You Don’t Have To Settle For Less
Brian O Sutter
Insurance Laws
Personal Injury
If you end up in an accident, or if you get injured on the job or while you’re at some other commercial location, then if your injury is serious enough it’s likely that you’ll have to deal with an insurance agency in order to get compensation for damaged property, medical bills, and lost wages. In fact, it’s very possible that you’ll lose track of the original person or business entirely and only ever speak with the insurance claims adjuster just as soon as you leave the site of the accident.However, it’s worth pointing out that even though the adjuster is paying you money, he or she is not actually on your side. Paying out claims is the biggest drain on any insurance company’s revenue, at least if it’s operating correctly, and as the person who determines just how big this drain is, claims adjusters are strongly encouraged to make this drain as small as possible. That means keeping a watchful eye out for insurance fraud, but it also means that they may see fraud where there is none and they may use underhanded tactics designed to make you settle for less than you deserve.
Whatever It Takes
Insurance companies have two things on their side and they aren’t afraid to use them: perception and time.
With perception, the fact is that many kinds of injury are hard to identify and even harder for other people to understand and believe in. Head injuries in particular are notorious on both counts, both because they are very unpredictable and because they aren’t easy to prove since they rarely show up on anything less than an MRI scan. Even then, it’s not necessarily obvious unless you have a baseline scan to compare it to.
What this means is that an insurance company can use the absence of any visible injury against you. This could mean asking you for a statement about the accident and your injuries immediately, before you’re even aware of the extent of your injuries or while you’re so doped up on painkillers that you can’t think straight. Even if such a statement proves to be incorrect later on, the insurer can still use it as evidence against your case later on.
They might also send a doctor to investigate your injuries, and since he or she is on the company’s payroll the doctor is unlikely to simply believe you when you describe any persistent pain that isn’t immediately visible. Failing that, they may even have an investigator follow you around and take pictures of you performing chores and going to work while you’re supposedly convalescing. It may be that you’re doing such things because otherwise they won’t get done and you’ll be suffering afterwards, but as they say, “pictures don’t lie.”
The other thing insurance companies have is time. This time may have a limit thanks to state and federal statutes, but they will frequently make the most of the wiggle room they have. This gives them the ability to use the pressure of bills and other necessities against you – the settlement they offer you may not be enough to cover everything, but it’s enough to get by and right now that’s what you need.
The Best Defense
Claims adjusters also have one clear advantage which you do not: they are professionals who deal with situations like yours all the time, whereas you are just an amateur. So why should you have to wade into an uneven boxing match when you could hire a professional of your own to defend you?
Personal injury lawyers generally have extensive experience with reluctant insurance companies, and they know exactly what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to dealing with them. For instance, even though the insurer may be doing everything possible to make you appear to be fine, you should never respond with a lie or exaggerate your injuries for effect. Even if you’re seriously suffering and you want other people to understand that, the moment it comes out that you were lying is the moment your case falls to pieces since nothing you say before or after will have any shred of credibility.
If you happen to live in southwestern Florida, then the firm to call is the All Injuries Law Firm. We have the resources it takes to bring an insurance company to court, and often the threat of a suit is enough for most companies to settle on a much more reasonable sum. You can contact us anytime for a free case review, and if we think your claim has merit we will do whatever we can to see you get the compensation you deserve.