writing. Gaps without context become leverage against you.
Damages: Putting Numbers on Real Loss
Economic damages start with medical bills. Use the actual amounts owed, not inflated provider charges that were later reduced. Overstating bills looks good in a demand but crumbles when the insurer checks your state’s collateral source rules or the health plan’s adjustments. If your jurisdiction allows recovery of billed rather than paid amounts, be prepared to defend the reasonableness of charges and address write-offs.
Wage loss should read like an accountant prepared it. Dates missed, hourly rate or salary, overtime patterns, and a note on any lost opportunities. For freelancers, include pre-crash revenue averages and the months affected, ideally with client emails rescheduling work due to injury.
General damages, often called pain and suffering, are the most subjective. Avoid arbitrary multipliers in the demand letter. Instead, describe specific limitations: the client who could not lift their toddler for eight weeks, the nursing assistant who had to switch to light duty at reduced pay, the runner who lost a race entry they trained for all year. Numbers matter, but insurers respond to credible, concrete impact.
Future damages require support. If an orthopedic surgeon predicts a likely need for future injections every six months, estimate cost ranges and include the provider’s statement. If the client will need periodic imaging or replacement of a TENS unit, list those expenses. Vague references to “ongoing pain” do not move the needle.
The Initial Ask: Anchoring Without Losing Credibility
Every demand needs an ask. There is no single correct method, but credibility is currency. The number should make sense in light of the documented damages, the venue, and the policy limits.
In clear liability cases with significant injury, I set a number that leaves meaningful room to negotiate while still representing a fair valuation. If the case is marginal on causation or the venue is defense-friendly, I temper the anchor and invest more in the narrative. If the liability policy is small and damages are large, I often demand policy limits and explain why exposure exceeds coverage.
Avoid rote multipliers or generic comparisons to verdicts in other states. Adjusters track local outcomes. They know what juries in your county do with low-impact collisions and what they do with surgeries. Your value argument should fit your jurisdiction.
Common Insurance Tactics and How to Counter
Every insurer has its rhythm. Some make a fast first offer to test your appetite. Others slow-walk, hoping financial pressure makes the client surrender. Patterns repeat.
- The low-impact defense: “Minimal property damage means minimal injury.” Counter with medical explanations for how soft tissue injuries occur at low speeds and, when available, biomechanics literature or provider statements. Preexisting condition blame: “Degenerative changes are not from the crash.” Use comparative records, show the delta in function, and lean on the treating provider’s causation opinion. Treatment disputes: “Too much chiropractic,” or “Unreasonable therapy length.” Frame the care as consistent with guidelines, and include treating notes showing progressive improvement or documented plateaus. Liability nibbling: “Your client was 25 percent at fault.” Address the specific allegation, not the percentage. If they say your client looked at a phone, present phone records or credible testimony about hands-free usage.
Good personal injury legal representation anticipates these moves and addresses them preemptively in the demand package.
Subrogation and Liens: Settling the Case Behind the Scenes
A settlement number does not equal take-home money. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, or hospital liens may seek reimbursement. A strong personal injury law firm tracks these from day one and negotiates them when settlement nears.
Private health plan subrogation rates vary with plan language and state law. ERISA self-funded plans can be stubborn, but even they will often negotiate when liability is disputed or policy limits are small relative to damages. Medicare requires precise reporting and a final demand amount; penalties for ignoring it are steep. Medicaid has statutory formulas in many states. Hospital liens can sometimes be reduced if charges exceed usual and customary rates or if the lien has procedural defects.
Insurers know these obligations cut into net recovery. Use that knowledge. In tight policy-limit cases, reductions on liens can be the difference between acceptance and impasse.
When to Invoke Bad Faith Leverage
If the evidence is strong and damages clearly exceed policy limits, the insurer has a duty to protect its insured within those limits. A well-supported policy-limits demand, with a reasonable time frame and complete documentation, can create bad faith exposure if the insurer unreasonably refuses to pay. That exposure matters. It sometimes opens doors to settle above limits later, or at least accelerates a fair resolution.
Do not bluff. Courts look at whether your time limit was reasonable, whether you furnished the necessary records, and whether the insurer had a fair chance to evaluate liability and damages. A 10-day deadline on a complex injury package usually looks like a trap and may backfire. Thirty days is common, 45 or 60 days for more involved cases.
Settling Versus Filing Suit: Reading the Room
Not every case should settle pre-suit. If an adjuster signals allergy to fair numbers, or if causation is nuanced and a treating physician will present well to a jury, filing suit may be the rational choice. On the other hand, litigation adds cost, time, and stress. It also invites defense experts and broader discovery into prior medical history.
