As a driver, you should know that if you get involved in a vehicle accident, the first thing to do is call your insurer and probably your lawyer. However, you should be prepared to receive a call from the other driver’s insurance company. Most experts’ advice would be not to speak to them at all. Therefore, regardless of your distress, you should try and organize your thoughts to protect yourself. The truth is that anything you say to them may be used against you. You should immediately report your car accident to your insurance company, but you have no obligation to speak to the other party’s insurer.
The best thing to do, especially in severe auto accidents, is to seek advice from an experienced Georgia car accident lawyer and let them deal with them on your behalf.
The Other Insurance Company
An insurance company is always protecting their financial interests and their clients’. You should keep in mind that they are not your friends. They will do their best to avoid paying compensation to recover your injuries. To protect their financial interest insurance companies:
- Deny most of the vehicle accident claims completely
- Negotiate to settle a vehicle accident claim at the lowest possible amount
In their effort to reduce the claims they pay, they take advantage of the auto accident victim’s inexperience on the matter and use their superior knowledge against them. That is why you should avoid talking to them and let your car accident lawyer handle them.
What Are The Risks If You Talk To Their Insurer
Whether the car accident was your fault or not, the insurance company will try to use your words against you later when you file your claim. Insurance adjusters are trained especially for this, and if you decide to talk to them, you will probably mess up your case. You should know that you have no legal obligation to speak to them or cooperate with them. Nevertheless, they will try to reach you. Your best option is to consult a car accident attorney.
However, if you speak to anyone about your car accident, keep notes with all your conversation details.
The other driver’s insurance company will try to convince you, by being friendly to you to record your statement. They will probably say that if you provide a recorded statement to them, they will speed up your claim process. Your response should be that you will talk to your car accident lawyer first before their insurer.
The other driver’s insurer will use your recorded statement to prove that your car accident claim is not valid. If they succeed, your injuries and property damage will be covered by you.
There is a high risk that a recorded statement may damage your case. Below are some ways they may use to undermine your auto accident claim:
- The insurance adjuster will compare your recorded statement with the statement you gave to the police for any inconsistencies. If your story changes between the statements, your claim may get denied.
- The adjuster will try to trick you with their questions. They are usually aggressive and try to force you to accept facts that may not be accurate. Sometimes they get so annoying that you may agree with them to be left alone.
- If you decide to take your case to trial, the defense lawyer will use your recorded statement to the insurance company and cross-examine you. Since the trial will be months after the accident, it is easy to fall into contradictions with your previous statements. An experienced defense lawyer will use the discrepancy against you, and you may end up losing your chance to recover your damages.
- Your medical condition after the car accident, especially if you had significant injuries, is not clear. Your medical diagnosis may not be completed yet when you receive a phone call from the other driver’s insurance company. They will try to contact you as soon as possible to estimate what your claim is worth. You should not risk giving them an inaccurate description of your injuries. It will surely affect the settlement offer you may get.
Of course, there are always exceptions where you may talk to the other party’s insurer. For example, if you were involved in a minor accident and the other driver is obviously at-fault, you could settle your case fast by talking to the adjuster.
Contact A Georgia Car Accident Attorney
If you or someone you love were involved in a car accident and you are not sure how to deal with the other driver’s insurance company, you should get in touch with an experienced automobile accident attorney to help you achieve a fair result for your case.
Call us today at Joe Durham Jr., P.C. for your free case review.
