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What the insurance companies don’t tell you.

On the page below you can find links to videos provided by Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C..

If you are unsure as to whether you should hire an attorney, I am going to give you some tips about what the insurance companies won’t tell you.  

If you are involved in an accident as a result of another’s negligence, the defendant’s insurance company will be calling you immediately to find out if you are hurt and if you plan to make a personal injury claim.  They are going to ask you up front for a couple different items.  

First, they will want to take a recorded statement.  They will make it seem like no big deal but what they won’t tell you is that the statement will follow you all the way through litigation if your case does not settle.  There are certain rules of evidence which will allow a defense attorney to use that statement against you later.  Remember that you will give this statement very soon after the accident.  You might be nervous, emotional, stress or all of the above and therefore you might say things which can be interpreted in different ways.   

Next if you are unrepresented, they will send you a bunch of letters asking you to sign certain documents.  They won’t tell you what they are but one of them will inevitably be a release for your health information.  What they won’t tell you is that the release allows them to pry into your entire medical history if they choose to.  Many adjusters will know more about you than you do.  They will use this information against you if they find any time in your life when you have complained of similar injuries to the ones you complain of as a result of the accident.  

Lastly, they will try to get you to settle with them right away.  They will offer to pay your emergency room bill and throw a couple hundred dollars on top of that.  They won’t tell you that there is no way for you to know how seriously injured you are a few days after the accident.  Often people don’t experience pain for 24-48 hours after the accident.  Also you might not realize you are hurt until you try to mow the lawn or sweep the floor and realize that your neck is more hurt than you thought.  If you settle with the insurance company you will sign a release and you wont’ be able to come against the defendant again later if you find out you are more seriously injured than you thought.  

This is why you should hire an attorney.  As soon as the attorney advises the insurance company that you are represented, they can not speak to you without the attorney’s permission. This will ensure that you don’t agree to something without fully understanding what you have agreed to.  

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