What is Colossus and How Does it Relate to Personal Injury Cases?

Colossus is a computer application that is used by insurance companies, and some attorneys, to evaluate personal injury claims. The software helps in determining the settlement value of the claims. In the US, it is used by more than 50% of claims adjusters and over 300 insurance companies, according to the developer of the software, Computer Science Corporation.

Most insurance companies that use Colossus to evaluate personal injury claims do not reveal this information to the public. Because they use the software to make internal decisions, actual settlements can turn out to be quite different than expected.

How are Settlement Claims Calculated by Colossus?

Colossus looks at different factors, other than the treatment costs, to predict a personal injury settlement claim. It evaluates whether you or your attorney has a history of taking cases to court when receiving a small settlement amount or just accepting the best offer given by the insurance company.

The software considers the state where the injury has occurred. Also, it evaluates the type of injury sustained by the individual. About 700 personal injury codes represent different types of personal injuries; the injuries are classified according to a “severity value” with different points assigned to each type of injury.

After all the different factors are analyzed, Colossus adds up the points and comes up with a settlement value. When calculating the settlement value, the system assigns the most weight to the severity of the injuries. Permanent injuries, for instance, have more value as compared to temporary injuries resulting in greater payout amount.

Criticism of Colossus Software

Colossus has been criticized for favoring insurance companies instead of the victims. The software does not take into account a number of factors, including pain, stress, hardship, loss of consortium (relationship), loss of mental or physical enjoyment capacity, and inability to take part in things that an individual enjoyed the most.

Generally, the main problem with Colossus is that it does not take into account human suffering that results from personal injury. While it’s possible that the software may make inaccurate evaluations and come up with an adjustment value that’s far greater than the mental and financial hardship incurred due to the injury, in most cases the opposite occurs.

That’s why it’s important that you contact an experienced personal injury attorney to ensure that you get the best settlement for your injuries. The attorney can challenge the settlement value paid by the insurance company if it doesn’t fully take into account the actual loss borne by an individual due to the injury.

There is no computer program that can understand the pain and emotional suffering caused by a personal injury. A personal injury attorney understands this aspect of loss, and will ensure that an individual is fully compensated for the sufferings caused due to the negligence of another person.