Insurance Adjusters and Personal Injury Claims

By John Mordecai P.A.

Contrary to their TV ads, insurance companies don’t really care; they are profit driven corporations. State Farm is not really a good neighbor and Allstate doesn’t actually hold you in good hands. State Farm and Geico, like many other companies, spend millions in advertising to give the impression that they are on the consumer’s side.  It’s only after one of their insurance adjusters makes an appearance when a claim is filed that most consumers realize their insurance company is not their friend.  In fact, while they offer policies at competitive prices, all insurance companies are known to be notoriously unreasonable when it comes to settling a claim. For instance, many lawyers have described situations in which insurance companies have offered $1,850.00 to settle a case when their client has unpaid medical bills exceeding $2,000.00. Not only do such offers fail to cover medical expenses, they fail to compensate injury victims at all for the permanent injuries they may have suffered. The result is that Insurance companies and their policyholders get sued far more often than should be necessary.

True Story: I once represented a little boy named Jaime against State Farm.  Jaime’s face was horribly disfigured when he was bitten by a dog owned by someone insured by State Farm. The State Farm Adjuster, Ms. Hayes, had been frequently calling Jaime’s parents in an attempt to settle the case.  During each call, the adjuster expressed sorrow and concern for Jaime. Ms. Hayes ultimately offered the couple $3,500.00 to compensate Jaime and assured them it was fair. It then occurred to Jaime’s parents to get a second opinion as to whether State Farm’s offer was, in fact, fair and they called me.

When I first saw Jaime’s face and learned of State Farm’s tactics, it was glaringly apparent that State Farm was trying to exploit the inexperience of the boy’s parents. Even though I knew how insurance companies operated, it was still difficult to accept that an insurance company would try to perpetuate such an injustice in a case involving a child with disfiguring facial injuries. In the end, State Farm paid full amount the policy covered. Insurance companies almost always put profits before all else.

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind: 

1.    Insurance adjusters will actively seek information from you, or about you, to build a defense against you in order to lower the value of your case. They are not above “fishing” for evidence.  They do this by asking, in a concerned, friendly way, things like: “How are you feeling?” “What was your treatment?” “Did you have any pain like that before?” etc.  They may sound like they’re concerned, but those types of questions are designed to get information to lower the value of your case. Don’t answer their questions or engage in any conversation with them.  Instead, call a preeminent personal injury attorney.

 

2.    Don’t talk to any insurance adjuster before talking to a lawyer. If you do, it could seriously harm your claim. Insurance companies want to pay you the least amount of money possible for any injuries resulting from your accident.  Many times, they will offer to pay only your immediate medical bills (like your ER bills). But they don’t tell you that you are entitled, by law, to additional compensation for future medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

3.    You may not know which statements can lower the value of your claim. This is another reason not to talk to any insurance adjuster before talking to your lawyer. You might be surprised as to how seemingly innocent statements can wind up being twisted to use against you.

4.    It is YOUR RIGHT not to answer questions or return phone calls from the other driver’s adjuster. Insurance adjusters can be very aggressive with phone calls or they may even unexpectedly show up at your house. They may leave message after message.  Even so, you should ignore any calls from the at-fault driver’s insurance company and call a lawyer.  Never provide a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance adjuster. Unless it’s your own insurance company, you owe the insurance company nothing.

5.    Beware of false “deadlines” created by insurance adjusters to scare you. Adjusters have been known to make up nonexistent deadlines and rules that have no basis in law. There is only one important deadline: In Florida, you must seek medical treatment for your injuries within 14 days in order to preserve your entitlement to the full amount of your PIP coverage.  

6.    Call a qualified and aggressive personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident.  Although there is no legal deadline, you need to quickly call a car accident attorney to make sure you are preserving all crash and medical evidence. Evidence can quickly disappear and witness memories fade.

7.    Critical point: Go to the doctor as soon as possible.  If you haven’t already been, go to the doctor or emergency room. Ideally you would go to the ER by ambulance right after the crash. Otherwise, you can go to the ER, a walk-in clinic, your primary care, or any other doctor.

      8.    Take photographs. Take pictures of any vehicles involved, using both close up and wide angle sots of all areas that show vehicle damage.  If possible, take pictures of the scene of the crash, all vehicles involved, and any skid marks.  Take pictures of any of your injuries, bruises, medical devices, bloody clothing, etc. Also save any medical devices or bloody or torn clothing. We want all evidence that shows vehicular damage, the scene and your injuries.

9.    Try to get any witness contact information. If there were any witnesses, try to get their full name, phone number, address, and email address.

10. Call me as soon as possible. There are pitfalls that can be avoided with the advice of counsel. One such matter is to not post anything about your auto accident or injuries on social media. There are a number of other steps involved in preserving evidence for any case involving injuries or wrongful death caused by car accidents.

John Mordecai is a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury – wrongful death attorney who has successfully handled cases for thousands of people from all over Florida with recovery amounts for individual clients from thousands of dollars to over $5,000,000.00.  To learn more, go to http://mordecailaw.com or call 904-355-3109