Posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2018 at 11:13 pm
After being in a Livermore car crash caused by another driver, you may assume that the driver’s insurance company will pay your medical bills, vehicle repairs, lost income, and other damages. Shouldn’t the company just pay your damages because the other driver is at fault? The police officer said he was at fault and he even said he was sorry at the accident scene. However, the other driver nor the police officer has any control over whether the insurance company pays, denies, or undervalues a car accident claim.
Many insurance companies fight accident claims, even though the accident is the fault of their insured. The company may begin attempting to limit its liability very quickly after the claim. The insurance adjuster might contact you to request a written or recorded statement, so he can get information that he might use to deny your claim. The adjuster might ask for a medical waiver and authorization to access your medical records to search for prior injuries.
Don’t allow the insurance company for the other driver to pay you less than you deserve for your accident claim. Contact our office to discuss your claim with a Livermore car accident attorney. You deserve to have a legal team on your side to protect rights from aggressive defense teams.
Blaming the Car Accident Victim
A common defense strategy is to try to blame you for the accident. If the company knows that it cannot assign 100 percent of the cause of the accident on you, it will try to blame you for contributing to the cause of the crash. If successful, the insurance company can reduce the amount of money it must pay for your claim. Your settlement will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you for the collision.
Another defense the company may try is arguing a delay in medical treatment proves you are not as severely injured as you claim. Some accident victims do not go to the emergency room right after the accident. It could be a couple of days before the person sees the doctor because the aches and pains he thought would go away have become worse. An insurance company may try to use this information to fight the claim.
Other defenses may include:
- Arguing a prior injury or illness is the cause of the current injury;
- Your failure to follow a medical treatment plan; and,
- Using information found on social media against you.
A skill Livermore car accident attorney understands how to fight these defenses and other defenses. Our Livermore lawyers thoroughly investigate accident cases to determine the cause of the crash; to obtain evidence to prove fault; and, to fight the insurance company for a fair and just settlement.
Call a Livermore Car Accident Attorney for Help
For a free legal consultation with a Livermore personal injury attorney, contact The Tiemann Law Firm by calling (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website.
Your first visit is free, and you are under no obligation to retain our firm after meeting with an attorney. We urge you to allow us to fight this battle for you because we have extensive experience handling car accident claims and you have something more important to do — focus on your health and recovery.
