Eric Shapiro is a highly successful and well-known personal injury and wrongful death attorney who represents individuals and family members who suffered harm as a result of someone else’s actions.
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Blog Post
Insurance Companies (Even Yours) Are NOT on Your Side!
The insurance adjustor's job to reduce the amount of money that the insurance company will pay you.
Immediately after you are injured in a motor vehicle collision, the insurance adjusters, insurance investigators, and insurance defense attorneys begin to work on limiting how much money their insurance company will have to pay you – the victim. Even though you were not at fault in the collision, the other driver’s insurance company may immediately send investigators to take photographs of the collision scene and the damages to both vehicles.
Next, the insurance adjustor (i.e., the individual from the insurance company who will decide how much money, if any, to pay to you) will begin preparing your case. It is their job to reduce the amount of money that their employer (the insurance company) will pay you. They often will immediately contact you in order to get a tape-recorded statement on the phone in order to minimize your reward. They will also offer you a small amount of money within 24-48 hours after a collision and will attempt to get you to sign a release waiving all future legal rights. The reason they do this is that most collision victims do not begin to feel the real pain until 48 hours after a collision.
If you attempt to settle the case yourself to “save some money,” chances are you will obtain a much smaller recovery, even without a lawyer’s fee. Remember, your future and your family’s future may be altered by what you do or say to any insurance company’s employee.
This is the equivalent of a tourist walking into a Las Vegas casino for the first time and attempting to play cards against a professional card shark — you will walk away with less money. The insurance companies are NOT on your side.
In even simple motor vehicle collision cases that do not involve permanent injuries, settlements can range anywhere from five figures up to seven figures-plus. In most cases, the important factors when ascertaining the level of settlement are specifically based on the amount of medical bills, the pain and suffering, life care costs and employment damages.
Medical bills often can run well above $100,000 if there was extended hospitalization with subsequent physical and vocational rehabilitation
Getting these bills paid is often the primary goal of the collision victim’s family. Often when another person is at fault for the injury, their insurance company’s adjustor will attempt to approach you as soon as possible after the injury to offer a settlement. These settlements will include “taking care of all of the medical bills.”
It is very tempting to sign papers and accept the settlement; however, they will not adequately pay for the years of life care that will follow along with vocational training, which will be necessary after the immediate hospital stay. Never accept any type of settlement with an adjustor before speaking with a qualified attorney who handles serious injury cases.
Remember, serious injury cases are different than other types of cases. Simply settling for three or five times the medical bills is not an option with serious injury cases
Many times when individuals are comatose, the medical bills will remain steady and constant, yet the damage to their future lives is increased dramatically with every day they are in a coma.
Make sure you contact Eric Shapiro immediately if you are approached by an insurance adjustor, or if another attorney has suggested that you settle for “three times the medical bills” for a serious injury case.
Your Rights
- You are entitled to money to pay for any medical bills incurred as a result of your collision-related injuries.
- You are entitled to money to replace lost income from work, or to pay for someone else to complete your household chores if you are unable to do so due to injuries sustained in the motor vehicle collision.
- If your vehicle is damaged in a motor vehicle collision, and it requires repair or replacement, you are entitled to a rental car if you are not at fault.
- Semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles have a greater duty to be careful on the roadways and are often more responsible for injuries and damages that they cause from improper driving.
