At Klemick and Gampel, we focus our practice on representing those who have been injured due to no fault of their own. Our practice serves clients throughout Miami and the South Florida area, and this means that we help a lot of car accident victims. Miami traffic is notoriously aggressive, and many of our clients are those who have been injured due to the negligence of other drivers. Many accident victims, especially those who are in an accident for the first time, mistakenly believe that their accident case will be easily and quickly resolved.
Unfortunately, receiving a check from an insurance company is usually like pulling teeth, and most insurance companies go out of their way to make things difficult for accident victims. When you are involved in an accident and have filed a claim for compensation, you will likely be contacted by an insurance adjuster who will offer you a check. The most important thing to keep in mind is that insurance adjusters are graded, evaluated and compensated based on how little they pay out per year.
Adjusters are richly rewarded when they pay out less than their claims amounted to, and some of them receive promotions and bonuses. As you can expect, this makes insurance adjusters willing to do anything to make sure that they are not paying out the full amount that claims are worth. Many insurance adjusters take advantage of accident victims and their naivety when it comes to accident claims. Here at Klemick and Gample, we believe that knowledge is power and we are here to provide you with the truth about what insurance adjusters say.
Common Excuses From Insurance AdjustersInsurance adjusters are notorious for trying to blame your injuries on anything else other than the accident. We have compiled a list of the common fallacies that are used to trick accident victims.
False or Unrelated InjuriesInsurance adjusters will look at your previous accident history, and they may try to say that the real cause of your injuries was a previous accident. You do not have to accept this statement, and you have the right to present medical evidence that proves the contrary. If you have filed other injury claims over the years, an adjuster may try to imply that you have purposefully been involved in an accident so that you can file another claim. There is rarely any proof or legitimacy behind this statement and you should not allow this to discourage you from seeking full compensation for your injuries.
Adjusters may also try to say that you have no visible signs of injury. While this may be true, there are many medical conditions that are not visibly obvious. For example, cancer does not always have outward physical symptoms until a later time. Brain injuries are also difficult to detect and are not outwardly noticeable, but they can have lasting ramifications on a victim’s life.
Insurance adjusters will also try to argue that you did not complain about any pain on the initial medical report. They use this approach to make it seem like you are faking your injuries, but ultimately insurance adjusters are not doctors. A medical doctor knows that some injuries do not manifest themselves until days or weeks after the accident, and you should not feel pressured into agreeing with the insurance adjuster’s opinion.
Cause of AccidentSometimes, an adjuster will make a claim that your car had equipment defects that contributed to the accident. If this is the case, then the adjuster needs to file a lawsuit against the auto manufacturer. Overall, this claim is irrelevant to your case and has nothing to do with you. Adjusters will also try to blame the accident on you by saying that you weren’t wearing a seatbelt. Even if this is true, this has no impact on the fact that the other driver crashed their car into yours.
If your ability to drive was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, the insurance adjuster may try to say that you do not deserve to receive compensation. Even though it was poor judgment on your part, it was still their policy holder who caused the accident and they will still be responsible.
Depending on the type of accident that occurred, the adjuster may try to argue that you didn’t notice the other car until right before impact and that proves that you were negligent. On the contrary, failing to notice a car before it t-boned you or rear-ended you is not your fault.
Other ExcusesDuring our years of experience with car accident claims, we have heard almost every excuse that adjusters will give in order to avoid paying compensation to an accident victim. Our team of attorneys has committed their professional careers to seeking justice on the behalf of accident victims, and we are here to provide you with honest, reliable information.
Insurance adjusters will do research on your time at work, your doctor’s appointments and even use video surveillance to track your health. For example, adjusters might say that your work attendance was poor during the time before the accident and that you faked an injury in order to get time off work. Even if this is a valid suspicion, your attendance at work has no effect on the amount of money that you should receive. If you decided to take time off work after your accident but your doctor said that you didn’t need to, this will not affect your settlement either. This is especially true when the doctor who says that you don’t need to take time off is the doctor that the insurance company required you to see.
These are only some of the excuses and tricks that insurance companies use to keep from paying you a fair settlement. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and you feel that your insurance company is not taking your needs seriously, contact our Miami attorneys at Klemick and Gampel for a free legal consultation today. With over 95 years of collective legal experience, we know how to achieve results on the behalf of our clients. We take your claim seriously and invest both time and energy to help you achieve your goals.