DELAWARE Injury Lawyers

How Insurers Take Advantage of Car Crash Victims

As if being injured in a motor vehicle accident wasn’t bad enough, now you have to deal with the insurance company. Although insurers will often make it appear as though they are on your side, this is usually far from the truth.

The insurance company works in a for-profit industry, which means that every time they settle on a claim, they are losing money. For this reason, they may be doing anything and everything they can to minimize the amount they’ll be obligated to pay you, regardless of the circumstances of your accident.

Below, we discuss some of the tactics insurance adjusters are known for using to reduce your settlement so that you can prepare for the negotiations process.

Be Cautious When Asked to Give a Statement

The insurance adjuster in charge of your case will probably be very friendly and polite. They’ll seem like your friend who just wants to help you get the money you need to move forward with your life. Unfortunately, their intentions are typically not as innocent as they seem.

When the adjuster asks you to tell them what happened from your perspective, they’ll be keeping an ear out for anything they can use against you. Delaware follows modified comparative negligence laws when establishing fault in an auto wreck. Essentially this means that you can still pursue compensation from the at-fault party, but your award will be reduced based on the percentage of blame you carry.

For example, let’s say you are given a 25 percent liability rating and were awarded $100,000. Your award will actually be $75,000 after the fault reduction.

The insurance company will try to capitalize on this and make you appear more at fault than you might be, or even say that you admitted guilt or fault in some way. Your attorney is prepared for this, however, and will not allow the insurer to place fault where it shouldn’t be.

Making Fast Settlement Offers

Another common strategy insurance adjusters use is making quick offers. This may seem great for you; after all, you’ll be able to get the money you need fast, right? The insurer is counting on this financial need and will sometimes make you a much lower offer than you would otherwise be entitled to. They figure that you are willing to accept anything they offer at that point.

That would be fine if they were offering you a reasonable settlement—but this isn’t usually the case. Your lawyer will handle the negotiations process on your behalf so that this doesn’t happen and so that you get the most out of your car crash claim.

Reach Out to a Delaware Car Accident Lawyer

Before you speak with the insurance company, it would be in your best interests to let your Delaware car accident lawyer at Barros, McNamara, Malkiewicz & Taylor handle them on your behalf. You more than likely won’t understand a lot of their reasoning and legal terms, which can often be used against you. Your lawyer will never allow that to happen.

You can focus on recovering while we fight for the compensation you deserve. We are proud to offer injury victims a complimentary claim evaluation where we can review the details of your case in more depth. Schedule yours today by giving our office a call at 302-734-8400 or by filling out the brief contact form we’ve provided at the bottom of this page.