If you’ve filed an insurance claim, you’ve likely dealt with an adjuster. While they investigate and settle claims, remember—they work for the insurance company, not for you. Whether they represent your insurer or the at-fault party’s insurer, their goal is often to settle for as little as possible to protect the company’s bottom line. Keep reading to learn how to protect your rights and maximize your compensation.
Be Aware of Insurance Adjuster Tactics
Many insurance adjusters have been doing their jobs for years, and they are often very good at settling claims. Unfortunately, this can mean that personal injury victims get taken advantage of during the process. If you are dealing with an adjuster as part of a personal injury claim, watch out for the following tactics.
Offering You a Quick Settlement
Adjusters know that you are facing medical bills and other expenses after an accident. Sometimes, your medical providers may press you to pay those bills and even threaten to send your bills to a collections agency. The adjuster may pretend to save the day by offering you a quick settlement that will get money into your hands soon.
The problem is that quick settlement offers are usually lowball offers. These offers are typically far less than what your case is actually worth. Work with your medical providers to inform them that your bills are part of a personal injury case. A lawyer can also help you with those bills by allowing your providers to file a medical lien on your case.
Telling You That You Don’t Need a Lawyer
Insurance adjusters often try to convince accident victims that they do not need to hire a lawyer to resolve their claim. They will say things like, “A lawyer will just take part of your money.” In reality, it is almost always a good idea to hire a lawyer after an accident. An experienced lawyer can help keep money out of the insurance company’s pocket and put it in yours.
Disputing Your Medical Treatments
Accident victims are entitled to recover damages for all reasonable and necessary medical treatments resulting from their accident. However, adjusters will often argue that your medical treatment choices were improper. For instance, adjusters may argue about the necessity of seeing a chiropractor after an apparent back injury.
An experienced lawyer can help argue these types of issues for you in court. If the insurance company refuses to offer you a fair settlement for all your damages, your lawyer can file a lawsuit and litigate your claim.
Blaming You for the Accident
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Insurance adjusters often try to blame the accident on you to avoid paying your claim. Thankfully, Oklahoma follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, a victim may still recover compensation as long as they are less than 51% responsible for their accident.
Even with this rule in place, putting some of the blame on you can reduce your recovery. The rule requires a victim’s recovery to be reduced by their portion of the fault. A lawyer can help investigate your accident and protect you from these “blame the victim” tactics.
Never Give a Recorded Statement to the Adjuster
After your accident, you may get a call from the adjuster within just a day or two. The adjuster may attempt to get you to give a recorded statement about your accident and injuries. In some cases, they may imply that giving a statement is required for settling your claim.
First, remember that all conversations with the insurance company are likely recorded. Next, know that you are under no obligation to give a recorded statement to the adjuster. In fact, you should NOT give them a recorded statement – especially without speaking to a lawyer first.
By asking for a recorded statement, an insurance adjuster may attempt to get you to:
- Admit fault for the accident
- Minimize the extent of your injuries (even before their full extent is known)
- Undervalue your claim
- Overshare information that they did not directly ask for
Adjusters will often ask you loaded questions, and they will use your responses against you later during the settlement process. When the adjuster contacts you, simply refer them to your lawyer. Your lawyer can handle all communications and negotiations with the adjuster.
Consider Hiring an Oklahoma City Personal Injury Lawyer
When determining whether you need to hire a lawyer, consider the details of your claim. For very small claims, hiring a lawyer might not be necessary. However, for all other claims, having a lawyer on your side is almost always a good idea. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations, so it will not cost you anything to talk to a lawyer about your case.
Also, remember that personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. The more money you get, the more money they make. So, your lawyer is incentivized to bring you the most compensation possible.
If you have been hurt in an accident, contact the team at Laird Hammons Laird Personal Injury Lawyers. Our team has 95 years of combined experience helping injury victims get the compensation they deserve, and we are ready to help you, too. Contact us today at (405) 497-0480 to schedule a free consultation.