The Insurance Adjuster is Not Your Friend
November 10, 2008I am continually amazed at the manner in which insurance adjusters will try to convince injured people that they are trying to help the person while in fact they are doing everything they can to pay as little as possible on a claim. If you or a family member are injured in an accident and an adjuster shows up almost immediately telling you they want to help you but will not be able to if you talk to a lawyer - RUN - don't walk - to a personaly injury lawyer / attorney.
I have no problem with insurance adjusters trying to minimize the payment by the insurance company. That is what they are paid to do. It is the tactics many adjusters frequently use that I detest. I had two people contact me in the last two days that exemplify this.
The first involved a car accident in which a young man was killed. The insurance adjuster approached the parents of this young man and advised them that the insurance company would pay a very small sum in full satisfaction of all claims. It was less much less than ten thousand dollars. This adjuster meets with the parents at a time when they are still in the initial stages of grieving. They are likely still in some state of shock. The adjuster tells them to take what he offers now and sign a release or they will ultimately get nothing. There is no suggestion that the parents see a lawyer or even talk to their other children before accepting this settlement. What horrible behaviour. Taking advantage of two aging parents that had just lost one of their children at a time when they were most vulnerable.
One of their children contacted me to discuss the issues. Now - it appears that there will be a fight over whether the release and settlement can be voided. The insurance company will pay more in legal fees fighting the issue of the release than the total amount of the settlement paid. I expect them to lose that fight. But how many times does this work? How many times do adjusters walk into tragic circumstances like this, get the settlement done and release signed and never have to deal with it again? How many people sign a release and, although later regretting it, believe they have no legal recourse and therefor never see a lawyer?
The second situation was an elderly woman that was injured while in a public entertainment facility. She suffered a leg injury. The facts are not important for this rant. What is important is that an adjuster from the insurance company that covered the entertainment facility came to her house just days after the injury. The adjuster specifically told this woman not to speak with a lawyer as that would cause her problems in settling the matter with the insurance company. Some months later this same adjuster went to her house and told her the insurance company would pay her five hundred dollars and if she didn't accept that offer she would get nothing because the accident was not the facilities fault.
This is outrageous. If the adjuster was correct that there is no liability and the $500 is a gratuitous payment - why not suggest she see a lawyer? I know I would talk with her, get an idea on the facts, and if in fact there was no liability would give her that opinion without charge. The only reason I can see for the adjuster would take such a position is to get the insurance company out with a lower payment than the woman is likely entitled to.
You might think that these are simply two bad apples in the insurance adjuster pool. Unfortunatly they are not. This is a repeated theme. I have heard stories like these repeatedly for many, many years. I have had this happen in situations where the injured person had suffered an obvious brain injury (one case where the person had been in a coma for almost 10 days) the adjuster went to try to settle the case with his wife at the hospital. I don't know how these people sleep at night knowing that they are adding more tragedy to families that have already suffered a tragedy. In discussions with other personal injury lawyers they too have had similar experience.
Why do insurance companies continue to allow adjusters to act in this manner? Because it saves them money. If it didn't they would put a stop to it.
I will not say that all adjusters act that way. There are very decent and ethical adjusters. These adjusters would never act in such a manner. But if you run into an adjuster that tells you not to see a lawyer or that tells you if you do not accept a settlement offer immediately it will not be available again - speak to a personal injury lawyer before you sign anything. Throughout North America there are personal injury lawyers that will provide you with a free consultation. A good personal injury lawyer will not suggest you push forward in a legal case that is without merit. If the adjuster's offer is a good and reasonable offer a good personal injury lawyer will tell you.
Finally, know this - in my experience - if an insurance company makes an offer today, very soon after an accident, that offer is almost always available tomorrow or next week. It is also my experience that when an insurance company makes an offer almost immediately after an accident, that offer is low. Often ridiculously low. So don't just jump at it. As I said at the outset - go to a personal injury attorney - get appropriate legal advice. Don't take the chance. As I have mentioned in past rants, www.injuryalliance.com is a great site to get answers to all your legal and healthcare questions.
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