When another person’s negligence causes you to suffer an injury or other types of damages, you may have the right to file a personal injury claim against them. Normally, it’s the insurance company that receives the claim and pays the settlement on their policyholder’s behalf.
This means that you’ll be dealing with the insurance adjuster and not the party that’s directly responsible for your injuries.
Unfortunately, the insurance provider may not have your best interests at heart during their investigation into your claim. They might try to offer you an initial settlement that’s way too low or even request your recorded statement. Understanding the role of insurance in your personal claim can help you avoid making mistakes.
After filing a personal injury claim, the insurance company will not award you the settlement right away. They’ll first investigate to ascertain your claims, as well as the resulting damages.
This is why it’s better for you, as the victim, to have an attorney as well. Besides any evidence you might have collected when the accident happened, a personal injury lawyer can dig deeper to find more information that will strengthen your case.
Insurance companies are not in the habit of going down easily when faced with any type of claim. They’ll negotiate to lower your settlement and use various defenses to protect their client.
Being an entity, it’s likely that the insurer will find a tough attorney in the hopes of a favorable outcome. Do not risk going into negotiations without a Long Island injury attorney as well.
When the negotiations are over and both parties have come to a consensus, the insurance company should honor its part and pay out the settlement. The total amount you receive for a personal injury claim depends on many things, including the type of accident, resulting injuries, the presence of punitive damages, and so on.
However, an insurance company can also deny and refuse to pay your claim on grounds such as falsified information, misrepresentation, or if you signed a release form preventing a claim.
Finally, the insurance provider is required to carry out all of the above roles in good faith towards their policyholder. This means functioning within industrial regulations and honoring their contractual obligations.
Common instances where an insurer might be acting in bad faith include information misrepresentation and failure to disclose policy exclusions to their policyholder, which affects the plaintiff, as well, when pursuing compensation.
When it comes to settling personal injury claims, the insurance company is not your friend. They might be looking for mistakes to discredit your claim or find reasons to award a lower settlement. The trick to handling insurance providers on Long Island is having reputable legal support by your side, such as the Law Offices of Dennis Smith, PLLC.
You can reach them by calling 212-835-1699 or visiting their website to learn more.
