After an Accident: Do Not Talk to an Insurance Adjuster without Legal Counsel

Finding yourself the victim of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence can prove to be a highly challenging experience. Not only do you have medical issues to contend with, but navigating an insurance claim can prove to be a perilous proposition. In the aftermath of an accident resulting from another individual’s negligence, an insurance adjuster is apt to swoop down upon you, attempting to get you to answer questions and make a statement. Do not speak to an insurance adjuster until you retain capable, experienced legal representation. Moreover, never agree to speak to an adjuster unless your lawyer advises you to do so. There are a variety of important reasons why you must not speak to an insurance adjuster without the assistance of seasoned legal counsel.

An insurance adjuster is very likely to imply that you have some sort of legal responsibility to answer that individual’s questions about an accident and your injuries. The reality is that you most definitely do not have a legal obligation to answer questions presented by a claims adjuster or anyone else associated with an insurance company.

If an insurance adjuster contacts you, all you need to do is advise that individual that you are seeking or have retained legal counsel. If you have hired a lawyer, you can provide the insurance adjust that professional’s name and contact information. You can advise an adjuster, or anyone else from an insurance company that attempts to obtain information from you, to contact your attorney.

The risk of making a statement or answering questions presented by an insurance adjuster is that you potentially can become essentially locked into what you say. Borrowing from a phrase oftentimes heard on television crime shows, what you do so can be held against you should you continue to pursue a claim for injuries, damages, and losses.

Making a verbal misstep in the direct aftermath of an accident that result in your being injured is a common type of occurrence. Moreover, because an insurance adjuster is highly likely to reach out to you directly after an accident and before you really have all information about your injuries, damages, and losses.

An experienced lawyer understands how to navigate questioning and making a statement about an accident and associated injuries. In addition, an experienced lawyer also knows when, why, where, and how you should and should not make a statement of answer questions pertaining to an accident and injuries. Indeed, in nearly all cases an attorney is likely to take the position that you should not answer questions and not make a statement to an insurance adjuster.

Myths abound regarding the major objective of insurance companies, including automobile insurers, malpractice carriers, and the like. One of the most pervasive of these misconceptions is that insurance companies have a major goal of ensuring that injured people obtain appropriate compensation for their losses. The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth.

The bottom line is that insurance companies are in business for one primary purpose – the bottom line. The primary objective of insurance companies in the United States is to make a profit for their shareholders (or members, in the case of a mutual company). Insurance companies enhance their revenue and ultimately profits by limiting the amount of money paid out annually in claims.

As a consequence, an insurance adjuster speaking with an injured person, with a victim of negligence, has one goal in mind. That goal is to obtain a statement from an injury victim that can be used as a tool to limit an insurance company’s financial responsibility in a particular case.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the manner in which insurance companies do business underscores the need for you proactively to obtain legal representation. The sooner you retain legal representation, the stronger of a position you put yourself on regarding your vital legal rights and interests.

An attorney will provide you a case evaluation during an initial consultation. As a matter of practice a lawyer typically charges no fee for an initial consultation following an accident that gave rise to injuries, damages, and other losses.