[MRM]

Milt, the answer to your question is yes, you can negotiate on behalf of your wife. It's not unusual and the adjuster should be used to it. Just have your wife talk to the guy when you're on the line and have her confirm you can talk for her. She has to sign all the documents when you settle, so it doesn't matter too much to the adjuster who he talks too. She has to give final approval.

In all fairness, a decent personal injury specialist will charge you between 20% and 1/3 of the recovery but he will increase the settlement by more than the amount he charges plus he takes all the hasle out of the paperwork. A below average non-personal injury lawyer won't do much better than you can do on your own. There is a range of fair settlements for a given injury and aliability scenario. The question is what is it in your area, will you know it when you hear it, and is the adjuster willing to offer it to you without being represented. And is there additional information that only a lawyer would recognize as being important that could be submitted to change the adjuster's evaluation.

Some companies and adjusters will quite honestly evaluate the claim independent of who represents you and offer the same whether you have a crackshot lawyer or are pro se. Some play games with anyone who crosses their path. It's hard to know what you're dealing with and how to evaluate the offer if you're not a pro.

If you feel comfortable doing it, and you have a number in mind, and you've got someone in the wings to guide you, there's no harm in taking a swing at it yourself. I would be happy to talk to you and give you a ballpark evaluation and some suggestions for how to approach the adjuster to bolster your claim and make the best settlement possible. In the end, if you get the result you were looking for and you're able to put the incident behind you without more trouble and hassle, then you got a good settlement. If you got ten times that amount but came away bitter and dissatisfied, then it was a bad settlement. The settlement that makes you happy is the only good settlement there is.