If after you’ve been in a car accident and the other driver’s insurance wants to settle with you for your injuries, accepting that settlement check without talking to an experienced car accident lawyer is the WORST mistake you can possibly make.
Here’s why:
The first point you have to recognize as a consumer is that insurance companies are businesses, all of whom are interested in making the most money possible for either their owner or their shareholders who own stake in the company. However, most insurance companies are not at all like your mom-and-pop shop, but:
Insurance Companies Are Enormous Corporations
In fact, most insurance companies are multi-million dollar corporations that, together, make up a multi-BILLION dollar industry. Most larger insurance companies are perennially listed on the Forbes 500 list, boasting astronomical revenues.
Take State Farm, for example. In 2017, State Farm had revenues of over $78.3 billion. That’s more than Disney ($55.13 billion) and McDonald’s ($22.82 billion) COMBINED!
This is all important for consumers to understand because it helps validate one particular shrewd business practice that most insurance companies partake in, and that is:
Insurance Companies Will Almost ALWAYS Underpay Your Claim
Let’s take the example of “Joe Victim.” Joe is a normal, everyday person who isn’t an attorney. Suddenly, Joe is in an accident and terribly injured, so much so that he needed to be rushed to the ER and subsequently admitted to the hospital. A few weeks later, Joe is still recovering from his injuries and receives an astronomical bill from the hospital, another from his physical therapist and other various bills from other healthcare professionals he visited on the road to getting better. The other driver’s insurance company calls Joe to make him an offer to help settle some of these bills he’s receiving. Having never been in an accident before or dealt with insurance company claims, Joe accepts the first offer he gets because “it looks like a lot of money.” Unfortunately for Joe, he doesn’t realize just how much more money he may need to settle re-occurring doctor visits nor does he account for any lost wages he may have had due to missing work the last few weeks. The insurance company knows this, but since Joe was fine with what they offered, they gladly sent him his check along with an agreement that stated that the claim is now closed and settled. Joe is now left to find other ways to pay for his re-occurring medical expenses since he can no longer draw from the insurance well.
What Joe should have done, and what every car crash victim should do when dealing with a personal injury claim is:
Call A Personal Injury Lawyer Who Can Negotiate Your Personal Injury Claim For You
In 2004, the Insurance Research Council found that car crash victims who had attorneys who represent their injury claims were paid on average 3.5 times MORE than those who did not have an attorney. Hiring a good personal injury lawyer can really mean a world of difference when negotiating your car crash claim. Personal injury attorneys deal with insurance companies all of the time and understand their business practices better than most others.
Getting in touch with an attorney is the best step to ensuring that the settlement offer you are receiving from your insurance company is fair.
Contact The McAllen Personal Injury Attorneys At Moore Law Firm
The call and consultation are absolutely FREE. Speak to an experienced car accident lawyer from Moore Law Firm right now about your case by calling 1-956-631-0745 right now.
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