Many consumers are poorly treated and told things that are wrong about accident, injury and wrongful death cases. If you have an accident, injury and wrongful death claim, I would suggest to you the advantage of meeting with an experienced accident, injury and wrongful death personal injury lawyer to understand all of your rights. The insurance company may seem to be treating you correctly, but they don’t represent you. They also are not accident, injury and wrongful death lawyers, so don’t take your legal advice from them.
In Minnesota, you have to meet a threshold to bring a claim for pain and suffering in a car accident case. When we meet a potential clients I often tell them we have no idea if they will meet a threshold and it will take time. In fact, I hope they get better and only need their bills paid. I have no idea how an adjuster can give a legal opinion as early as they do. Probably because they want to close their file and say you have no claim.
They want a recorded statement "to understand everything". Really, do you think that is why they want the statement? They get trained to ask questions to minimize their liability and prevent you from making a claim.
The adjuster will say "We won't pay unless you talk to us." The law does say that you are required to notify your company and answer their questions. It is not unusual for the accident, injury and wrongful death adjusters to read these requirements broadly and to ask for more than they have a right to, or to add extra hoops that the unrepresented person is forced to jump through. They aren’t representing you.
They ask for releases that are too broad. If you give them a release to talk to your doctor or if they get involved in treatment decisions, you may be severely hurting your case.
They call and they call. This is a tactic to wear you down, to get accident, injury and wrongful death statements over and over. They want to close their file. What better way than to annoy you? This tactic does drive people into our office, but I still would rather see the injured person treated professionally and like a person.
The adjuster yells at you or makes comments that are degrading. I have no idea why the consumer would ever put up with that. The advantage of hiring an experienced accident, injury and wrongful death lawyer is they take over dealing with these adjusters and you don’t have to.
They make an offer and spend time talking about why you shouldn’t run it by a lawyer. The claim is that the lawyer will just take it. That is very unlikely, but if the offer was really fair, the lawyer should tell you that. We have no problem meeting with people and saying the deal makes sense. The reality is, the accident, injury and wrongful death adjuster doesn’t want you talking because it is more likely the experienced accident, injury and wrongful death attorney will explain to you how unfair the offer is.
They are nice for a while and then they abandon you. They got what they needed and now it is time for them to delay and deny. They have collected the information to close or minimize your accident, injury and wrongful death claim and they can move on and work on something else. Remember, they don’t represent you and aren’t on your side.
They explain that everyone is a little at fault. That is totally untrue. The law is specific about what is negligence or fault. You are never at fault for just being there or waking up that day. They explain it in a way to get to a person’s insecurities and to profit off old myths.
Are they dealing with the health insurance or other potential claims? The advantage of hiring an experienced accident, injury and wrongful death trial lawyer is that they will look at all of the different parts of your accident, injury and wrongful death claim. They won’t overpay the subrogation interests or leave you unprotected by not dealing with them. The adjuster is just closing a claim, so if they are “helping” you, are they doing it with your best interest in mind?
Is the adjuster checking on other accident, injury and wrongful death coverages? They don’t have to. They only work with one company and they have no reason to have to make sure you look at all of your options.
If you, your family, or someone you know is in an accident, it is worth taking the time to sit down and talk to an experienced accident, injury and wrongful death law firm with success in helping people who are injured through no fault of their own. The consultations are free and it allows you to figure out what your accident, injury and wrongful death rights you have after an injury or loss.
