Red alert checklist · an offer arrivedLowball offer red flagsFour signs the check shortchanges you.

A first offer is a negotiating position taken before treatment ends, which is why it is low. Check the signs below against the letter in front of you. If any box is checked, do not sign the release that came with it, because a general release ends the claim for every injury, including the ones not diagnosed yet.

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★★★★★Five star average on Google · Client reviews · Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609

Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published September 9, 2026 · Reviewed September 9, 2026

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Four signs of a lowball offer

It arrived before your treatment endedNo one can value a claim before a doctor says what the recovery looks like. An offer in the first weeks is priced on the assumption that you will get better on your own.
It covers the bills so far and says nothing about future careInjections, a second MRI, physical therapy, surgery. Future medical expenses are their own category of damages under the California jury instructions, and a release signed today waives them.
It comes with a general release and a short window“Sign and return within 10 days” is pressure, not a deadline. Your claim runs two years from the crash, and the release ends it forever.
The letter blames a minor impact, low property damage, or a percentage of faultBumper damage does not measure a spine, and a fault percentage assigned before anyone watched the video is a negotiating number. California's pure comparative fault rule under Civil Code 1714 reduces a claim by your share. It does not cancel one.

Also missing from most first offers

Your health plan's right to be repaid from the settlement, which comes out of the check. Your lost wages. Your own underinsured motorist coverage, which the other side's adjuster will never mention.

What a first offer looks like

In one of our rear-end cases the first offer was $31,500. The client went on to have back surgery, and the case settled for $1,250,000. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only by a signed written fee agreement.

Questions about lowball offer red flags

Can I negotiate after I accept a settlement offer?

Not once you sign a general release. A release is a contract that ends the claim for every injury from the crash, known or not. Before you sign, everything is negotiable. After, almost nothing is.

Is an insurer allowed to lowball me?

An insurer may negotiate, but California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations bar it from attempting to settle for an amount a reasonable person would know is far below what the claim is worth, and from misrepresenting the coverage or the facts to do it. Documented lowballing is evidence in the case that follows.

Why does the offer say my injuries are minor?

Because the file is thin. An adjuster values what the records show. When the records grow to include the MRI, the specialist's notes, and the treatment plan, the offer changes. Building that file is the work a lawyer does.

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Red alert checklist · an offer arrivedLowball offer red flagsFour signs the check shortchanges you.

Four signs of a lowball offer

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Questions about lowball offer red flags

Tell us what happened. We'll tell you where you stand.