Getting fair compensation for severe injuries caused by someone else is not always a simple matter. This is why you must know how to deal with insurance companies after getting injured in a car accident in Tampa.
You might think you simply file an injury claim with the negligent party’s insurance company, and it processes the paperwork and sends you a check for what you deserve, but it is seldom that easy. The blog shares what to expect if you are in this situation.
Understanding The At-Fault Party’s Insurance Company’s Role
The insurance company’s role or goal is not to pay the full value of injury claims against its insured drivers. Insurance companies profit by paying as little as they can get away with on claims.
Also, it is in their best interest to delay paying valid claims because they invest their financial reserves, so the longer they can make you wait to get paid, the more money they could make on the money.
Insurance Company Tactics To Know, Especially If You Handle a Tampa Car Accident Injury Claim Without A Lawyer
When people injured in Tampa motor vehicle accidents try to settle their claims against the at-fault party without an attorney, claims adjusters can use various strategies to pay you less money than you deserve. Here are a few examples of these tactics:
Trying To Talk You Out Of Having A Lawyer
Claims adjusters routinely tell people they do not need to have a lawyer helping them with their injury claim. If your claims adjuster says this to you, you might want to ask them why the insurance company hires so many lawyers if it is not a good idea.
Claiming You Got Unnecessary Treatment
The claims adjuster might deny coverage for some of your medical treatment by arguing that the procedure was not directly related to your wounds or that it was cosmetic. It would be one thing if a person got a facelift after suffering a broken arm in a collision, but getting skin grafts after catastrophic burns from a crash is quite another thing.
Claiming You Would Have Healed Better With More Or Different Treatment
If your injury case involves long-term impairments from your wounds, the adjuster might discount your compensation by alleging you did not finish all your medical treatment, like physical therapy. They might argue you would not have the ongoing limitations if you had finished the prescribed treatment plan.
Asking You To Give A Recorded Statement
The claims adjuster could ask you to give a recorded statement, particularly if you do not have a lawyer representing you. We recommend that our clients do not give recorded statements. The adjuster can “cherry pick” the transcript and interpret it in a way you did not intend. Recorded statements do not help your case, but they can hurt it.
Negotiating With You For A While, Then ‘Ghosting’ You
Things might appear to be going smoothly on your claim, and then, one day, the claims adjuster stops taking your calls or responding to your emails. What happened? If two years have passed since the accident, the statute of limitations under HB 837 has expired, and you lost your right to pursue compensation for your injuries.
This might seem like a shady tactic, but the insurance company has no obligation to tell you the law. You can avoid this heartbreaking outcome by working with an attorney on your injury claim as soon as possible.
Blaming You For The Car Collision
Sometimes, police accident reports contain errors or are incomplete. The claims adjuster could study the police report to find any excuse to blame you for the collision in Tampa and deny coverage. Unfortunately, many people give up on their injury claims even though they were not responsible for the collision.
Asking You To Sign A ‘Blanket’ Medical Records Authorization
The insurance company can request a copy of your medical records from your injury treatment. Still, they are not allowed to access all your medical records from your entire lifetime or on subjects unrelated to treating your wounds from the motor vehicle accident. Your Tampa car accident attorney can review the medical record authorization and recommend whether you should sign it.
Acting As If They Are Your Friend
One particularly effective technique that some claims adjusters use is to turn on the charm with people who file Tampa car accident injury claims. Remember that the claims adjuster is not your friend, and they do not work for you. Their job is to resolve injury claims for as little money as possible.
Denying Your Claim If You Are Partially At Fault For the Tampa Collision
Florida used to be a pure comparative negligence state, meaning you could recover some losses from another at-fault party, even if you were also partly at fault. That law changed recently with the passage of HB 837.
Under the new law of modified comparative negligence, your percentage of total negligence in causing the collision must be less than the negligence of the party from whom you seek compensation for your injuries. Do not be surprised, however, if some claims adjusters deny coverage outright if you are even one percent at fault.
Our Injury Lawyer Can Help You Deal With an Insurance Company After a Tampa Car Accident
You do not have to battle the insurance company, its claims adjuster, investigator, and defense lawyers by yourself. Instead of dealing with tactics like the ones above, you could work with our Tampa personal injury attorney on your case. Then, you can tell the insurance company to talk to your lawyer instead of contacting you.
When the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine handles your injury claim from a Tampa car accident, we deal with the insurance company on your behalf so you can get the rest you need to recuperate. You can reach out to us today for a free initial consultation.