Consider venue. Some counties value pain cases conservatively. Others, especially where jurors skew toward manual labor occupations, may sympathize with physical limitations and award more for functional losses. Experienced personal injury attorneys weigh these realities, then explain the options to the client plainly, without pressure.
Practical Drafting Tips From the Trenches
Write for the reader. Adjusters do not need drama, they need clarity. Keep sentences clean and arguments supported. If a piece of proof is ambiguous, say so and explain why the overall record still points your way.
Personalization matters. A paragraph that captures the human impact, not in melodrama but in honest particulars, can shift perspective. I once represented a home health aide whose wrist injury prevented bathing patients safely. She had to switch clients and lost hours. That detail did more work than any pain scale rating.
Mind tone. Professional beats combative. Insurance professionals are more likely to escalate generous offers to supervisors when they trust opposing counsel. The goal is not to win an argument on paper, it is to maximize your client’s recovery.
Finally, proofread like a hawk. Names, dates, and amounts should match across narratives and exhibits. A single sloppy error can seed doubt that spreads.
A Note on Self-Representation and When to Hire Counsel
Some small-value claims with clear liability and minor treatment can be resolved without a personal injury lawyer. If ER bills are modest, treatment lasted a few weeks, and there are no lingering symptoms, a direct negotiation can make sense. Even then, be careful with broad releases and health insurer reimbursement obligations.
For anything with lasting symptoms, potential future care, disputed liability, preexisting conditions, or complex insurance layers, professional help pays for itself. A seasoned personal injury attorney knows how to collect the right records, work with providers on causation letters, value the case based on local verdicts, and avoid traps that cut into net recovery. Many personal injury law firms work on contingency, which aligns incentives and makes representation accessible.
If you do consult counsel, bring the basics: the crash report, photos, medical records and bills, a list of providers, health insurance details, and a simple timeline of treatment. Clear information lets the attorney give smart personal injury legal advice from day one.
How Negotiations Usually Unfold
Expect a first offer that tests your resolve. If your demand was thorough and your ask credible, the counter should not be insulting, but it will likely be lower than the case’s settlement value. The next moves depend on the insurer’s style and your evidence.
A brief phone call can help reset anchors. Point to the strongest exhibits, not generalities. “We both know the MRI shows a new L5-S1 protrusion with correlating symptoms and the surgeon recommending future injections. You also have a treating causation letter and no gap in care. Your number ignores future medicals entirely.”
If the gap remains wide, consider one or two targeted supplements: an updated wage verification, a clarification from the treating doctor on permanence, or a short statement from a spouse describing functional limitations. Small, focused additions carry more weight than fresh piles of paper.
Set a mental floor rooted in net recovery after fees and liens. It is easy to chase the last increment and spend months for little gain. Clients appreciate candid math.
Case Studies, Without the Gloss
A rear-end crash with moderate bumper damage, neck and shoulder strain, six months of therapy, and lingering headaches. Liability was clean, but the insurer fixated on the low property damage photos. We secured a brief personal injury claim NC Car Accident Lawyers - Durham letter from the physiatrist explaining how acceleration-deceleration forces can cause soft tissue injury irrespective of visible car damage, then added PT discharge notes showing measurable improvement but persistent deficits. Demand at 95,000 against 100,000 limits, settled at 72,500. The key was a grounded medical narrative, not lofty adjectives.
A T-bone at an uncontrolled intersection, disputed liability with each driver claiming the right of way. Client had a fractured radius, surgery, and hardware. The police report was neutral, but a nearby deli camera caught the light pattern. We obtained and preserved it early. Demand at policy limits of 250,000 with a tight, complete package including the video, operative report, and a treating surgeon’s note about a likely second surgery for hardware removal. Insurer paid limits in 28 days. Bad faith leverage mattered, but only because our timing and documentation were impeccable.
The Role of Litigation, If It Comes to It
Filing suit is not failure. It is a tool. Some insurers do not price risk properly until discovery opens and your personal injury litigation team shows they can present the story well. The demand package becomes your opening exhibit list. Depositions of treating providers, if they are cooperative and credible, often move valuation more than any retained expert.
If you anticipate litigation, build your demand with trial in mind. Identify which records and witnesses tell the story best. Keep your client’s social media clean, consistent with the claimed limitations. Disclose prior relevant injuries up front to avoid the surprise that undermines credibility later.
Closing Perspective
A demand letter is the visible expression of months of quiet work. It rewards thoroughness, honesty, and strategy. Insurers pay fair value when you show them a case they are likely to lose at trial, backed by medical proof, clean liability, and a human story told without exaggeration.
Whether you handle a minor matter yourself or hire a personal injury lawyer for full personal injury legal representation, approach the process like a builder, not a performer. Gather the right materials. Fit them together in the correct order. Check every measurement twice. Then present a structure that stands on its own. That is how personal injury claims earn respect, and that is how clients get paid.