At Christopher Trainor & Associates, our Michigan personal injury attorneys know from long, hard experience how insurance adjusters will bob and weave in an effort to delay or avoid settling your claim. Here are a few of the adjuster ploys we have dealt with: Believe it or not, it is not uncommon for a Michigan personal injury attorney to turn away a client notorious for causing great difficulty with the case or known for being difficult to work with. There are a number of client qualities that can make the case more difficult that it should be and could negatively impact the outcome of the litigation. A bad economy can have a big impact on personal injury claimants.
Here are some trends we have noticed in our years of experience as Michigan auto accident attorneys.
I Dare You
You may think that insurance companies do not want claims to go to litigation, but you would be wrong. While it often makes sense for insurers to avoid the costs of a court case, in many instances this may be easier than settling a claim from the insurance adjuster point of view. If a case goes to trial, the adjuster does not have to do the hard work of evaluating your claim. In addition, once the lawsuit begins, the adjuster works with the insurance company defense counsel and can avoid dealing directly with your Michigan personal injury attorney. In the best case scenario for the adjuster, the litigation may get the whole matter of the adjuster desk and assigned to someone else. While, understandably, personal injury clients are upset at the notion of enduring weeks, months or a lifetime of pain and suffering due to the acts of another, it does not help the case to always have a negative, glass-half-empty attitude about the outcome. Clients with this issue generally have nothing positive to say about their lives and are constantly reminding their Michigan personal injury attorney about the deterioration of their lives since the accident. Remember, your attorney is working hard to get you the compensation you deserve following your injuries. Unfortunately, clients with a negative attitude often have negative perceptions about their attorney as well. When the state budget is strained, cuts must be made. If those cuts hit the judicial branch, the result often is reduced court staff and fewer trials. This can have a big impact on small-to-medium-sized personal injury cases (those valued at less than $50,000). In addition, the price of alternatives to trial mediation and arbitration also may go up, as more costs are shifted to the parties.
Time is on My Side
Whether settling a claim or awaiting a court date, the adjuster has time on his side. The adjuster generally will be in no rush to conclude his investigation, place a value on your claim or settle it. Think about it the longer the delay, the later the insurance company pays. It is literally money in the bank for the insurance company. In fact, financial experts view the insurance industry largely as an investment business. The company makes money from premiums, which are invested. The business operation of underwriting insurance and paying claims is not so profitable. Your Michigan personal injury lawyer cannot guarantee an outcome for your case. He or she can only work to the best of their abilities on your behalf. A sense of entitlement will come across immediately during your testimony, and could potentially turn off a jury from awarding you a large verdict amount. Compassion, which is also known as the thirteenth juror, is an undeniable component of any personal injury action. Clients with some of the worst physical and financial damages may receive small settlements because of their attitude during testimony. These clients also exude traits like ungratefulness, dissatisfaction and arrogance. t the same time, many injury victims are having financial problems of their own. When times are tough, some people look to insurance claims as a way to solve their personal financial woes; these individuals will make higher-than-normal settlements demands and try to push a case to trial, hoping for a big verdict. In contrast, some injury victims are so anxious about their precarious financial state that they will settle their claims for less than they deserve. Unfortunately, insurance fraud also becomes more common in tough times, as people resort to exaggerating their injuries to get more money. This makes insurance carriers more vigilant when investigating claims.Be aware that in most cases, you are not legally required to sign a medical authorization form to be entitled to a liability insurance settlement. The insured party is required to cooperate due to having signed a cooperation clause that is found among the conditions of the policy, but you, as a third-party claimant with injury claims, did not sign off on these conditions. If an adjuster claims that you must sign the form, he or she could be misrepresenting both the insurance policy and the law.
Undervaluation of Your Claim
Your attorney would like to work with you to get through some of the issues causing negativity. If you have been injured in an accident due to the fault or negligence of another, speak with attorney Chris Trainor. Call him for a free consultation today at 800-961-8850. In another trend, insurers who pay medical bills are less likely to negotiate a reduced lien. When a health insurance provider pays your medical bills, that insurer is entitled to reimbursement from any settlement or judgment you receive. This right to reimbursement is called a lien. Often, an experienced Michigan personal injury attorney can get the carrier to agree to reimbursement at less than 100-cents on the dollar. In difficult economic times, however, health insurance carriers tend to dig in their heels and demand full reimbursement.s a claimant, you should be careful of what you sign and refuse to sign a medical authorization form that enables an adjuster to see all of your medical history. A limited release of only pertinent documents within a certain window of time is the only type of medical authorization form that you should be signing. For more information on how to avoid insurance adjuster tricks, contact Michigan personal injury lawyer Christopher Trainor for a free initial consultation.
Contact Us Today
Do not let an insurance adjuster be the only one handling your claim. Our experienced Michigan personal injury attorneys will work hard to safeguard your interests and obtain fair compensation for your injuries. With over 20 years of experience as a firm in Michigan, our professional attorneys have amassed over $200 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients in a variety of practice areas. If you would like to talk about your situation or learn more about our practice, please submit our online contact form or call us at 1-800-961-8477 for a free evaluation of your case.