Like most personal injury attorneys, when I first meet a new client who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, I want to know if the client has given a statement to the auto insurance company that provides coverage to the negligent person who caused the accident. If my client has not yet given such a statement, I tell him not to make such a statement unless he talks to me first. It doesn't matter whether the statement he's asked to give is written, oral, or recorded.
It usually happens this way. You've been injured in a vehicular accident. A few days later, an insurance adjuster representing the negligent person's liability insurance company telephones and asks how you're doing. He wants you to describe all your injuries and to tell him everything about the accident. He seems friendly. He may imply that if you answer all his questions the insurance company will help you with your medical bills and property damage and pay you what your case is worth.
Whenever you deal with any auto insurance company, however, remember the insurance company's primary goal is to save the company money. The company wants to pay you, the claimant, as little money as possible. The company's bottom line is paramount.
So what's really the real purpose of all the questions? The insurance company is looking for a reason NOT to pay you at all or to pay you as little as it can. Maybe you'll give the adjuster a list of your injuries and forget to name one. Later on, when you're in a lawsuit, the adjuster or the company's lawyer will pull out your recorded statement and allege you didn't have "headaches" after the accident because you failed to mention them in your statement.
Maybe your description of the accident in the statement varies slightly from one you give later on a deposition or in court - months or years later. In this event, the insurance adjuster or the company's lawyer may argue you have now changed your story and are not telling the truth. If your case goes to trial, a jury may believe you lied.
Protect yourself. Be pleasant, but be firm. Refuse to give a statement about your accident to any insurance company that represents the negligent driver without talking to a lawyer first.
If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident through the negligence of another, the attorneys of Cuthbert Law Offices will fight for your rights against aggressive insurance companies. Contact our attorneys today to schedule a free consultation.
It usually happens this way. You've been injured in a vehicular accident. A few days later, an insurance adjuster representing the negligent person's liability insurance company telephones and asks how you're doing. He wants you to describe all your injuries and to tell him everything about the accident. He seems friendly. He may imply that if you answer all his questions the insurance company will help you with your medical bills and property damage and pay you what your case is worth.
Whenever you deal with any auto insurance company, however, remember the insurance company's primary goal is to save the company money. The company wants to pay you, the claimant, as little money as possible. The company's bottom line is paramount.
So what's really the real purpose of all the questions? The insurance company is looking for a reason NOT to pay you at all or to pay you as little as it can. Maybe you'll give the adjuster a list of your injuries and forget to name one. Later on, when you're in a lawsuit, the adjuster or the company's lawyer will pull out your recorded statement and allege you didn't have "headaches" after the accident because you failed to mention them in your statement.
Maybe your description of the accident in the statement varies slightly from one you give later on a deposition or in court - months or years later. In this event, the insurance adjuster or the company's lawyer may argue you have now changed your story and are not telling the truth. If your case goes to trial, a jury may believe you lied.
Protect yourself. Be pleasant, but be firm. Refuse to give a statement about your accident to any insurance company that represents the negligent driver without talking to a lawyer first.
If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident through the negligence of another, the attorneys of Cuthbert Law Offices will fight for your rights against aggressive insurance companies. Contact our attorneys today to schedule a free consultation.
Labels: motor vehicle accidents, personal injury