Even though insurance companies are supposed to be on your side, they will often try any trick they can to deny you your rights or minimize your compensation after you are involved in an accident. By learning how to identify the most common tricks insurance companies use after an accident, you may be able to avoid falling victim to them. Speak with an experienced personal injury attorney at The Wakeford Law Firm today to learn more about how to identify tricks insurance companies use after an accident and get an attorney in your corner fighting for your rights.
The Insurance Company Calls You While You Are Still Recovering in the Hospital
One of the most common tricks insurance companies use is calling you right after a serious accident while you are still recovering in the hospital. Chances are, you are still in pain, on medication, or not fully back to your normal self yet, and insurance companies will take advantage of your weak state to convince you to make decisions you normally wouldn’t make. Insurance professionals are trained to ask questions in a certain way that leads you to give them the answer they want to hear, to your detriment. In most instances, your phone call will be taped so they have evidence of what you’ve said in case you try to deny it later on.
The Insurance Company Demands a Statement Before Allowing You to Meet With an Attorney
You are entitled to speak with an attorney before providing your insurance company with any statements, so if your insurance company tries to tell you that you must provide a statement before speaking with an attorney, you will know that this is just a trick they are using on you to try to get away with offering you less money than you deserve for your injuries.
The Insurance Company Tries to Trick You Into Admitting Fault
Since California is a comparative fault state, your award will be reduced by the percentage of fault you are found to have. For example, if you are found to have been 25 percent negligent in the accident, your award will be reduced by 25 percent. What insurance companies will try to do is get you to say on the record that the accident was partially your fault. Thus, when the court hears your statement, the court will reduce your award by whatever percentage they determine you were at fault.
The Insurance Company Convinces You to Sign a Release
The insurance company may call you right after your accident and convince you to sign a medical authorization or a release of claims, essentially relinquishing all further rights you have to obtain money from the insurance company for your accident. Obviously, if the insurance company were to tell you the truth behind the ramifications of signing the release, you wouldn’t sign it. That’s why the insurance company typically will trick you into thinking that you’ll still be able to receive money for your medical treatments later on, when in fact that is not the case.
As you can see, insurance companies have many tricks up their sleeves. If an insurance company contacts you after your accident, make sure you contact an experienced personal injury attorney before speaking with an insurance professional or signing any documents. The attorneys at The Wakeford Law Firm have helped victims identify insurance companies’ tricks and obtain full compensation for their injuries. Contact us online or at 415-569-7495 for a consultation today.
