Being injured in an accident can be a traumatizing and scary experience, but the battle doesn’t end there. Most of the time, receiving compensation for your injuries involves dealing with an insurance company of the at-fault driver.
An adjuster from the at-fault driver’s insurance company will probably call you immediately after the accident to get a statement. While it may sound like a reasonable request, this is usually done in order to find ways to devalue or deny your claim.
Your Statement Used Against You
The insurance company cannot legally deny your claim unless they have a valid reason to do so, and they’re going to try to use your recorded statement to find one. Here are a few ways they will attempt this:
Inconsistencies. You probably already gave statements to police officers, and now the insurance company wants a recorded statement. If this statement doesn’t explicitly match up with the facts gathered later on, they make try to claim you lied about what happened.
Tricky questions. The insurance adjuster may word questions a certain way that they trap or trick you into giving responses that hurt your case. You may accidentally agree to facts you aren’t sure are completely accurate.
Cross-examination. A recorded statement can be used by the defense to cross-examine you at trial or during your deposition. You may not remember little details of what you said, and the defense lawyer may try to make you contradict yourself.
This may be your first time running through this process. However, insurance adjusters do this work every day and know the tactics necessary to ensure that their own business makes money.
Before speaking with an insurance adjuster, it’s always recommended that you first seek the help of a skilled personal injury attorney. This person can advise you on what to say and what not to say following the accident and advise you of your legal options moving forward.
Get Legal Advocates on Your Side of the Court
We are all too familiar with the length insurance companies will go to deny paying out claims. If you need help pursuing your personal injury claim, our Fresno attorneys will ensure that the insurance company does not take advantage of your rights to compensation.
Contact Fowler Helsel Vogt at (559) 900-1280 to schedule your free case review.