Should I Ever Give A Statement To The Other Party’s Insurance Company?

An injured person should never give a statement to the other party’s insurance company. In fact, being contacted by the other insurance company and asked to provide a statement would be a good sign that the injured person should hire a lawyer to protect their rights. In the meantime, however, the individual is under no obligation to provide a statement to the other party’s insurance company—no matter what the insurance adjusters say.

It is important for people to understand that the other party’s insurance company is not initiating contact with them because they care about how they are feeling; they are initiating contact with them with the intention of obtaining and locking in a statement on the record. The insurance adjuster will be friendly and pleasant, but not because they are looking out for the claimant’s best interests. They will ask questions that will make the injured party think that the accident was their fault. The statements will be recorded, and in almost all cases, the statements made by claimants will be used against them in some shape or form by the at-fault party’s insurance company.

People must always remember that the sole job of the adjuster is to protect their company’s assets and minimize their exposure. It’s like a good cop, bad cop type of situation, where the good cop will be really nice, spark up conversation, and try to relate with the suspect, but only to get inside their mind and try to minimize the company’s risks and liability. Many claimants feel good after talking to an insurance adjuster, and may believe that they truly care. Insurance adjusters will be disappointed to learn that a claimant has hired a lawyer, because at that point, they won’t be allowed to call the client anymore. To be clear, insurance adjusters aren’t bad people; they are just doing their job and trying to protect the company that they work for; but it is important that you know that their interests are not aligned with your own interests.

What Defenses Do Insurance Companies Use To Avoid Paying Out On Slip-And-Fall Injury Claims?

Oftentimes, insurance companies will argue that the dangerous condition which caused the injury was open and obvious, meaning that the injured party should have been able to easily avoid getting injured. They will attempt to place blame on the injured party, and say that what happened is unfortunate, but that it was the injured party’s fault, not their own.

Other defenses involve attacking the injuries in various forms, such as by saying that the injury isn’t as serious or significant as the person is claiming it to be. They will claim that the treatment was unnecessary or discretionary rather than mandatory. In addition, they might argue that the injury was pre-existing, meaning that the client already had the injury prior to the accident. These are just some of the most common defenses used by insurance companies in trying to downplay their responsibility or the severity of the claimant’s injuries.

These defenses are not new to us; we deal with these in literally every single case. We have ways of minimizing or completely neutralizing these defenses, which is something we think about the very first time we speak with the client and learn about their case.

For more information on Other Party’s Insurance In A Slip & Fall Claim, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (954) 379-8030 today.