Mount Clemens, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/28/2016 --David C. Femminineo, Michigan personal injury attorney, shares six ways insurance companies will try to avoid paying insurance claims to someone who has been severally hurt or injured in an auto accident.
You get into an auto accident. "It could be worse," you think. "After all, I have insurance." But no matter how good you think your coverage is, do not forget that the insurance company is serving themselves before they are serving you.
The financial road following a major auto accident is long, as medical expenses and wage losses add up. Claimants can quickly fall into a vicious cycle that leads to unpaid bills, hounding by collections agencies, damaged credit, and, eventually, even foreclosure. Most people live month-to-month, and the absence of critical income threatens the existence they have carved out for themselves and their family.
When an auto accident forces a person to file an injury claim and prevents them from working, it would be nice to think that the auto insurance you pay good money for will come to your aid, or the insurance of the person who caused the accident will cough up what you are owed. But let's be realistic: Insurance adjusters and companies move at a glacial pace.
Here are just six common stall tactics that insurance adjusters are trained to deliberately use to avoid paying valid auto accident claims or, at the very least, not pay claimants as much as they deserve to receive:
1. Being your buddy:
Insurance adjusters "tsk" in all the right places and empathize with your situation. But the concern is superficial – the most important job of insurance adjusters is to protect the company that employs them. Adjusters will even abuse the rapport they've developed with you, taking a statement like, "I'm feeling OK today" and using it against you as fodder to deny or reduce your claim.
2. Offering a quick settlement:
An insurance company representative may be one of the first people you encounter after your accident. They will ask you to sign a full release in exchange for compensation on the spot. Tempting, especially with a broken car right in front of you. But you are signing away your right to compensation for all of your injuries – including some that may not have been diagnosed yet, like a concussion or herniated disc.
3. Lowball settlements:
It is to an insurance company's benefit to move as slowly as possible when processing claims. Claimants who are unable to work and receive meager disability checks may become so desperate for money they are willing to accept far less than the full amount they are owed from the insurance company just to regain some financial equilibrium.
4. Deny, deny, deny:
First, do not take the word of the at-fault driver's insurance adjuster if they say the other driver does not have enough coverage to handle your full claim. Second, expect an adjuster to deny a portion or even all liability for their insured, instead pushing the blame to you. And, finally, do not be surprised if an insurance adjuster takes the liberty of deciding that the medical treatment you have received is excessive or unnecessary.
5. Requesting medical records:
Adjusters will ask you to sign authorization forms to release your medical records, promising that this action will move things along quickly so your claim can be settled. And then radio silence, until you call for an update and discover that the adjuster has found a pre-existing injury or condition that allows them to decide they are not going to pay you anything. Do not sign any documents or hand over adjuster-solicited information unless your lawyer tells you to, which brings us to the final stall tactic…
6. Convincing you not to hire a lawyer:
When an insurance adjuster finds out you have lawyered up, their friendliness is likely to turn frosty, and fast. An insurance adjuster will be the first person to tell you, "Nah, you don't need an attorney. We'll pay your claim. And you do not want to pay a portion of that to an attorney." But research has shown that accident victims who secure legal representation are likely to walk away from a case with greater compensation than if they had not hired an attorney.
Be careful where you place your faith as you deal with the aftermath of an auto accident. Insurance companies are looking out for number one – and that is not you.
About David C. Femminineo
David C. Femminineo is a Michigan personal injury attorney who specializes in helping victims who have been hurt or injured in motor vehicle and truck accidents. David C. Femminineo has more than 20 years of experience and has helped hundreds of victims collect benefits owed to them from insurance companies. In 2014, he garnered the highest reported settlement in Michigan of $1.5 million for a plaintiff who sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident. Femminineo Attorneys, PLLC is located in Mount Clements, Michigan.
Visit http://www.85565crash.com/ for more information.
