At Klemick and Gampel, we focus our practice on representing those who have been injured due to no fault of their own. In Miami and the South Florida area, that means we help a lot of car accident victims. Miami traffic (and by extension Miami drivers) is notoriously aggressive. Many of our clients are those who have been injured due to the negligence of other drivers. You would think that most car accident cases would be cut and dried, but believe it or not, insurance companies aren’t in the business of writing a lot of checks.
Insurance adjusters are graded, evaluated and compensated based on how little they pay out per year. For instance, if an adjuster manages to pay out less than what his claims amounted to, then he or she is rewarded, compensated and promoted. Adjusters that pay out an amount that is more or equal to the amount of claims that come in don’t fare nearly as well.
As a result of this system, insurance adjusters pull almost every trick in the book to make sure that injury victims get much less than what they are supposed to. They are betting on what you don’t know, and they believe that if they tell you something, whether it’s valid or not, you’ll believe it. Since we believe that knowledge is power, Klemick and Gampel would like to provide you with some of the more common fallacies that insurance adjusters present as fact.
“Your attendance at work was very poor before the accident.”
This is usually presented as a way to avoid paying you for time that you had to take off of work due to the injury, or a way to whittle the monthly payment down if you end up never being able to work again. You may be assured that your attendance at work has absolutely no effect on the amount of money that you should receive.
“You had another accident after the wreck. We’ve decided that this is the real cause of your injuries.”
That’s all well and good, but you have every right to present medical evidence to the contrary. The opinions of the adjuster aren’t law unless you allow them to be.
“You have no visible signs of injury.”
You can’t see cancer either, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Many injuries can have drastic effects on the body without being visually obvious. Brain injuries, which are common in car accidents, can drastically affect the life of the victim without being outwardly noticeable.
“The initial medical report says that you were not complaining about any pain.”
This is one of the many ways that adjusters use to make it seem like you are faking it. Again, adjusters aren’t doctors. Doctors are well aware of the fact that some injuries don’t manifest themselves until days after the accident. Have you engaged in intense physical exercise and found yourself aching the next day? Many muscular or spinal injuries act the same way.
“Your doctor said you didn’t need to take any time off of work, but you took time off of work anyway.”
Which doctor? The one the insurance company required you to see? What were his or her motivations for telling you to not take any time off of work? And besides, your work attendance has nothing to do with the settlement amount.
“Our videotape surveillance shows that you can (go to the store, do yard work, walk around the block) without any appearance of pain.”
So what? On occasion you can have a day where the pain isn’t so bad. Also, who says that the surveillance is admissible in court?
“You have filed some other claims over the years.”
That means nothing. The implication there is that you are a serial filer of lawsuits, or that you have somehow made a career out of getting hit by cars. As soon as an adjuster can somehow fix the law of averages so it slides in everyone’s favor, then he can comment on how many accidents you have been in.
“Your car had equipment defects that contributed to the accident.”
Well, that should be an interesting case when they file a lawsuit against the auto manufacturer. In the meantime, that has nothing to do with you.
“You weren’t wearing a seatbelt.”
Sure, that’s poor judgment on your part. But it’s also blaming the victim. If you had decided to put on your seatbelt would their policyholder somehow not have crashed into you with their car?
“Your ability to drive was impaired by drugs or alcohol.”
Again, poor judgment on your part. But again, YOU got hit by THEIR policy holder. THEIR policy holder caused the accident.
“You didn’t notice the other car until right before impact. That proves negligence on your part for being inattentive.”
So, because you failed to notice the car that t-boned you at the stoplight when you had the right of way, or because you failed to notice the car that jumped into your lane while the driver was text messaging his friends, the accident is somehow your fault? Again, the adjusters have blaming the victim down to a science.
These are only some of the excuses and tricks that insurance companies use to keep from paying you a fair settlement. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and you feel that your insurance company is not taking your needs seriously, contact Miami attorneys Klemick and Gampel for a free legal consultation today.
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Klemick & Gampel
1953 S.W. 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33145
Phone: (305) 856-4577
Fax: (305) 859-9708
