YES! Consult with a lawyer, especially if you have been injured or if the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence. An attorney helps you understand your legal rights and options and negotiates with the insurance company. An attorney can file a lawsuit to allow a judge or jury to decide, right vs wrong, and valuation of your injury, including loss of earnings and loss of enjoyment of life.
Without an attorney, the insurance company will run you over, much like the car at fault did. The bottom line is: WHEN DEALING WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY, OR POLICE, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND, THEY ARE “NOT ON YOUR SIDE”, AND YOU ARE IN “NOT IN GOOD HANDS”, BECAUSE YOUR “FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR” WILL NOT “GIVE YOU A PIECE OF THE ROCK!” As the Bard would say, therein lies the rub, as your opponent who will not play fair. If you were a kid, you would play with someone else, but you have no choice when you have been in an accident.
Adjusters are trained to “Deny and Delay” settlement, and then the payment because the company is in the business of making money. The longer they “hold on” to the money, the more they are able to invest and make money, on their investment…i.e., your money. There is an overnight value to money, and if they stall on the payment of thousands of cases, for even a day or two, they are making money on “your money”.
The insurance company may cover your case, but they pay the minimum, and stall as long as possible by creating excuses to pay less. They deduct for scratches, mileage, and prior injuries.
Your business lawyer must reflect back on the first year of Torts, (civil wrongs), where attorneys learn about the laws covering accident cases. Like the song says, “love and marriage go together like a horse a carriage”… just like “Negligence”. You need Liability and Damages. You can’t have “one without the other.”
Case value is increased when: pictures; information at the scene, per California law; police report, (even if the injuries are not severe); reports provide not obtained information, due to shock. Don’t give a statement… evidence of, not always what’s said, but what they “THOUGHT they heard you say!
When getting medical treatment asap, avoid giving your Medicare and insurance information, which you coordinate with your lawyer. If offered, take an ambulance! Take down social media, which is the easiest way to gather information on you. When you post about a ski trip, or playing tennis, that would suggest you are not hurt, when your doctor’s report suggests otherwise. Your lawyer will assist you in getting medical insurance on a lien.
Use your lawyer’s body shop, rather than the insurance company’s suggestion. Purchase Full Insurance Coverage, with high limits… not 15/30. Most importantly, follow your lawyer’s advice and don’t sign anything, without your lawyers ok. Remember, Silence is Golden and Handcuffs are Silver. So, don’t “Cuff” your lawyer from maximizing your recovery.
Our policy is to advise you, “If You Need A LAWYER? If not, we will tell you. Our practice is focused on people and protecting their consumer rights. We deliver results, not false promises, and get top dollar on our cases. When the case is successfully concluded, our clients tell us we were courteous, professional and caring, and that we “DID TURN WRONGS INTO RIGHTS”.
SUGGESTIONS FOR COLUMN TOPICS: Dale Gribow 760 837-7500, dale@dalegribowlaw.com
