|
One of my clients was recently in a car accident, and she asked me to assist her with her personal injury claim. We called the responsible party's insurance company to bring a claim on her behalf. Even though their client was clearly at fault (the police report was in my client's favor), they said they needed time to "investigate" the matter. That's part of the stall tactic - saying they need time to "investigate" when all signs show their client is at fault.
While my client was waiting for them to "investigate" and make the obvious decision, she needed to rent a car. She is a single mom taking care of two young kids. The kids need to go to school, she needs to get to work, so naturally, she needed to rent a car. Since she did not have rental insurance available on her insurance policy, she chose to pay out of her pocket for the rental and eventually we'd ask for reimbursement. Sounds reasonable so far. She rented a very modest car...a Hyundai Accent, one of the smallest cars you can rent. She didn't rent a Cadillac or Lexus. She paid for 30 days which turned in to 45 days because the body shop found more damage than they expected. Then the body shop had to order more parts which delayed the process another 30 days. Altogether, she ended up renting a car for about 80 days, through no fault of her own. It took their insurance company about 30 days to decide their insured was at fault. When we presented them with the bill for the rental, they refused to pay for any rental prior to them accepting fault for the accident! So here is the tactic - by delaying their decision to accept fault, their position is that they don't owe anything for the first 30 days because they hadn't accepted fault yet. They argued my client shouldn't have rented a car until they accepted fault. Really? This is the infinite wisdom I have to deal with on a daily basis. The insurance company is refusing to pay for reasonable consequential damages while they were deciding if they were at fault! As for the rest of the rental bill, they only wanted to pay for 30 days because anything beyond that was "unreasonable." I explained the parts delay but they wouldn't budge. I guess they've never seen anyone rent a car beyond 30 days? I tried to explain to the insurance adjuster that their policy was silly because it encourages all insurance companies to delay their liability decisions, and then conveniently argue they are not responsible for damages incurred during the delay! I asked if my client had been hospitalized due to the accident, were they going to deny payment for that as well since the hospitalization occurred prior to their decision? I further reasoned that if a jury found their client at fault, they would certainly hold him responsible for all reasonable damages that flowed from the accident. As I type this posting, this matter remains unresolved. I called my client's insurance company, and they agreed such a position was ridiculous. My client's adjuster is appealing to the other adjuster. The point of this posting is that even when you think everything is obvious and the law is on your side, a myopic insurance company (and its tactics disguised as "internal policies") can derail an entire case. It's a shame. Whether or not you should hire a lawyer for your accident case involves many factors. Today, a potential client called our office and was wondering if he should hire a lawyer. His accident happened two months ago. I explained that he may have waited too long to hire a lawyer. He was angry because the insurance adjuster wasn't being reasonable with him. In fact, he told me that he got into a big fight over the phone with the adjuster.
Don't wait too long and then hire a lawyer just because you argued with the adjuster. Hiring "Mr. Lawyer" isn't going to make a big difference in most cases. Insurance adjusters aren't going to be afraid of you now that you've "lawyered up." In most cases, they couldn't care less. In fact, if the lawyer files a lawsuit, the case is likely going to get reassigned to another adjuster at some future date. So you're not going to teach the adjuster a lesson by hiring a lawyer. They simply don't care. The case will be reassigned, and they'll be happy to get it off their desk. In some cases, you will have the same adjuster on the case during litigation. So, if hiring a lawyer isn't going to scare the adjuster into evaluating your case differently, why would hiring a lawyer sooner than later help? Here's why - an experienced lawyer can help you present your case properly - from the start. Oftentimes, people with little or no experience with personal injury cases make lots of mistakes at the beginning of their case. Here are some common mistakes people make when they wait too long to consult with an attorney: 1) They think the insurance company is going to pay their bills. 2) They wait and wait for the insurance adjuster to return their call. 3) They think the insurance company is going to tell them what to do, so they wait too long and soon, too much time has elapsed. Delays will be used against you in most cases. 4) They get frustrated and then yell at the insurance adjuster - the very same person from whom they want a settlement check (yes, that's called "biting the hand that feeds you.") 5) They accept a small settlement when their case might be worth a lot more - or they think they need to settle right away. 6) They think they can handle their case on their own when they don't have a full appreciation of what they are doing. This is not the time to guess and "wing it." 7) They don't understand their rights and what the law provides. 8) They get stuck on matters of principal and fail to see the forest from the trees. In short, they don't understand the practical realities of personal injury cases. "Justice" and the way "things should be" get in the way of practical solutions based on real life situations. Basically, there's the "way things should be" and then there's the "way things actually are!" An experienced lawyer can guide you through this quandary and the blurred lines between what the law states and what the realities are. 9) They wait too long to get medical care. 10) They fail to take photos of injuries and damages. These mistakes become problems for the client later on. For example, the client I spoke with today on the phone had not been to see any doctor for his injuries since the accident. Do you think any insurance adjuster is going to believe he was actually hurt? Even if he was hurt, he didn't take the right steps after his accident. A good lawyer can counsel you about the correct steps to take after an accident, not only to insure your recovery from your injuries, but to also take steps to present your case properly to the insurance adjuster. There is an "art" to this process and anticipating your opponent's arguments is part of the "game." Yes, it is a game. In short, the main lesson is this: If you're thinking about hiring a lawyer, do so early. Consult with an attorney early in your case and ask them to guide you through the personal injury maze. Having an advocate on your side can help level the playing field - even if you don't hire the lawyer. Don't wait till you've made too many mistakes and think hiring a lawyer is going to correct all those mistakes. It may just backfire. At the very least, get some good advice. If the lawyer pressures you into signing up as a client, just look for another lawyer who doesn't do that. A good lawyer will tell you if they can bring value to your case. I can't represent every client who walks through my door, but I often give them advice so they can be more educated. That's way I fill this website with articles, videos, blog entries, etc. By getting educated, clients can often make better decisions when it comes to their personal injury matter. If you need help with your personal injury case, call our office at (661) 414-7100. We will let you know if we can help you. |
Attorney Robert MansourRobert Mansour is an attorney in Santa Clarita, California who has been practicing law since 1993. After working for 13 years for the insurance companies, he now counsels victims of personal injury. Click here to learn more about Robert Mansour. Categories
All
Archives
January 2025
|
Call anytime 661-414-7100 / Text anytime: 661-402-1125
RSS Feed
