Settlement Intelligence endorses the use of Trial Guides' Colossus Forms for personal injury claims. Some lawyers have questioned whether these continue to provide value in cases because of their age, so Aaron DeShaw addresses that issue in this blog post.
"The primary value of the Colossus Forms is the inclusion of the Duties Under Duress and Loss of Enjoyment of Life forms. I created these after three years of research into the Colossus program, including original internal programming notes. I believe these factors also apply to Liability Navigator (formerly called Claim Outcome Advisor or COA) because that program was designed by the same team as Colossus.
The Duties Under Duress and Loss of Enjoyment of Life forms include all factors and sub factors known to provide value within these programs, both of which are used in a high percentage of auto cases in the United States. As such, those forms provide approximately 200 factors and sub factors that are provided monetary value for settlement offers, and which are normally not considered or discussed in medical records.
All evidence points to the fact that Colossus is very difficult to reprogram because of the language used to create the program. Even once my Colossus books uncovered notable problems with the program, I understand CSC struggled with making changes.
There is no evidence I am aware of that the factors for Duties Under Duress or Loss of Enjoyment of Life have changed since these forms were created. The Colossus program was created in the late 1980s and continues to be used by many major auto insurers in the US. The Liability Navigator program was created in the mid-1990s and continues to be used by many major auto insurers in the US. So, despite these forms being older, I continue to believe they represent most, if not all, of the factors and sub factors used by auto insurers in evaluating Duties Under Duress and Loss of Enjoyment of Life claims.
Could the graphics of the form be nicer? Yes.
Would it change the outcome of the cases where the form is used? No.
The value of these forms is the questions, the client’s answers, and forms that can be taken to a doctor and discussed in terms of the impact of the injuries on the client so that the insurer has proof of the losses, and the lawyer has the ability to use the form and those resulting chart notes to make a Duties Under Duress or Loss of Enjoyment of Life claim.
If consistently used in cases, I would find it very hard to believe that a lawyer purchasing this product would not receive multiple times the cost in the first three cases. If used on hundreds or thousands of cases over the course of a lawyer’s career, it would be a very poor financial choice to practice without these forms. The other forms in this product are a bonus.
Trial Guides obtained all intellectual property protection available on the Colossus forms to prevent them being used by unauthorized parties. To the extent you have seen the questions or format elsewhere in relation to Duties Under Duress or Loss of Enjoyment of Life, they would be infringing upon my original work in these forms, my Colossus books, and Trial Guides’ intellectual property in these forms. The only other company using this content with permission is my AI demand letter company Settlement Intelligence."
As noted by Dr. DeShaw, Settlement Intelligence is the only demand letter platform authorized to use all of the Duties Under Duress and Loss of Enjoyment of Life factors in creating demand letters. While others mention these terms in their marketing it appears that they do not even understand what the claims mean. If you are looking for a demand letter platform and consultant who understands claims, the choice is clear; Settlement Intelligence.