After being involved in an accident, you will soon receive a call from the other party’s insurance company. You must navigate this phone call with caution since anything you say to the insurance adjuster can potentially be used against you to derail your personal injury claim. Some of the mistakes you make at this stage can be so egregious that it could eliminate or reduce the compensation you recover for your injuries and damages sustained to personal property.
Not sure how to handle this conversation? Here are some tips on what you should never say to an insurance adjuster:
- Statements regarding your opinion: Having an opinion is great, but not when you are speaking to an insurance adjuster. When speaking to the adjuster it is crucial that you only state the facts and avoid providing any opinions or speculations regarding the accident or your injuries. If you do not know the answer to something, do not try to guess or assume the answer. Otherwise, if the contrary is proven, it can harm your claim.
- Statements regarding your injuries: The insurance adjuster will undoubtedly ask if you are hurt or how severe your injuries might be. You should not provide any statements regarding your injuries nor should you claim that you are uninjured. Many injuries do not immediately present themselves and, even if you are aware of your injuries, you might not yet know the extent of the damage. Therefore, it is best to steer clear of providing any information regarding your injuries.
- Statements regarding the traffic signal: If you try to explain away the accident by stating that the light was green, the adjuster might come to the conclusion that you did not observe all possible hazards before driving through the intersection and might have had a chance to avoid the accident. Do not give the adjuster a chance to shoulder some of the blame on you.
- Statements regarding fault: Do you think the accident might have been your fault? Even if you do, this is not the time to accept blame for it. You need to let everyone do their jobs first and fully investigate what occurred. Accepting fault at this stage might result in you taking the blame for an accident that you might not have been at fault for. Spare yourself the trouble of being held liable for an accident you did not cause and refrain from making these types of statements.
- Statements regarding the value of your damages: It is impossible to estimate your damages so soon after an accident, especially since you have yet to reach maximum medical improvement and probably do not even know the extent of your injuries. The person truly qualified to comment on the value of your damages is your personal injury attorney, so hold back on discussing this with the insurance adjuster.
- Statements regarding the actions of the other driver: Maybe the other driver was speeding or driving recklessly, but these are not the details you want to discuss with the insurance adjuster. Getting deep into a conversation about how you think the accident occurred is a great way to get coaxed into making a statement that might harm your personal injury claim.
Speak to an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer at Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices
Accidents are traumatic experiences and the aftermath can be almost as troubling as the incident itself. Instead of trying to field your way through your own personal injury claim, hire a skilled personal injury attorney to represent you and deal with the insurance adjuster on your behalf. At Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices, our personal injury attorneys have over two decades of collective legal experience that we will use obtain the compensation you deserve.
Contact our law office at (718) 690-3132 to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation case review with one of our personal injury attorneys. We take calls 24/7!