If you have ever been in a traffic collision that was not your fault and pursued the matter on your own directly with an insurance company, you know how tough it is to get the financial recovery you deserve for property damage. Now, imagine how tough it would be to pursue the negligent driver and their insurance company for medical bills, lost wages, and a mountain of other expenses you are hit with while trying to recover.
Last month our personal injury attorneys in Las Vegas, Nevada discussed how sharing your medical records with an insurance company can negatively affect your financial recovery efforts.
This month, we are expanding the list of ways insurance companies delay or avoid paying personal injury victims who were hurt by their insured.
It is important to understand that insurance companies are designed to take in more money than they pay out, which means each claim that enters their office is going to be met with the lowest possible offer they believe they can get away with.
Besides scouring your medical records for possible pre-existing conditions that may let them off the hook for covering your injury costs, to follow are some of the ways insurance companies justify delaying or avoiding payments altogether.
The Insurance Company Will Blame You for Your Injuries.
Insurance companies are very good at blaming victims for their harm by stating they contributed to producing their own injuries. In the State of Nevada, this is called “contributory negligence” and insurance companies will try to use it to avoid paying for your injury claim.
The Insurance Company Will Downplay Your Injuries.
When you are hurt in an incident that is caused by someone else’s negligence, their first instinct is to assume that you are not as hurt as you say you are. It is a common reaction that lessens the guilt of their actions, but it is also a common tactic used by the insurance companies to dispute your claim.
The Insurance Company Will Blame You for Not Seeking Medical Treatment Fast Enough.
The Bertoldo Carter Smith & Cullen, our traffic-collision attorneys cannot state enough how important it is to seek medical care directly after an injury occurs. When injury victims delay their medical care, the insurance company can – and often will – say that the injury could have occurred during another event, or that you did not make the necessary effort to lessen your injuries through medical care. Both could result in non-payment.
The Insurance Company Will Blame You for Filing an Incomplete or Late Claim.
The paperwork that is involved in filing a personal injury claim can be overwhelming. And with one slip of the pen – one minor mistake – they can reject your claim as incomplete. Insurance companies thrive on submission dates and requirements, and when a single component is overlooked, they could reject your claim altogether.
The Insurance Company Will Say Your Injuries Are Not Their Policyholder’s Fault.
In the legal industry, this is called disputing the duty of care, which means their policyholder – whether it is an individual or company – was not responsible for preventing your harm. This is common in slip and fall cases, where the insurance company devalues the personal injury victim’s claim by simply stating it was not up to their client to prevent it.
And without an experienced attorney by your side, one of these insurance company tactics might work.
Our accomplished personal injury law firm focuses on submitting complete claims that insurance companies are forced to review with only the best-intended response. We will include your overall financial requirements and a clear outline of what type of settlement is required to make our clients whole, or we will pursue the case in court.
If you have been hurt by the negligent actions or inactions of another, contact our Clark County personal injury attorneys at Bertoldo Carter Smith & Cullen today at (702) 505-8115 and learn how we can protect you from the insurance company’s tactics to avoid paying the financial recovery you deserve.