When people are injured in a car accident through no fault of their own, the insurance companies who represent the at-fault drivers may employ several tactics in an effort to minimize or completely avoid payments for the injury claims. Car accident attorneys in Reno are aware of the tactics insurance companies commonly use; thus they may help their clients to avoid pitfalls that could greatly reduce the value of their claims.
Asking For Recorded Statements
Soon after an insurance company learns that its insured caused an injury accident, the company may have an adjuster or claims representative contact the injured party. The adjuster’s job is to help his or her employer minimize losses. This means that the adjuster’s attempts to secure statements that may hurt the injured person’s claim later on. Commonly, an adjuster will ask a recently injured person to make a recorded statement soon after the accident.
Asking For Medical Authorizations
Another tactic insurance companies might use is asking for injured victims to sign medical authorizations. While the company ostensibly uses medical authorizations to determine the claim’s value and the extent of the injuries, companies often use blanket authorizations that allow them to dig through the victims’ entire medical history. Companies do this to try to find an earlier accident that could be blamed for the victim’s current condition so that they can claim that the earlier event and not the current accident caused the person’s injury.
Making Low-Ball Settlement Offers
Some companies make unreasonably low offers following an accident. They do this to see if the person will agree to the offer. They might also do this in an effort to make the injured person believe that their claim is worth much less than it is.
Disputing Liability
When liability is not clear, or even if the insured’s liability appears fairly clear, some insurance companies will dispute liability and deny claims outright. They might do this for several reasons, including arguments that the injured person could have avoided the accident or that the injured person contributed to the accident. In other situations, the insurance companies simply act in bad faith.
A car accident attorney in Reno may advise his or her client to not make statements or sign any documents without first talking to a lawyer. A car accident attorney in Reno like Matt Sharp may help to negotiate with the insurance company while being mindful of these common tactics.
