Gallagher Bassett Settlement Reviews: Tactics and Bad Faith

Reviews of Gallagher Bassett settlements, from both claimants and the attorneys who negotiate against the company, describe a consistent pattern: low opening offers, slow or missing communication, close scrutiny of medical and social media history, and settlement authority that sits with the employer or insurer rather than the adjuster on the phone. Understanding why the process works that way, and what regulators have actually found, is the starting point for deciding how to respond to an offer.

Why Gallagher Bassett Approaches Claims the Way It Does

Gallagher Bassett is a third-party administrator, not an insurance company. It manages claims on behalf of employers, insurers, and self-insured organizations, and it does not pay settlements from its own funds. Its client is whoever hired it to handle the file, and it competes for that business by showing it can keep claim costs down.¹

That structure matters for a claimant in two ways. First, Gallagher Bassett has no direct contractual duty to the injured person, and one Texas firm notes that because the company is a TPA rather than an insurer, it may not owe claimants the same duty of good faith that insurers owe their own policyholders.²³¹

What Claimants and Attorneys Say About the Process

One attorney practice summarized dealing with the company as “banging your head against the wall.”¹ The specific complaints fall into a few consistent buckets.

Low Opening Offers

Multiple law firms report that initial settlement proposals often fail to account for future medical care, long-term lost wages, and pain and suffering, and are set at roughly the lowest number the company believes will close the file.¹ Attorneys attribute this to the structural pressure to demonstrate cost control to the TPA’s clients.²

Communication Problems

Reaching an assigned adjuster is a frequent complaint. On one legal forum, a workers’ compensation claimant said they had left more than ten messages without a return call while running out of a steroid prescription needed to maintain the use of their hands. An attorney responding noted that some adjusters “don’t even answer nor return calls to their own attorneys.”⁴

The company’s claimant mobile app, GBGO, is meant to let injured people check payment status, access medical cards, and message their Resolution Manager. User reviews report the app often fails to display current claim information or does not function properly, with one user saying it made it hard for injured people to pay their bills.⁵

Aggressive Investigation

Attorneys warn that adjusters may seek recorded statements to find inconsistencies, scrutinize medical histories for pre-existing conditions, monitor social media, and make repetitive documentation requests. Each of those steps can delay a resolution and put financial pressure on a claimant waiting for benefits.²

Control Over Workers’ Compensation Treatment

In workers’ compensation claims, Gallagher Bassett controls which doctors a worker sees, which treatments are approved, and when the worker is expected back on the job. Law firms allege the company pushes employees back to work before they are physically ready and moves to minimize or cut off medical treatment.⁶

What Audits and Billing Data Show

Beyond the anecdotal reviews, two sources give a quantitative picture.

In California workers’ compensation, an analysis of electronic billing data found that Gallagher Bassett denied payment on 29% of medical bills submitted to it during the first four months of 2024. Providers submitted 44,583 bills during that period, and the company denied 12,842 of them in full. The average denial rate across the twenty largest claims administrators in California over the same period was 18%.⁷

In April 2023, the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board issued a compliance audit of Gallagher Bassett’s 2021 claims. The company’s initial indemnity payment compliance rate was 73% against an 87% benchmark, with eleven late payments, and its on-time injury reporting rate was 62% against an 85% benchmark. The Board assessed over $20,000 in penalties for late payments and late filings, and found a net underpayment of $7,756 to workers ($10,697 in underpayments offset by $2,941 in overpayments). The Board warned it could refer the company to its Abuse Investigation Unit over “failure to address compliance issues outlined in previous audits.”⁸

When Bad Faith Allegations Reach Court

In April 2022, a jury in Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona awarded $500,000 in compensatory damages against Ace American Insurance Company and Gallagher Bassett. The underlying claim involved a mining company employee with an undisputed lumbar spine injury; three doctors recommended fusion surgery, but the Gallagher Bassett adjuster refused to authorize it. The jury found Ace breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing and that Gallagher Bassett aided and abetted the denial.⁹

In an earlier Mississippi case, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. v. Malone, a workers’ compensation claimant alleged that delays in processing his claim led to delayed treatment and ultimately the amputation of his leg. A jury awarded him $250,000 in compensatory damages and awarded his employer $1.25 million on a breach-of-contract cross-claim against Gallagher Bassett. The Mississippi Supreme Court vacated both verdicts in 2010, finding that the jury instructions had produced contradictory results, and ordered a retrial.¹⁰

One important boundary applies here. In a 2006 Wisconsin case, a court ruled that Gallagher Bassett was shielded from common-law bad faith claims because the exclusivity provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act applied to its role as a fund administrator.¹¹ Whether a claimant can sue the TPA directly for bad faith, as opposed to pursuing the insurer or employer, depends on state law.

How to Approach a Settlement With Gallagher Bassett

Attorneys who regularly negotiate against the company give consistent practical advice.

Do not give a recorded statement without legal advice first. Answers about prior injuries, medical history, or accident details can be used to argue the claim is worth less.¹
Compile medical records, diagnostic imaging, physician opinions, wage loss documentation, and photographs before negotiations begin. Small gaps in treatment history can be used to reduce the claim’s value.³
Do not accept the first offer. Initial numbers tend to be the minimum the company believes a claimant will take, and there is no obligation to accept.¹²
Consider hiring an attorney for serious injuries. Multiple firms report that the company’s settlement posture becomes significantly more realistic once a lawsuit is filed, because defense costs and trial risk force the client to reassess.¹
Check for a possible third-party claim. If a workplace injury involved a negligent third party, such as a subcontractor or defective equipment, a separate personal injury case may exist alongside workers’ compensation and may allow broader recovery.¹

The through-line in both the reviews and the audit data is that the offer in front of you reflects the TPA’s business model, not an independent read of what your injury is worth. The counterweight is documentation, patience, and, when the injury is serious enough to justify it, a lawyer whose involvement changes the client’s cost calculation.

1
Miller & Zois. Gallagher Bassett Accident Claims and Settlements
2
Baumgartner Law Firm. Gallagher Bassett: What Injured Victims Must Know
3
Orange Law. Gallagher Bassett Claims Guide
4
Avvo. My Workers Comp Representative Gallagher Bassett
5
Gallagher Bassett GBGO. GBGO Claimant App
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Mark Hurt Law Firm. Is Your Workers Compensation Claim Managed by Gallagher Bassett
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daisyBill. CA Payment Denial Rates Top 20 Claims Administrators
8
Maine Workers’ Compensation Board. Gallagher Bassett Audit
9
Doyle Law Firm. Jury Finds Ace American and Gallagher Bassett Acted in Bad Faith
10
FindLaw. Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. v. Malone
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Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Aslakson v. Gallagher Bassett Services Inc.
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Anderson Franco Law. Gallagher Bassett: Who They Are and How to Negotiate With Them