Even if you’ve never missed a premium payment, an insurance company will not want to offer you maximum compensation outright after a serious car accident. It often takes some negotiation to get the amount that you deserve – especially if you have major injuries that impact your life. One common way insurers minimize payouts is by challenging injury severity. Make sure to speak with an experienced car accident attorney in San Antonio for support.
Common Strategies Used By Insurers
Insurance companies advertise as though they are on your side, but in reality, they operate as for-profit businesses. When an insurer receives a car accident claim, it will look for reasons to deny or diminish the client’s settlement. It may try to deny that your injuries are as serious as you say they are, for example, even after you submit corresponding medical records.
Common strategies you might see from an insurer include:
- Requesting an independent medical examination (IME), or a medical checkup from a physician chosen by the insurance company. The goal of an IME is to determine the extent of the victim’s injuries to calculate insurance benefits.
- Blaming pre-existing injuries. If you have a history of old injuries or pre-existing medical conditions, an insurance company may try to use this against you to argue that you already had the injuries prior to the crash.
- Minimizing invisible injuries, such as soft-tissue injuries, whiplash, herniated disks and emotional trauma. Without hard evidence such as x-rays to prove these injuries, an insurance company might try to deny their existence or downplay their severity.
In addition to challenging injury severity, an insurance company may try to avoid a high payout by offering a low and fast first settlement, pressuring claimants to give recorded statements, delaying the investigative process, misrepresenting the coverage offered on a policy, and rejecting a valid claim. It’s important to be aware of these tactics so that you can be prepared to counteract them.
How to Prove Your Injuries and Medical Costs
You should always get medical care immediately after a car accident in Texas. Prompt treatment demonstrates to an insurance company that your injuries are directly connected to the car crash. It also improves your odds of making a recovery. Request copies of your medical records, keep letters and notes from your doctor, and document all medical bills and receipts.
When you submit your claim to an insurance company, expect pushback from the claims adjuster. Don’t be discouraged if your initial claim gets rejected or the settlement is lower than you desire. Submit ample medical evidence to establish the severity and nature of your injuries. Before accepting a settlement or giving the adjuster a recorded statement, contact a personal injury attorney in San Antonio.
An attorney can protect your rights while negotiating a fair and full settlement for you. A lawyer can hire medical experts and life-care planners to explain your injuries, demonstrate their severity, and show their impact on your life and livelihood. In addition to collecting strong evidence on your behalf, your lawyer can craft a compelling story around the medical evidence to get the best possible outcome from an insurance company, judge or jury on your behalf.
Contact Hill Law Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers for a free consultation about your car accident case. We can help you fight back against insurance company tactics to maximize your recovery.