Our Method
first look
Averse Risk, LLC, a licensed private investigation agency with a history of assisting in complex claims, accident and trucking losses, worker’s compensation claims, and products liability matters, offers a “First Look” service, beginning within minutes of a loss. We offer 24 hour response. We urge you to contact us as one of the first calls when an accident occurs.
Averse Risk, LLC is based in Holden, LA, on I-12 and 30 minutes from the 10-12 Split in Baton Rouge. We are 50 minutes from downtown New Orleans. We are 20 minutes from I-55 in Hammond, LA. This central location, close to three interstates, makes us an excellent first responder for losses in South Louisiana.
Our goal is to be onsite, as soon as possible. Our bags are packed. If we can be there before your adjuster or company Safety Director, let us make the initial contact with claimants and witnesses—before they pick a lawyer from the numerous billboards along the interstate.
Our services will be specifically tailored to your needs. For high SIR Insureds facing substantial risk, we will investigate the accident scene, open lines of communication with the people involved in the accident, offer assistance to the claimants, if authorized by you, transfer corporate drivers for alcohol and drug testing, if required by the DOT/FMCSA, search for and contact witnesses, and determine whether adjacent video surveillance may have captured an image of the accident.
If injuries are sustained by your employee, we will communicate with your corporate representative and take what steps you deem appropriate.
Our “First Look” can continue past the initial accident response, if authorized. It is our belief that the first contact person who speaks with a potential claimant is in the best position to attempt to resolve matters with that Claimant. We believe that “Speaking with One Voice” TM offers the best chance of early claims resolution. The goal should be to immediately assist claimants and develop trust, so that there is no need to hire a third party to fix the damage sustained in an accident.
It is important to remember that most persons involved in an accident are not “Professional Plaintiffs.” They are probably in an accident for the first or second time in their life. They might be in shock, and they don’t know what to do, what their rights are, and how to proceed. It is important to let them know what the Insurer and Company ARE PREPARED TO DO to fix things. Communicating the option of a speedy and fair settlement, a timely rental vehicle with no expense to the Claimant, and a quick resolution of property damage, without any perception that an insurance adjuster or company is “playing games’ or taking advantage of that person, is paramount.
Great communication will often lead to that person not “playing the claims game,” seeking out possibly unnecessary or excessive treatment with the hope of increasing claims value, only to learn much later that doctor, therapy, chiropractor, and diagnostic test costs, and attorney fees, have eroded that person’s settlement to the amount he or she would have put ‘in their pocket’ in the days or weeks following the accident.
Granting a reasonable level of authority to settle claims, including factoring in and assessing future treatment and exposure, is the best method of treating claimants fairly while controlling your company’s future risks. Conversely, deciding to offer a “Nuisance Value” settlement is often all an injured person needs to hear to decide to hire an attorney.
Following this First Look Model has empirically resulted in the settlement of 80% of claims within the first 30 days of the loss.
second look
Averse Risk, LLC is also available for investigation and surveillance work in the time period after the initial loss, but prior to a lawsuit and defense counsel discovery. We believe that every claim has the potential to become a large loss. Failure to attempt to mitigate those losses, through effective investigation before litigation commences, will result in poorer claims outcomes over time.
Undertaking private investigation work during the first few months of the claim will lead to the development of fresh and timely evidence and will allow you to assess the relative risk exposures for a given loss. Sometimes, this evidence will be unnecessary. Plaintiff’s counsel might decide not to pursue a given claim. The Claimant may wake up a month from the accident pain-free and ready to go back to work, leading to a fair, timely settlement. However, none of us can accurately predict which claims will resolve in this matter.
What Averse Risk, LLC will offer is an “APGAR Score,” of sorts, to determine the level of risk and exposure with each claim. Is this claim or claimant likely to become very large over time?
APGAR Scores traditionally refer to a Doctor’s assessment of the risks of mortality of an infant. The term is an anacronym for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration. By assessing these five factors, physicians determine whether a newborn baby may face a risk of early death.
Our Private Investigator’s APGAR Score assesses Appearance, Prior Claims, Gravity of Injury, Activity/ Work, and Reliability. We look at the Claimant’s work history, whether the Claimant has made prior claims, and the results of those claims or litigation, the extent of injuries sustained in the accident, whether the Claimant had prior accidents and injuries that could have resulted in a pre-existing condition, whether that condition was aggravated by the new accident, and whether there is any history of prior criminal conduct on the part of the claimant which could influence a Judge or Jury’s assessment of his or her credibility.
Reliability is the key factor. If investigation reveals that a Claimant has not been truthful with his or her physicians, has omitted prior relevant medical history, has misrepresented work done since and before the accident, or exhibits signs and symptoms in everyday life which are inconsistent with the medical history given to doctors and the testimony given to your defense attorneys in depositions and written discovery, these are the confluence of factors which can lead to successful defense outcomes at mediation or trial.
It is our experience that most physicians and plaintiffs’ attorneys take Patients/Clients at their word. It is our belief that the vast majority of attorneys are honorable and do not allow their clients to intentionally misrepresent facts. However, they do not have the same incentive to develop the truth that you do. The standard deposition response, “…Not that I recall…”, must be vetted with additional discovery and further investigation.
third look
Averse Risk offers one additional service in the 30-60 days prior to a scheduled Mediation or Trial. The “Third Look” reviews the discovery and depositions developed by the attorneys and the medical evidence submitted by the Plaintiff and developed through Defense Counsel Subpoenas and Medical Authorizations. The Third Look attempts to supplement this information and verify its accuracy. Further, the Third Look will determine if any new facts or circumstances, such as a new accident since the Plaintiff’s deposition or a new criminal offense, has transpired.
The goal of the “Third Look” is to develop evidence previously unknown to either Plaintiff ‘s Counsel or Defense Counsel, not divulged by the Plaintiff in Discovery, which can be produced as Impeachment Evidence at trial, or as “Talking Points” at Mediation which can lead to a more successful outcome during a long day of negotiations.
This is an excellent and affordable step for Insurers to undertake at the time of ATLP Reporting deadlines and the scheduling of Mediations.
