Time is on your side!
If you have recently been involved in an auto accident there are several things that involve time you need to know about. Time is of the essence. Time is on your side.
First, understand that in order to decrease the cost of an insurance companies liability, they will do anything, including lie, and cheat to decrease their cost. They have no obligation to tell you the truth. Recently, adjustors for the insurance companies have been instructed to contact a victim of an auto accident within the first 24 hours after an accident. By contacting you, they attempt to persuade you the victim into settling on your injuries while they are minor or non-existent. You don’t have to talk to the adjuster, no matter how much he tries to pressure you, you don’t have to talk with them, in fact, and it is to your benefit not to give them a recorded statement. We recommend not talking to an adjustor at all! And remember anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, they record everything.
By contacting the victim within 24 hours, inflammation and injuries have yet to manifest. The adjustors will offer chump change to the victim while medical bills are low or non-existent. Oh, then they promise to cover your medical bills for a year and up to $1000. Stop and think about it, how far is that $1000 going to go?
Recently, some insurance carriers have become antipathetic and aggressive in their settling tactics prompting a book entitled, "From Helping Hands to Boxing Gloves". This book available on Amazon describes the intrusive and contentious behavior of one such company.
The truth be known, it may take as long as 6 to 8 weeks before the symptoms and inflammation of an accident actually begin to manifest. Then comes the morning you wake up and cannot rotate your head, your neck is stiff and painful. Then that nagging headache materializes. Your vehicle damages have already been settled and repaired, and you settled for pennies on the dollar of what your injuries are really worth. Now you are in trouble. Your injuries have begun to manifest and the simple fact is you don't have the funds to cover the expensive medical cost of your care. MRIs are not cheap.
Understand this is what the insurance company was counting on, you settling before problems become apparent, it keeps their cost low and money in their pockets, not yours. After all, insurances make money by lowballing your injuries, not paying for your injuries. Understand no matter how friendly the adjuster is, he is not your friend, his job is to take advantage of you while spending as few dollars as possible. The release that they want you to sign, permanently releases and resolves them of any future liability. Time is on your side. You can say no and wait!
Hire a reputable attorney to protect your rights. Don’t hire the one you see on television all the time. There are several attorneys in the area that have a monthly advertising budget of over a $100,000 on television ads alone. How do they do that, it is called volume. They settle volumes of claims for pennies on the dollar. They settle so many cases per month that it actually covers their overhead. These firms are called accident mills. The insurance companies know which law firms they are and want you to be represented by them. Usually, the accident mill will accept the first offer the insurance companies throw out there. They are not working in your best interest; they have to operate like this in order to cover their advertising cost. Then comes the phone call where the firm tells you the insurance company has offered you a settlement. If you tell the accident mill attorney you don't want to accept the offer, then they attempt to jam the offer down your throat, remember they have an advertising bill they have to pay this month. And if you still don't take it, they fire you, and tell you to come and get your file. Do it, don't be a victim twice!
If you hire a law firm and they ask to sign an arbitration agreement, don’t. That agreement keeps them from having to litigate your case in court, and you are in a practice mill. Practice mills have a low success rate of litigation in the courtroom, they want to arbitrate your settlement and will not file a lawsuit. Understand that litigation is leverage an attorney uses against the insurance company. If you sign away that right, you’re giving away the power to properly negotiate your case in court. Don’t be taken advantage of again.
The best tactic from an attorney that I have seen is where an attorney offers you his personal phone number in case you need anything. Right! Don’t be fooled into thinking he really is going to answer that phone if you call. Can you believe some attorneys are as lousy as insurance adjustors; they are chasing that all mighty dollar and do not have your best interest at heart and will do whatever they need to pay for their overhead and keep their doors open. Again, don’t be a victim twice.
Hire an attorney that is not on every billboard or on every evening news broadcast. Our office over the last 27 years has worked with almost every law firm in the area at one time or another; we can offer referrals to trustworthy law firms that obtain acceptable settlements worthy of your injuries. Remember time is on your side. Don’t be in a hurry. Hire a reputable attorney. Get the care you need and deserve.
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Auto Injury Treatment
