The insurance company is not your friend. Read that again. The insurance company is not your friend. When I first began practicing law, I worked for insurance companies. I defended insurance companies and their clients from lawsuits. My job was to protect the insurance company and help them pay out as little money as possible. Insurance companies have entire teams lawyers devoted to one thing and one thing only, making sure you get as little money as possible for the injuries you sustained.
Keep in mind, like any other business, insurance companies are there to make a profit. As a result, they have numerous tactics they used to minimize, delay, and often times outright deny legitimate claims. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be profitable, when unscrupulous claims adjusters delay, minimize, and deny legitimate claims for serious injuries and property damage, it creates a situation where your best bet is simply not to deal with the insurance companies. That is where I come in.
Under Texas law all vehicles are required to have at least liability insurance the current policies are commonly referred to as “30/60” policies. This means that there is $30,000 available for one person who is injured in an accident, for a total of $60,000 available for two or more people who are injured in accidents. While individual drivers can have, and should have higher insurance coverage, 30/60 policies are very common.
Frequently, soon after a car accident, the insurance company will call you. They call you in order to take a recorded statement from you. Their goal is to lock you into a story. Keep in mind that auto accidents happen very quickly. Accidents can often times happened so fast, the only way to know what really happened is through accident reconstruction. You are not an accident reconstructionist. Don’t guess. Don’t speculate. The insurance company is not going to guess. They’re not going to speculate. They’re going to take your recorded statement and use every word of it against you.
The goal of this recorded statement is to create an opportunity for the insurance company to blame you partially or completely for your accident. It is also an opportunity for the insurance company to fish around for other explanations regarding your injuries. They are looking for prior accidents, prior health problems, or prior car accidents that caused injuries. Their goal is to say that your current injuries are not as bad as you say they are. And even your current injuries are bad, the other driver insured by the insurance company is not to blame because you complained to your doctor about having a backache 12 years ago.
After locking you into your story and finding ways to blame you for the accident and minimize your injuries, the insurance company will offer you the lowest settlement possible think carefully before excepting that settlement. The insurance companies have offices full of lawyers fighting for them. That settlement and the releases you sign are designed to protect the insurance company And the insurance company only. Don’t leave money on the table.
If you have been injured in an auto accident, all McAllen personal injury attorney Johnathan Ball immediately. 956–501–6565.
