Car Accident Lawyer Outer Banks
Insurance companies are businesses focused on minimizing payouts, often offering car accident victims settlements far lower than they deserve. They employ various tactics to pressure victims into accepting less compensation than they are entitled to, exploiting their financial stress and lack of legal knowledge. None of these tricks used by insurance companies are technically illegal or disallowed under the rules for civil lawsuits. However, each puts crash victims at a great disadvantage during settlement negotiations and litigation.
As Outer Banks car accident lawyers, we’ve seen all the tricks and delay tactics employed by insurance companies. If you have been injured in a crash, call Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp to speak with one of our attorneys before you speak to the insurance company.
What Are Some of the Tactics the Insurance Company May Use?
Recorded Statement
One of the first steps the insurance company will take is pressuring you to make a recorded statement. Within a day or two after the accident, expect a call from an insurance adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company. The adjuster will try to get you to make a statement about the crash, your injuries, prognosis, and return-to-work date.
Do not make the requested statement. Once the insurance company has you on tape (and in the transcript), it will hold your statement up during settlement negotiations, mediation sessions, and court proceedings as “the facts of the case.” That characterization is questionable, at best. Any statement you make shortly after an accident is likely to be incomplete, overly optimistic regarding your physical and financial recovery, and less than half the story.
Medical Release
Another deceptive tactic is downplaying or disputing the severity of injuries. During that initial phone call, you will also be asked to agree to release your medical records. Doing that requires signing a form, so even if you say yes at first, you can still act to maintain your medical privacy.
Keeping control of your medical records early in the personal injury claims process is essential. Insurance companies often claim that a victim’s injuries are minor or pre-existing, using medical records against them to argue that treatment is unnecessary or unrelated to the accident. They may also require victims to undergo independent medical examinations (IMEs) with doctors who are financially tied to the insurer, leading to biased reports that minimize injury claims.
Pressure to Settle
The goal of the insurance company is to rush victims into a quick settlement before they fully understand the extent of their injuries and damages. Shortly after an accident, an insurance adjuster may contact the victim with a lowball offer, knowing that medical expenses and lost wages create financial stress. The goal is to get victims to accept an offer before they have the chance to consult an attorney or assess the full impact of their injuries. Once a settlement is accepted, victims typically waive their right to seek further compensation, even if they later discover additional medical issues.
The adjuster will use skewed estimates to arrive at settlement amounts that are as low as possible. Agreeing to settle may make sense, but accepting the first or, usually, second and third offers can leave you paying accident-related bills and debts out of your own pocket.
Intimidation Tactics
Some adjusters even use intimidation tactics, such as falsely claiming this is their “final offer” or hiring a car accident attorney will only delay the process and reduce their payout. You may even be told that a car accident lawyer will cost you more than you receive in compensation. In reality, seeking legal counsel often leads to significantly higher compensation.
The lawyers at our firm do not charge any upfront fees. We work on a contingency fee with our clients, which means we only get paid if we obtain a favorable outcome in your case.
Shifting the Blame
Insurance companies also attempt to shift blame onto the victim to reduce liability. Adjusters may twist statements, misinterpret accident reports, or even suggest that the victim was partially at fault. North Carolina follows the contributory negligence doctrine, which means that even if the victim was only five percent liable for the accident, they cannot collect any compensation.
Another trick is delaying the claims process to frustrate victims into accepting a lower settlement out of desperation. Insurers may drag out investigations, repeatedly request unnecessary documentation, or refuse to return calls. Victims struggling financially may feel pressured to accept any amount offered to cover their immediate expenses.
Do You Have Questions About a Settlement Offer You Received?
If you received a settlement offer that is less than you need and deserve, or if your insurance adjuster refuses to treat your case fairly, discuss your case with a knowledgeable Outer Banks car accident attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp. During your free consultation, we will review your case, explain whether or not the offer is fair, and, if not, what amount would accurately represent your total losses. Using these tactics, our firm was able to obtain a $150,000 verdict for a client when the insurer kept reducing to compensate him fairly for a pre-existing medical condition that was worsened when a hit-and-run driver struck him.
To schedule a free case review with one of our Outer Banks car accident attorneys, fill out the contact form on our website or call us at (833) 997-1774. We have offices in Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk.