If you’ve suffered an injury in an accident – a car accident, a bicycle accident, a slip and fall, or anything else – you’re going to have to deal with the negligent party’s insurance company. To say this is a distasteful experience is putting it lightly. Most insurance companies are definitely not above employing some shady tactics, or downright dirty tricks, to pay you as little money as is humanly possible.
The good news is that the attorneys with Sand Law have a lot of experience – and a long track record of success – fighting and defeating these tactics. If you want the best chance of obtaining the compensation you deserve, you’ll give us a call at 651-291-7263 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.
Below you’ll find just a few of the many examples of dirty tricks insurers may try to use against you.
Settling Quickly
This is a tried-and-true – and particularly reprehensible – tactic that insurance companies will deploy. Injury victims are in a lot of pain, of course, but they’re also confused – and maybe even scared. Those medical bills keep rolling in, and money keeps rolling out. Their bills aren’t stopping, but their paychecks have stopped because they can’t work.
Insurers prey upon this fear and anxiety by making ridiculously low settlement offers. They figure that an injury victim will jump at this offer because they’re starting to feel desperation set in. If you’re in this situation, don’t accept any sort of early settlement. It might seem like a lot of money, but it won’t be close to fair compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses.
You need an experienced attorney by your side. Your attorney will work passionately to make sure you get what you deserve. If the insurer refuses to make a fair offer, an attorney will build the strongest case possible to help you win in a court of law.
Playing “Nice Guy”
The insurance company will assign an adjuster to your case. There’s a very good chance that the adjuster will act like your friend, like they’re really concerned about how you’re feeling. Don’t fall for it. This is just an act, one designed to get you to let your guard down. When that happens, you’ll be more likely to say something that can then be distorted and used to damage your case.
Hiring Private Investigators
Again, insurers will do everything they can to either pay you as little as possible or pay you nothing. They’ll go so far as to hire investigators to basically spy on everything you’ll do. They’ll watch you as you go about your daily routine, and they’ll even scour your social media pages – all in an effort to ruin your credibility.
This is just one of the many reasons you shouldn’t talk about your case with anyone but your attorney – not your friends, family members, or anyone else. The investigator will try to talk to them, too.
Delaying Claims
The insurance company will try to wait you out until you’re so overwhelmed with fear you’re ready to accept their offer. One way they do this is to delay your claim as long as you can. They prey on vulnerability.
They want you to get so worn out that you just want to get the whole thing over with. Always remember that if you accept an unfair offer, you’ll be stuck with it. The case will be over for good, and you’ll be stuck paying for whatever expenses the settlement won’t cover.
Over-Requesting Information
One method that’s part of the delay tactic is to keep asking you for more and more information – much more information than they actually need to evaluate your claim. Your attorney will know what information the insurance company needs and what’s trivial.
Asking You for a Recorded Statement
This is one of the oldest dirty tricks in the book. The adjuster, still playing the role of “good cop,” so to speak, will ask you to give your account of what happened. They’ll then ask to record the statement. But they’re not doing this to get to the truth – they just want you to slip up so they can deny your claim. An attorney will shield you from this tactic.
Copay Settlements
Insurers will sometimes stoop so low as to offer to cover your copay, the amount of money you paid out of pocket to receive treatment for your injury. This is basically an insult to your intelligence. The insurance company will be responsible for ALL of your bills, not just your copays. This is just a tool to lower the value of your claim – don’t fall for it.
Disputing Medical Treatment
Another disgusting tactic is to claim that you’re really not as injured as you claim. Even if you’ve suffered a debilitating traumatic brain injury, there’s a chance the insurance company will say you’re not that hurt. The insurance company might also claim that you waited too long to get treated or the treatment you’ve received is far more involved than it should be.
Some insurance company adjusters will even try to convince accident victims to stop treatment altogether. As incredible as that may seem, it actually happens. This pathetic trick is designed to damage your case. The insurer might threaten you by saying it will no longer pay for your treatment. What they’re really trying to do is to make it look like you stopped treatment on your own
If you do stop getting medical help, regardless of why, the insurer will then turn that around on you. They’ll make it seem that you really weren’t hurt that badly or you’re making up the injury altogether.
Contact Sand Law to Maximize Your Personal Injury Claim
Let’s just call these tactics what they are – scams. They’re bogus methods to try and keep more money in the insurance company’s bank account. Sand Law attorneys despise these tactics, and it gives us a lot of pleasure when we defeat them. Let us work to do the same for you. Call 651-291-7263 or use our online contact form for a free case review.