November 30, 2011
Hi, I am Personal Injury and Wrongful Death lawyer, Elliott Dennis, with some tips for you. If you have been hurt in a car accident, and you make a claim, don’t expect the other person’s insurance company to protect your rights. The insurance investigator’s job is to find and preserve evidence, which helps them prove their “theory of the case” so they can pay you less.
The “defense” game plan often includes these arguments:
1) The accident was your fault. Since you caused the accident, you aren’t entitled to damages. Sometimes it is hard to figure out who caused an accident. If the insurance company can create confusion about who was at fault, you lose because you can’t meet your burden of proof.
2) Someone other than “our guy” caused the accident; “the other dud did it” defense. Obviously, if you are suing the wrong guy, you lose and the insurance company doesn’t pay.
3) You weren’t really hurt! If you did not seek medical attention, but are making a claim for pain and suffering, you will be “painted” as greedy, if not an outright fraud.
4) You weren’t hurt that bad! If you were treated by a chiropractor, not an orthopedic surgeon, expect to hear that your injury was insignificant or at most should have been completely healed in three months.
5) You just got treatment to build an accident injury claim! If you went to the emergency room right after the accident and then followed up with an orthopedic surgeon, but did not need surgery, it will be suggested that you just sought all that expensive treatment in order to build a “legal” case.
6) Your injuries were caused by your “other accident” or your pre-existing health issues. Pre-existing injuries can’t be charged to the current accident. Thus, the insurance company will try to attribute all of your current complaints to the medical conditions you had when the accident happened. Because it is very hard to sort out which accident caused what injuries, and because you have the burden of proof, this can be a very effective defense against your claim.
Besides these ever-popular defenses, there are a host of other defenses, which are raised on a case-by-case basis.
The bottom line, don’t expect the insurance company to simply write a settlement check even when there is proof that you did not cause the accident, and that you did suffer damages, because promptly paying a fair amount for a claim isn’t good claim management for an insurance company. In most cases, you will only get a fair settlement if you are represented by an experienced and competent personal injury attorney.
This message is from Elliott T. Dennis, an attorney that collects money for clients from insurance companies who don’t want to pay.
If you need help, call Elliott Dennis at (907) 929-4890 or email him at Elliott@attorneydennis.com