Why You Shouldn’t Handle the Insurance Company on Your Own
If you’ve been injured in an accident, there may be a small part of you asking why you can’t represent yourself. You’re no dummy, You know how the world works. You can handle this yourself, you think. But what you don’t know is that insurance companies use a handful of sometimes devious tricks, to fool you—and yes, they love to hear that an accident victim has opted to represent themself.
Insurance companies have way more resources and knowledge about how accident cases work than you do. You are dealing with trained professionals whose job it is to pay you as little as possible.
Getting a Recorded Statement
One thing that they will do is ask for a recorded statement from you. This may seem reasonable; you’re confident in your position, so why not tell them what happened on a recording? The insurance company will make it sound like you have no choice in providing a recorded statement.
If it’s the insurance company for the other driver, this is false. You don’t have to do anything for that insurance company. You have no insurance policy with that company and are under no obligation to provide a recorded statement.
The recorded statement is intended to trip up. The insurance company is trying to get you to say anything about the accident or your injuries that they can later use against you. They will bury dangerous or trick questions in the examination, leading you to say things that could seriously hurt your case.
It may not be a criminal case, but we recommend living by the advice given by the police when they detain someone. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. So don’t give a recorded statement until you have spoken with a lawyer. We often refuse to allow our clients to give recorded statements.
Your Case is a Loser. Or Is It?
Insurance companies are really good at sounding reasonable, rational, and sometimes even helpful. One thing they will do is tell you the “difficulties” of your case. And you may believe them; they are the ones that do this every day and have a team of lawyers at their side.
They’ll tell you why the law isn’t in your favor or why a jury won’t like you or your case. And they’ll sound like they’re giving you inside advice or helpful guidance. They’re really just coercing you to settle your case for less than what it’s worth.
Settling the Case Early
Hand in hand with diminishing the value or merits of the case, they will also try to get you to settle for less than what your case is worth. They may offer you what, at the time, seems like a reasonable amount, or offer to pay your medical bills or some of your lost wages—money they know you are desperate to obtain.
But they don’t tell you that by accepting that offer, you are eliminating your right to ever go back and collect any more compensation, such as for your pain and suffering or loss of quality of life, or any other element of damages or hardship that you may be experiencing.
Don’t handle your injury case on your own. Call the Knoxville personal injury attorneys at Fox Farley Willis & Burnette, PLLC, today.
Sources:
millerpublicadjusters.com/free-property-insurance-claim-advice-blog/what-is-examination-under-oath
nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-do-insurers-value-injury-29976.html
